Turkey Bolognese

This delicious turkey bolognese a healthy yet hearty take on the classic Italian staple. It's easy to prepare and perfect to freeze ahead of time. Enjoy this on pasta, with ziti, as a bread dip, or any other way you'd like.

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Course: dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: healthy turkey bolognese, turkey bolognese, turkey bolognese recipe

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 3

Total Time: 3 30

Servings: people

Calories: 271kcal

Author: Tammy Overhoff

Equipment

5 1/2 quart stock pot or dutch oven

Ingredients

3 tablespoons Olive oil
1 lb Italian poultry sausage links casings removed
1 lb ground turkey
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning divided
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 large white onion chopped
5 cloves of garlic chopped
½ cup red wine
1 6 ounce tomato paste
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 28 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup water

Instructions

In a large ( 5 1/2 - 6 qt) sauce pot heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the Italian poultry links, breaking into small pieces as it cooks. Cook until no longer pink and then place into a medium bowl.
Using the same pot heat up another tablespoon of oil and cook the ground turkey. Again, break up the turkey as it cooks. After about 4 minutes stir in the Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking until no longer pink. Remove from pan and place in the bowl with sausage.
In the same pot, heat the remaining olive oil and cook the chopped onions. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until translucent. Add in the garlic and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
Pour in the wine and cook until reduced by half, about 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste until blended.
Stir back in the turkey and sausage then stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, and water.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for 2-3 hours on low, stirring occasionally.
Serve with pasta or your favorite Italian dish.

Notes

How To Freeze

Another reason why I love this Italian sauce recipe is that it freezes beautifully. So, whether you have leftovers or just trying to stock your freezer, then this is the perfect freezer recipe.

You can freeze this in a couple of different ways.

Freeze the sauce into portions using masons jars, plastic containers, or plastic bags. I like to freeze into 2-3 cup portions because that's typically the amount I use when eating with pasta or using in a recipe like a lasagna or ziti.
Freeze it as part of a recipe. For example, you can make a lasagna or baked ziti casserole as a freezer meal to use later.

Tip when freezing in glass containers. You need to leave at least an inch from the top when filling up with a sauce to allow room for expansion. Also, you'll need to completely thaw the sauce before using it because it's near impossible to get frozen sauce out of a mason jar. Using a plastic bag or container, you can pop it right out. So, just something to consider.

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