For an easy weeknight dinner serve this crock pot turkey Bolognese sauce with zucchini noodles. Bonus—you can use this paleo and Whole30 spaghetti sauce for so many recipes!
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This healthy take on slow cooker Bolognese sauce couldn't be easier. Just dump everything in the crock pot in the morning. And spiralize the zucchini noodles when you get home.
This is one of the best recipes for ground turkey in crock pot! It's perfect for meal prep and freezes well so you can use it for multiple meals. Either way, it's an easy slow cooker dinner to make this week.
Easy crock pot Bolognese sauce
What makes this ground turkey crock pot recipe so easy is not browning the meat first. The turkey goes in the slow cooker raw.
The key to getting the right texture is leaving the ground turkey in chunks while it cooks. Just cover it with the sauce—don't mix it in completely (I learned this the hard way). When you break it up after it cooks, it creates a texture more like traditional meat sauce.
The rest of the sauce ingredients are healthy pantry staples that I always keep in the kitchen. They all go into the slow cooker with no pre-cooking, making this dinner quick and easy to throw together in the morning before work.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need for the sauce.
- tomato puree
- tomato paste
- chicken stock
- olive oil
- Italian herb blend
- salt & pepper
- red pepper flakes
- minced garlic
- diced carrots
- diced onion
- ground turkey
Homemade herbes de Provence is a simple swap for the Italian herb seasoning in this recipe. The blend of Mediterranean herbs works in this dish (as long as there is no lavender in it). But you can use any Italian herb blend you like.
How to make slow cooker turkey bolognese
Step 1: Dump all the sauce ingredients - except the turkey - into the slow cooker and give it a good stir.
Step 2: Cut the ground turkey into cubes, pop them into the slow cooker, and cover them with the sauce. Don't stir or break up the cubes at this point.
Step 3: Let it cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Step 4: When the sauce is ready, grab a potato masher and gently break up the turkey into small pieces.
Serving suggestions
Spoon the sauce over zoodles and garnish with chopped fresh basil or parsley.
I also love this turkey Bolognese over spaghetti squash in the Instant Pot or roasted whole in the oven. It gives it a little bit of extra sweetness. Try it over your favorite pasta substitute.
Or use this easy healthy spaghetti sauce in recipes that call for meat sauce.
Crock Pot Turkey Bolognese Sauce
Ingredients
For sauce
- 1 28- ounce can organic tomato puree
- 1 6- ounce can organic tomato paste
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Italian herb blend
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 small carrots diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 pound ground turkey
For zucchini noodles
- 3 - 6 medium zucchini
Instructions
To make sauce
- Add all sauce ingredients except turkey to slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Cut ground turkey into cubes, add to slow cooker, and cover with sauce. Do not stir.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Once the sauce is done, use a potato masher to break up the ground turkey into small chunks.
To make zucchini noodles
- Spiralize zucchini (½ - 1 medium zucchini per serving).
- Heat one tablespoon olive oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Cook zucchini until warmed through but still firm, about 3 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
More easy crock pot recipes
Looking for more healthy slow cooker recipes? Check out these paleo recipes for more easy meal ideas.
- Crock Pot Butternut Squash
- Crock Pot Whole Chicken
- Crock Pot Chili (Paleo, Whole30)
- Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes
- Paleo Crock Pot Chicken Soup
Anne
This sounds delicious and I'm going to try it. I'm wondering what tomato puree is. Is that the same as tomato sauce? Thanks for the great recipe. 🙂
Lisa
Hi Anne, it's just pureed tomatoes so the texture is similar to thick tomato sauce. Hope you enjoy it!
April
Hi! This recipe looks delicious. How many calories is it?
Lisa
Thanks April! I've added the nutrition info above.
BIG SIXX
I'm allergic tomato sauce, so can I use cream of mushroom. An Cream of Chicken , with Ground Turkey. In a Slow Cooker
Amy
Hi there! I love this idea of not needing to brown the meat first! Would it work as well with ground beef?
Lisa
Hi Amy, I haven't tested it with ground beef. You may need to brown the beef separately so you can drain off some of the fat. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Diane T
Beef is too greasy for cooking without draining it.
Lindsey
Can you cook on high instead of low for less time? If so, how long do you recommend? Thanks!
Lisa
Hi Lindsey, I think the flavor is better when the sauce cooks low and slow.
Amy
Would this work prepped ahead of time and frozen in the freezer, then thawed before putting in the slow cooker?
Sabrina
saw this linked on your recent instant pot posts, has not seen it when first published, so glad to see it now, great fall-winter bolognese without the heavy pasta, love this zucchini substitute, thank you!
Lisa
Hope you enjoy it, Sabrina!
Annie
Hi! Do you brown your ground turkey first?
Lisa
Hi Annie, no I don't brown it first - it cooks in the sauce :-).
Ashley Blanchette
Is that 231 calories per serving or altogether? And how big is one serving? I’m trying to use My Fitness Pal but since I don’t know the serving size I can’t finish putting in the other information.
Lisa
Hi Ashley, the recipe makes 6 servings and the nutrition info is for one serving.
Cassidy
This is my favorite go-to bolognese recipe!! Can you also make this in an Instant Pot if you don’t have time to slow cook? If so, what are those instructions? Thanks!
Lisa
Hi Cassidy, I haven't tested this recipe in the Instant Pot yet. I would probably brown the meat first though. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Nicole HH
Tried this as part of my weekly meal prep. Put in the crockpot this morning and had a wonderful dinner this evening. Served over zucchini noodles (zoodles). Husband loved it. Was really filling. Lots of good leftovers for lunch this week. Definitely a new favorite. It truly feels like you are eating a decadent, carb laded pasta meal - but with no guilt!
Lisa
Yay! I'm so glad you love it, Nicole. It's definitely one of my family's favorites!
Noemi
I love zucchini noodles, but I have never tried it with bolognese sauce. I have to try it! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Julie
New favorite ground turkey recipe with lots of left overs!
Lisa
Yay! I'm so glad you love it, Julie!
beckandbulow
lovely recipe