One Skillet: Turkey Spinach Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce is super fast to make, cooks in one pot and tastes like a dish you would order in your favorite Italian Restaurant!
I have to admit, I surprised myself with this one! It was one of those nights that I had nothing planned (happens all the time) for dinner and just started grabbing ingredients that I had in my pantry and fridge. I never in a million years thought I would end up with such a spectacularly delicious and easy to make dinner...but I'm telling you, some kind of magic happened in that skillet!
The star of this dish is the sauce; it's rich and creamy, bursting with flavor and best of all, it makes itself! Everything goes into one skillet, cooks for less than 30 minutes and you're ready to eat!
One Skillet: Turkey Spinach Pasta with Tomato Cream sauce reminds me of Pasta Alla Vodka meeting and marrying Farfalle Carbonara... a marriage of the Gods for sure! Just ask yourself, what could possibly be better than bacon, cream, tomato & cheese??? Maybe some Vodka? Hmmm, you just might see a variation of this recipe coming soon on The Salted Pepper!
What you'll need for One Skillet: Turkey Spinach Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce:
- Bacon
- Onion
- Ground Turkey
- Garlic
- Farfalle Pasta (Bowtie)
- Chicken Stock
- Tomato Paste
- Heavy Cream (half and half is pictured, but I threw caution to the wind and used heavy cream instead!)
- White Cheddar Cheese
- Spinach
- Salt & Pepper
Step One:
Cook bacon in a cast iron skillet or large saute pan. I would suggest using a thick cut bacon for this recipe, my favorite is Oscar Meyer Apple Wood Smoked Bacon. You can purchase it at your local grocery store. If you only have regular thin bacon, use 4 slices instead of 2. Once the bacon is cooked and crispy, remove from pan and drain on paper towels. Leave bacon grease in skillet or saute pan.
Step Two:
While Bacon is cooking, dice up an onion. When bacon has been removed from pan, turn heat to medium and add diced onion and ground turkey, salt & pepper to the bacon grease. When ground turkey is cooked half way (about 5 minutes), add in minced garlic. Continue cooking until ground turkey is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Step Three:
Add Farfalle (Bowtie) pasta to skillet and chicken stock. Boil for about 7 minutes, the pasta should be still slightly hard.
Step Four:
Add tomato paste and stir to combine, add in cream and simmer on low for about 5 minutes or until pasta is al dente and sauce begins to thicken.
Step Five:
Grate the Cheddar cheese. I recommend using a good quality sharp white cheddar cheese. I really like the one I get from Sam's club, Black Diamond Sharp Cheddar. Add the cheese to the simmering pasta and stir to combine. Add spinach and stir. Add bacon and stir. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until spinach is wilted and sauce has thickened. Serve & Enjoy!
One Skillet: Turkey Spinach Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce is so decadent, no one will believe it takes just 30 minutes to make!
One Skillet: Turkey Spinach Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 Pieces Thick Cut Apple Wood Smoked Bacon
- ½ Vidalia onion diced
- 8 ounces Ground Turkey
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Pepper
- 4 Cloves Garlic minced (about 1/1/2 teaspoons)
- 1 ½ Cups Farfalle Pasta
- 2 ½ Cups Chicken Stock
- 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 1 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 Cup Cheddar Cheese
- 4 Cups Fresh Spinach
Instructions
- In a cast iron skillet or large saute pan, cook bacon until crispy. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels
- Dice onion and add to bacon grease in skillet. Add ground turkey, salt and pepper, saute on medium until turkey is ½ way done, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and continue to cook another 5 minutes or until turkey is cooked through
- Add Farfalle pasta and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and cook about 7 minutes, pasta should still be slightly underdone.
- Add tomato paste and cream. Reduce heat to medium low or until you have a constant simmer. Cook for 5 minutes or until pasta is al dente and sauce begins to thicken.
- Add cheese, bacon and spinach, stir to combine. Simmer on low for 2-3 minutes or until spinach has wilted and sauce has thickened.
- Serve & Enjoy
Terri Johnson
ful wonde
Barbara Cardinal
This tastes wonderful but I could not get the sauce to thicken up even though I added an additional cup of cheese. I think part of it might be that I doubled the recipe and the shear volume of spinach may have added too much liquid to the pot. I am sure it will be better tomorrow.
Louise
Hi Barbara! Sorry it didn't thicken and I think you are 100% correct that the spinach did create more liquid. I will also say that this is a very old recipe of mine and although I know it worked when I made it, I was just getting started with writing recipes and I really need to revisit and remake all of them so I can improve the recipe writing and make sure they will work for everyone.
Wendy
My second attempt may have been even better than the first if that is possible! Mushrooms were on sale, and we LOVE mushrooms. I sauteed a 12 oz. package of them first with a tablespoon of butter in my 3-1/2 quart Le Creuset Braiser. Then, I deglazed the pan with chicken broth (adding the chicken broth plus fond to the rest of the broth) after removing them from the pan. Afterwards, I followed all of your steps as described, returning the mushrooms at the cream and cheese step. WOW - deliciousness!!!! It was a huge hit in our household!!! Thanks, Louise!!! You'll make a Cordon Bleu master chef out of me yet!!! Tomorrow, I plan to make your Pumpkin Pie Custard Cups.
Louise
I love mushrooms too! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Katie
This lacked flavor for us. For how “guilty” this recipe is between the bacon, cream, and cheese, it didn’t seem worth it. If I were to make it again I’d add seasonings while browning the turkey and then top it with fresh basil.
Louise
That's interesting because it was bursting with flavor when I created the recipe years ago. I just looked at the recipe and I think I know what the issue is. I used a very sharp (almost too sharp) and very flavorful white cheddar cheese, so I can see how it might be bland if you used a different cheese. I'll reevaluate the recipe and improve it.
Wendy
This morning I was browsing through the recipes on this site when I came across this one. It looked simple with only a few ingredients and no aromatics. I wondered how it could be delicious, but I decided to give it a try, because I've come to trust Louise's judgment and talent for recipe development, Boy, was I pleasantly surprised! The key to making this is not to skimp on the quality of the ingredients. I bought thick cut applewood smoked bacon and Cracker Barrel extra sharp white cheddar cheese. I prepared the dish in my Le Creuset 3-1/2 quart cast iron braiser. The house was filled with the aroma of smoky bacon, onions and garlic! My husband ambled into the kitchen asking what I was making for dinner, because it smelled so good! This dish is a treasure! You don't want to miss out on this one! I served it with a side salad, "Sister Schubert's" dinner yeast rolls and a glass of wine.