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Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese with Zoodles

Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese

While my cravings for comfort food rarely disappear, there are times when I would much rather eat some lighter fare. Especially now, after the holidays, I feel like I’ve had more than my share of rich food, desserts and pasta. I always love veggies and generally eat a pretty balanced diet, but I think it’s been a little out of whack over the last few week. To get my energy back up and to rid myself of those couple of holiday pounds, I’ve been drinking my green smoothies every morning, planning out some healthy leftovers for lunch, and making dinners like this! Still totally delicious, packed full of flavor and something the whole family will eat, but also, a bit lightened up over my traditional bolognese.

Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese

I just love using these whole peeled tomatoes in my sauces that cook all day. They start to break down and leave me with these delicious, kinda sweet and totally flavorful tomato chunks. I also use crushed tomatoes to smooth it out and add some thickness.

Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese

 

This is the perfect sauce for upping your veggies as carrots, celery, onions are garlic are standards. If you would like, you could up it even more with bell peppers!

Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese

I LOVE my for these kinds of tasks! Takes me seconds instead of probably 15 minutes to get a fine dice on my veggies.

Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese

Delicious sauce all ready to go over your zoodles! Of course, you can make traditional noodles as well, but if you haven’t tried some noodles, I can’t recommend it enough! Every time I get out my spiralizer, I kind of go crazy. I’ve been eating butternut squash noodles, sweet potato noodles, you name it!

Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese

I think I love the zucchini noodles the most though for a pasta dinner like this. The flavor is not overpowering and they are super fast to spiralize. You can leave them raw and just pour the sauce over to heat up or you can saute them for a couple of minutes in a skillet with a little olive oil to soften.

Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese

I also love using this for this recipe. I can brown up my turkey right in the slow cooker with the sauté function and this one actually has a simmer function perfect for sauces. If you don’t have one, no worries, a regular slow cooker will work just fine! I’m just always on the lookout for gadgets to make my life a little easier, and since I don’t have to wash up any extra pans, I kinda love this one.

Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese

The overall amount of hands-on work involved for this recipe is pretty minimal and the result is nothing short of an amazing dinner! I recommend you get this one on your January meal plan pronto for a lightened up, veggie packed version of comfort food that you may actually prefer over the original!

Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese

Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese

Jennifer Draper
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Servings 6
Calories 151 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • 28 oz whole peeled tomatoes
  • 14 oz crushed tomatoes
  • 1 carrot, peeled
  • 1 celery stalk
  • 1/4 small yellow onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 2 tablespoons milk (or cream)*
  • 2 large zucchini squash
  • fresh basil slivers, optional
  • fresh grated Parmesan, optional

Instructions
 

  • Cook ground turkey in skillet over medium high heat or sauté in multi-cooker until fully cooked, add to slow cooker
  • Add tomatoes
  • Finely chop carrots, celery, onion and garlic and add to slow cooker
  • Add seasoning and nutmeg
  • Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours
  • Stir to break down tomatoes
  • Use spiralizer to make zucchini into pasta noodles
  • Optional: Saute zoodles in skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil until softened
  • Serve noodles topped with sauce, basil and cheese or as desired

Notes

*to make this recipe dairy-free, simply swap out the cream/milk for almond milk or coconut milk

Nutrition

Calories: 151kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 21gFat: 2gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 334mgPotassium: 902mgFiber: 3gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 2175IUVitamin C: 31.8mgCalcium: 89mgIron: 3.1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @slowcookergourmet or tag #slowcookergourmet!
Important nutritional disclaimer

Slow Cooker Turkey Bolognese

Looking for a more traditional bolognese?

Slow Cooker Bolognese

Slow Cooker Bolognese

Or how about a way to use up the leftovers?

Bolognese Lasagna

Lasagna Bolognese

Or maybe you’d like more zoodle recipes?

Slow Cooker Miso Vegetable Zoodle Soup

Slow Cooker Miso Vegetable Zoodle Soup

Slow Cooker Herbed Turkey Meatballs

Slow Cooker Herbed Turkey Meatballs

Slow Cooker Chicken in Tomato Sauce

Slow Cooker Chicken in Tomato Sauce

4 Comments

  1. Looks delicious! What do you find is different about making up your own recipes in a slow cooker as opposed to without one? I’ve always wanted to try… 🙂

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