Lean ground turkey, fresh vegetables, and whole grain pasta come together quickly for this nutritious weeknight dinner your entire family will love.
With all the recipes out there in cookbooks, magazines, newspapers, and on the internet, do you ever scratch your head and wonder, “What should I make for dinner tonight?” Here to the rescue is my recipe for Garden Turkey Meatballs and Spaghetti.
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Instead of using the dried Italian herbs called for in the recipe, I used about 1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh basil. Think of fresh herbs like you would a vegetable. They’re packed with antioxidants … not to mention great flavor.
As for the pasta, for this recipe, I used a whole wheat blend spaghetti, but sometimes I use 100% whole wheat. (If your kids shy away from whole wheat, toss with pasta sauce; no one will know the difference.)
- Serves: 6
- Serving size: 4 Meatballs, 2oz pasta
- Calories: 440
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated fat: 2.5g
- Carbohydrates: 56g
- Sodium: 650mg
- Fiber: 8g
- Protein: 32g
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 2 medium carrots (about 6 ounces), peeled and grated (about ⅔ cup)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ½ cup quick-cooking oats
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed or wheat germ
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- One 26-ounce jar pasta sauce
- 12 ounces whole wheat or whole wheat blend spaghetti
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly oil or coat a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Place the ground turkey, carrots, egg, oats, Parmesan cheese, flaxseed, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix until just combined.
- Shape the meat mixture into twenty-four 1½-inch balls. Place on the prepared baking sheet and cook until lightly browned, 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the pasta sauce in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cover and bring to a simmer. When the turkey meatballs come out of the oven, add them to the sauce, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the meatballs are fully cooked and have absorbed some of the sauce flavors, about 20 minutes.
- While the sauce and meatballs are simmering, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain, transfer to a large bowl or platter, and serve with the sauce and meatballs on top.
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