This Bolognese Sauce Recipe combines a blend of Cream, Cheese and Turkey. Perfect for topping pasta, rice or spiralized veggies!
I love meat sauce recipes for many reasons. First of all they’re delicious. Secondly everyone in my home loves them. But the number one reason is they are simple to throw together for a quick and easy weeknight meal!
I’ve made marinara meat sauce for years. It was always a great way for me to throw together a healthy, tasty dinner that I knew everyone was going to love.
Last week that Marinara meat sauce got changed up a bit with this Creamy Cheesy Turkey Bolognese Sauce Recipe.
What’s The difference between Bolognese Sauce and Spaghetti Sauce?
I actually always thought that Bolognese Sauce was just basically Marinara Sauce with meat in it. However, that’s not true.
Marinara meat sauce is what I’ve been making for years. It’s a bit more simple, basically tomato sauce with ground meat added to it. Bolognese Sauce has a few more complex ingredients. It usually includes some other liquid base as well as tomato, such as broth, cream, or wine. Of course, there are many many different recipe variations of Bolognese Sauce. For more on the differences between the two click here.
How do you thicken watery Bolognese Sauce?
My son absolutely despises watery sauce! This Bolognese Sauce Recipe shouldn’t give you any problems with that unless you don’t add all of the ingredients…such as the flour.
Adding flour or cornstarch to a recipe will thicken any sauce you’re making. Another way to thicken a sauce is in the length of time you cook it. The longer you cook your sauce….without covering it….the thicker it will become.
This method is called reducing. The liquid slowly evaporates leaving you with a thicker base.
How do you thin Bolognese Sauce that is too thick?
If you’ve made your Bolognese Sauce too thick don’t fret. Maybe you cooked too much liquid out or added too much flour. You can easily thin your sauce back out by adding, whatever your liquid base was, back into it. In this Bolognese Sauce Recipe that would be the chicken broth. Just add a small amount at a time until it reaches the consistency you like.
Is Bolognese Sauce fattening?
Any recipe can be made in a lower calorie version. If you’re watching your waistline there are simple substitutes that you can use. For example, you can use lean meat such as turkey as I did in this recipe. Also, using half and half, light cream or milk in place of heavy cream will still give you the creaminess but maybe not quite as creamy. Light cheese can also be substituted in place of full fat cheese.
Topping spiralized veggies instead of pasta or rice is another great way to save on calories. I used my Bolognese Sauce on some Butternut Squash Noodles. It was delicious and I didn’t miss the pasta one bit!
Creamy Cheesy Turkey Bolognese Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground Turkey
- 1 Medium Onion ,diced
- 2 Medium Carrots ,peeled and diced
- 1 Clove Garlic ,minced
- 1 Cup Chicken broth
- 1/2 Cup Heavy cream or half and half
- 1 Tablespoon Flour
- 1 ,28 ounce can Ground peeled tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon Dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon Red pepper flakes ,optional
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Cup Shredded cheddar cheese
- Fresh basil for topping ,chiffonade
- 1 Tablespoon Olive oil ,for sauteeing
Instructions
- In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
- Add onions and carrots and sautee until onions are translucent. About 5 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add ground turkey and cook until browned, tossing to cook through. About 5 minutes.
- Add dried basil, red pepper flakes,salt and peppr
- Add flour to mixture and toss to combine.
- Stir in chicken broth and cook for 3-5 minutes. Should be bubbling and thickened.
- Add ground peeled tomatoes and stir to combine. Once it begins to boil reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Add cream and cheese and stir in to combine. Cook for one minute and remove from heat.
- Serve over pasta, rice, or spiralized veggies and top with fresh basil
Nutrition
How will you serve this Bolognese Sauce Recipe?
The other great thing about this Bolognese Sauce is that you can serve it in multiple ways. Make both pasta and spiralized veggies for multiple options. That way you can please everyone in the family whether they’re watching their waistline or not.
For more on spiralizing veggies check out my Autumn Harvest Butternut Squash Noodle Recipe .
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