Ground Turkey Pasta in Romesco Sauce

This easy ground turkey pasta recipe is ready in under 30 minutes and tossed in a Spanish roasted red pepper sauce (romesco sauce)! 

Zucchini noodles are good for so much more than slathering in pasta sauce: you can top it with a poached egg, kale pesto, and so many other sauces. This ground turkey pasta in romesco sauce is another fun and creative way to serve them!

By combining zucchini noodles with a half batch of linguine, we are able to lighten this recipe up. The romesco sauce, made with roasted red peppers, tomatoes, almonds, smoked paprika and red wine vinegar is unique and perfect to jazz up a regular old weeknight dinner!

Recipe video

Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped this recipe. You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.

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Ingredient notes

• pasta- we are using linguine in this recipe, but you can swap for your favorite noodle: spaghetti or spaghettini would both work great as well
• turkey- lean ground turkey adds protein and flavor to this recipe, however you could swap it for lean ground beef, ground pork, or even ground chicken
• bread- while it may sound strange to add bread to a sauce, this helps give the sauce body and thickness. If you are gluten-free, swap for a gluten-free bread. I have not tested without the bread and believe the sauce would be thin without it.
• almonds- traditionally romesco sauce uses almonds to add both flavor and texture to the sauce; I've seen variations that swap for hazelnuts, pine nuts and even hemp hearts, however I can't say whether the flavor will be the same.

Romesco sauce

History

Originating in the northeastern part of Spain, romesco sauce was traditionally served with seafood stews, over fish, or as a condiment (1). The exact ingredients used in romesco varies greatly by chef, though it usually includes ripe tomatoes, garlic, almonds and bread (2).

Thick like a pesto, romesco is one of a kind in both its unique flavor and texture: the nuts and bread give it a thick and somewhat chunky texture, whereas the red wine vinegar, smoked paprika, tomatoes and garlic give it bright, smoky and somewhat tangy flavor.

My goal with this recipe was to introduce you to new flavors that pair well with zucchini noodles. I adapted this recipe to get (in my opinion) the simple + delicious romesco!

How to prepare it

To prepare this romesco, we simply combine in a blender roasted red peppers, cherry tomatoes, garlic, almonds, red wine vinegar, olive oil, torn bread, salt and smoked paprika. Blend until smooth!

I love this Vitamix to get the sauce blended in seconds; if you do not have a stand blender, a food processor would likely get the job done well.

Recipe notes

Making zucchini noodles

You can create zucchini noodles with a few different methods, but I highly recommend investing in a spiralizer (this is the one I own). I have step by step instructions on how to prep and spiralize zucchini that might be helpful to you in how to cook zucchini noodles.

Don’t forget to cut your zucchini noodles up 2-3 times after spiralizing to avoid excessively long noodles.

Prep before cooking

This recipe has a few different components as well as some multitasking required. For the smoothest cooking experience, I recommend that you have all your ingredients out and prepped before you start the actual cooking. It might be best to get the romesco sauce out of the way first, then start cooking the pasta and work your way through the rest of the recipe.

Use tongs to cook the zucchini noodles

If you've never cooked zucchini noodles before, I advise you to use tongs to help stir them up and flip them around. This is the best way to cook them through evenly, and also helps toss the noodles, turkey and linguine up evenly in the sauce.

Storage + meal prep

This recipe keeps surprisingly well for meal prep, but if you do plan to store it for several days, make sure you undercook the zucchini noodles. In fact, you could skip cooking them altogether and simply toss with the sauce (they will cook when you reheat in the microwave).

Storage:

• cool completely, then portion out into meal prep containers
• store in the fridge for up to 4 days
• reheat in the microwave until steaming hot
• do not freeze

Prepping components ahead:

• prep the romesco sauce up to 4 days ahead; store in the fridge
• prep the zucchini noodles up to 4 days ahead; store in the fridge and do not cook until just before serving
• cook the pasta ahead; store for up to 4 days
• cook the ground turkey ahead; store in the fridge for up to 4 days

Variations + ingredient swaps

You could certainly play around with the recipe formula to get your perfect dinner:

• swap the romesco for pesto (this pistachio mint pesto would be amazing!) or marinara sauce
• swap the zucchini noodles for spaghetti squash (see how to cook spaghetti squash) or kohlrabi linguine
• swap the ground turkey for ground beef, pork or chicken; for a vegetarian option swap for white beans
• leave out the linguine and use an extra zucchini to make this lower in carbs

More easy dinner recipes

• Sweet Potato Noodles with Avocado Sauce
• Chicken Satay Salad
• Chili Rubbed Salmon with Avocado Salsa
• Turkey Zucchini Noodle Lasagna
• Pulled Pork Stuffed Zucchini Boats
• Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai
• Sesame Ginger Beef + Zucchini Noodles

Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

Ground Turkey Pasta in Romesco Sauce

5 from 5 votes

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

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Print Rate

This easy ground turkey pasta recipe is ready in under 30 minutes and tossed in a Spanish roasted red pepper sauce (romesco sauce)! 

6

Ingredients

Romesco Sauce:

• ▢ 10 oz jar roasted red peppers drained (300mL; approximately 1 cup)
• ▢ ½ cup cherry tomatoes
• ▢ 1 clove garlic
• ▢ ¼ cup almonds
• ▢ 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ▢ ¼ cup olive oil
• ▢ 1 slice bread torn into pieces
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

Ground Turkey Pasta:

• ▢ 4 oz linguine uncooked; note 1
• ▢ 1 lb lean ground turkey note 2
• ▢ 1 zucchini spiralized (approx 4-6 cups); note 3
• ▢ Parmesan cheese to taste

Instructions 

• In a blender, combine the roasted red peppers, tomatoes, garlic, almonds, red wine vinegar, olive oil, bread, salt and smoked paprika. Blend until smooth, and set aside.
• Cook pasta according to package directions.
• While pasta is cooking, cook the ground turkey in a large frying pan, breaking it up into small pieces. Cook until no pink remains (7-10 minutes).
• Add the spiralized zucchini, and cook, using tongs to move it around in the pan, for 3 minutes.
• Add the cooked pasta to the pan, and toss with the ground turkey and zucchini noodles until evenly distributed.
• Add the romesco sauce to the pan and toss everything to coat.
• Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

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Tips:

1- linguine may be swapped for your favorite pasta noodle; spaghetti and spagettini would both work well

2- ground turkey can be swapped for ground beef, ground pork or ground chicken

3- if you don't have a spiralizer, cut the zucchini into chunks and cook until softened.

Storage

• cool completely, then portion out into meal prep containers
• store in the fridge for up to 4 days
• reheat in the microwave until steaming hot
• do not freeze

Meal Prep

• prep the romesco sauce up to 4 days ahead; store in the fridge
• prep the zucchini noodles up to 4 days ahead; store in the fridge and do not cook until just before serving
• cook the pasta ahead; store for up to 4 days
• cook the ground turkey ahead; store in the fridge for up to 4 days

Variations

• romesco- swap for pesto
• zucchini noodles- swap for spaghetti squash or kohlrabi linguine
• leave out the linguine and use an extra zucchini to make this lower in carbs

Video

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/6 batch, Calories: 315kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 57mg, Sodium: 451mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g

Author: Denise Bustard

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Spanish

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