• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sweet Peas and Saffron

meal prep recipes for busy people

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • All Recipes
    • Meal Type
      • Appetizers
      • Breakfast
      • Desserts
      • Drinks
      • Lunch
      • Salad
      • Sides
      • Soups & Stews
    • Method
      • Air Fryer
      • Grill
      • Instant Pot
      • One Pot Meals
      • Oven
      • Slow Cooker
    • Diet
      • Dairy-Free
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Carb
      • Nut Free
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
    • Main Ingredient
      • Beans
      • Beef
      • Chicken
      • Eggs
      • Lentils
      • Pork
      • Seafood
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Meal Prep
  • Meal Prep
    • How to Meal Prep
    • Vegetarian
    • Chicken
    • Beef
    • Breakfast
  • Instant Pot
    • Instant Pot 101
    • Chicken
    • Side Dishes
    • Vegetarian
  • Dinner
    • 30 Minutes
    • One Pot Meals
    • Salad
    • Soups & Stews
    • Casseroles
    • Instant Pot
    • Slow Cooker
  • Freezer
    • Vegetarian
    • Chicken
    • Casserole
    • Crockpot Freezer Meals
    • Chicken Marinades
    • Freezer Meal Do's & Don'ts
  • Shop
  • Start Here
    • Start Here
    • Denise Bustard of Sweet Peas & Saffron
    • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Meal Prep
  • Instant Pot
  • Dinner
  • Freezer
  • Shop
  • Start Here
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    One Pan Orecchiette with Ground Turkey and Zucchini

    August 11, 2015 by Denise Bustard 44 Comments

    Home / Recipes / One Pot Meals / One Pan Orecchiette with Ground Turkey and Zucchini

    Jump to Recipe

    Simple, delicious, and easy to prep, this one pan orecchiette with ground turkey has summery zucchini, lemon zest, parmesan cheese and sliced almonds. Get dinner on the table quickly and make clean up a breeze!

    There are so many reasons to love one pot pasta: less dishes to wash, simpler to cook, and the pasta absorbs so much flavor while it cooks. My family loves one pot black bean fajita pasta, and sun dried tomato chickpea pasta, but when summer rolls around? This one pan orecchiette with ground turkey is on repeat.
    side angle view of One Pan orecchiette in skillet

    While typically we use a pot for one pot pasta, this orecchiette cooks up in a large skillet. And this skillet? It's loaded up with fresh, summery flavors: zucchini, lemon zest and peas.

    It's a nice change from tomato sauce-based pasta, and a well-rounded meal.

    Reasons you’ll ♡ one pan orecchiette

    • it's a fresh, summery meal
    • it all cooks up in a single pan
    • leftovers keep well for easy reheat meals

    overhead view of orecchiette with zucchini, ground turkey and peas

    Sauté ground turkey first

    We start this recipe off by sautéing the ground turkey. This adds extra flavor and improves the texture of the ground turkey. It also gives us the chance to discard any liquid that seeps out while cooking. After cooking through, transfer the ground turkey to a clean plate.

    The flavor base

    Next, we start building the flavor base of our sauce. First, we sauté onions until soft and translucent, around 7 minutes. Next we add garlic, and sauté for 1 minute only. This ensures that the garlic does not burn. Sauteeing onions and garlic transforms their flavors from sharp to mellow and slightly sweet, and this provides a great base of flavor for our sauce.

    After cooking the onions and garlic, we deglaze the pan with white wine. Add the wine to the pan and scrape all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Simmer the wine until reduced by half, as this ensures the alcohol evaporates off.

    Finally, we add the chicken stock, pasta, salt and cooked turkey. As it simmers, the pasta absorbs the flavorful cooking liquid, while also releasing starches that help thicken the sauce.

    The vegetables

    After ten minutes, we add the zucchini to the pan. This ensures that our zucchini does not overcook. Adding the zucchini at the start would leave you with mushy, texture-less zucchini that is not appetizing.

    After ten more minutes, we add the peas and lemon zest. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed and pasta is cooked through.

    The final touches

    To serve, sprinkle with generous amounts of parmesan cheese and a few sliced almonds. I do not recommend skipping the parmesan as it generously seasons the pasta, however feel free to skip the sliced almonds if you wish.

    close up view of cooked one pan orecchiette recipe

    Other types of pasta

    This recipe has only been tested with orecchiette pasta, small 'hat-shaped' noodles, so I can't guarantee that other shapes will work. With that being said, I've found small pasta shapes cook similarly in one pot pasta recipes.

    If you do swap another pasta shape, here is some advice:

    • swap for similar-shaped pasta: penne, shells and macaroni may work
    • do not use lentil, chickpea or other alternative pastas: they have different cooking and water requirements and may not work in this recipe
    • stay away from large pasta shapes: lasagna noodles, rigatoni, etc

    Meal prep tips

    This recipe keeps really well for meal prep. Here are some tips to help you meal prep with it:

    • reheat- reheat single serve portions in the microwave until steaming hot
    • freezing- I have not tried, but I do believe it would freeze/thaw alright. Thaw completely in the fridge before heating in the microwave
    • chop ahead- you can pre-chop the onion, garlic and zucchini up to 4 days ahead to cut down on your dinner prep time

    overhead view of one pan orecchiette sprinkled with parmesan cheese

    More pasta recipes

    • Freezer One Pot Pasta Packs
    • Orzo Pasta Salad with Feta
    • Greek Chicken Pasta Salad
    • Kale Chicken Pasta Salad
    • Chicken Caprese Pasta Bake
    one pot orecchiette with ground turkey and zucchini in skillet
    Print Recipe
    3.67 from 3 votes

    One Pan Orecchiette with Ground Turkey and Zucchini

    Course: Dinner
    Cuisine: American
    Calories: 406kcal
    Author: Denise Bustard
    Servings: 6
    Simple, delicious, and easy to prep, this one pan orecchiette with ground turkey has summery zucchini, lemon zest, parmesan cheese and sliced almonds. Get dinner on the table quickly and make clean up a breeze!
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time35 mins
    Total Time45 mins

    Ingredients

    • 1 lb/500g ground turkey
    • 1 onion diced
    • 3 cloves garlic minced
    • ¼ cup white wine
    • 4 ½ cups chicken stock
    • 3 cups orecchiette
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 3 cups zucchini
    • 2 cups frozen peas
    • zest of 1 lemon roughly 1.5 tbsp
    • ¼ cup sliced almonds
    • ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese

    Instructions

    • In a large skillet, cook the turkey until no pink remains. Set aside on a paper towel lined plate.
    • Add onion and cook for 5 or so minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and stir for one minute.
    • Add the white wine and scrape up all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until reduced by half, around 2 minutes.
    • Add the chicken stock, orecchiette and salt, and add back the turkey. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the zucchini and cook for another 10 minutes (stirring frequently), or until pasta is cooked through and sauce has thickened.
    • Stir in the lemon zest and frozen peas. Cook for 3 minutes.
    • Serve with almonds and parmesan cheese.

    Notes

    Storage
    Store cooked pasta in the fridge for up to 4 days.
    • reheat- reheat single serve portions in the microwave until steaming hot
    • freezing- I have not tried, but I do believe it would freeze/thaw alright. Thaw completely in the fridge before heating in the microwave
    • chop ahead- you can pre-chop the onion, garlic and zucchini up to 4 days ahead to cut down on your dinner prep time
    Recipe tips
    • this recipe has only been tested with orecchiette and I cannot guarantee it will cook the same way with other pasta shapes

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1/6 of batch | Calories: 406kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 770mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @SweetPeaSaffron or tag #sweetpeasandsaffron

    About Denise Bustard

    Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more. read more

    Previous Post: « Bruschetta and Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushroom Caps
    Next Post: Caramel Bourbon Root Beer Float Recipe »

    Primary Sidebar

    https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/about

    Hi, I'm Denise

    Meal prep took me from feeling constantly stressed out about meals to cool, collected and in control. I want to share this amazing and transformational habit with you, so you can feel in control, too!

    Read more about it here!

    POPULAR

    overhead shot of 7 easy stir fry sauces on gray background

    7 Easy Stir Fry Sauce Recipes

    freezer bags labeled and filled with chicken and seven different chicken marinades

    7 Chicken Marinade Recipes You Can Freeze

    overhead shot of sweet potatoes lined up with text showing number of minutes to cook each

    PERFECT Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

    overhead shot of blue mason jar filled with crispy chickpeas

    ULTRA Crispy Air Fryer Chickpeas

    pile or air fryer chicken breasts with one sliced

    20 Minute Air Fryer Chicken Breast

    collage image that says 33 healthy lunch ideas for work

    33 Healthy Lunch Ideas For Work

    FREE EMAIL COURSE

    Meal Prep Quick Start Guide

    Tips & strategies to get you prepping...fast!

    In Season

    overhead view of spiralized pasta with egg in bowl

    Spiralized Pasta with Egg and Asparagus

    fork taking a bite out of the lemon pepper salmon

    Lemon Pepper Salmon Sheet Pan

    overhead shot of farro arugula salad with a soft boiled egg in glass meal prep container

    Farro Arugula Salad (Meal Prep)

    Close up shot of multiple healthy rhubarb muffins

    Healthy Rhubarb Muffins

    Pile of sauteed green beans with garlic butter on gray plate

    Sautéed Green Beans with Garlic Butter

    close up shot of a bowl of instant pot carrots with honey glaze

    Instant Pot Carrots with Honey Glaze

    Footer

    logos

    · Copyright © 2012 - 2020 Sweet Peas & Saffron · Nutritional Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Comment and Copyright Policy | Implemented by WPopt