Ground Turkey & Zucchini Pesto Pasta Skillet
Filling but not heavy, pretty but not pretentious, this ground turkey & zucchini skillet dinner should please the whole family. Try it with cheesy garlic bread as we did here, for the perfect easy dinner combination.
Servings 6
Ingredients
for the pasta
- 12 oz box shaped pasta of choice I used farfalle/bowtie
for the turkey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ of a medium yellow onion chopped small
- 8 oz mushrooms chopped
- 1-1.25 lbs ground turkey
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic about 4 cloves
- 2 medium zucchini about 16-20 oz, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 24 oz fresh tomatoes chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
for the sauce
- ¼ cup prepared pesto
- ¾ cup shredded Parmesan
Instructions
- Cook pasta al dente according to package directions, then drain and reserve.
- Meanwhile, cut up your onion, mushrooms, garlic, zucchini, and tomatoes.
- Heat olive oil in a large 14″ skillet over medium-high heat for one minute. Add the onion and mushrooms and saute for four minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are starting to brown and soften.
- Stir in the ground turkey and minced garlic. Brown the turkey over medium-high heat for another 3 minutes, breaking it up as you go. (You’ll still have some pink in there, but we’re going to keep cooking some more, so no worries.)
- Add in the zucchini and cook for another four minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir the tomatoes and seasonings into the skillet. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and let it cook for another 4 minutes or until the zucchini is tender and tomatoes are breaking down.
- Stir in the pesto and Parmesan until the Parmesan is melted.
- Gently stir the cooked pasta into the skillet, until well-combined with the turkey mixture.
- Serve your ground turkey & zucchini pasta topped with additional Parmesan, if desired. (I threw on a little chopped fresh parsley from my garden, too, but that’s totally optional.)
Notes
The zucchini here is softened, yet still has a little bit of a bite. If you prefer yours super soft, just cook it a bit more.