Turkey Bake with Whole Wheat Pasta

59 Reviews

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 45 min
Ready In: 1 hr

“My husband and I LOVE pasta, but with our new diet and exercise plan, pasta is not our friend, so here's a way to make it a little easier for us to enjoy our faves!” - by Jessica

Ingredients

1 (16 ounce) container low-fat ricotta cheese
1 (8 ounce) package shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced, or more to taste
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (1 pound) package whole-wheat penne pasta
1 pound ground turkey
1 (13.5 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce

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Metric US

Original recipe yields 8 servings

Directions

Preheat an oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Stir the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl; set aside on counter to allow to come to room temperature.
Bring a pot of water to a boil; cook the penne in the boiling water until cooked through yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
While the pasta cooks, place a skillet over medium heat. Crumble the turkey into the skillet; cook and stir until the turkey is completely browned. Drain and add to the pasta.
Spread 2 tablespoons of the spaghetti sauce into the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish; stir the rest of the spaghetti sauce into the pasta and turkey mixture. Spoon about half of the pasta mixture into the baking dish; top with the cheese mixture and spread into an even layer. Spread the remaining pasta mixture over the cheese layer. Cover with aluminum foil if desired.
Bake in the preheated oven until slightly brown on top, about 30 minutes.

Nutrition

Amount Per Serving (8 total)

Calories
478 cal
24%

Fat
15.5 g
24%

Carbs
49 g
16%

Based on a 2,000 calorie diet

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Reviews (59)

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amanda

Sep. 2, 2009

"Very good quick dish, but I did make a lot of changes. I added alot more garlic and next time will throw the garlic in the beef at the end of the saute time to cook it a little. I also added a bit of ..." See morecrushed red pepper flake to the cheese mixture and meat. After the meat was cooked I sauted some veggies too and threw those is. I used onion, red and yellow pepper and zuchini. I also used a little more sauce and added some basil and oregano. Very tasty and we will have leftovers for a week! Which I love. "

Jenn

Oct. 13, 2009

"Yum, yum, yummy. My family loved it. All three kids had second helpings, which is highly rare. I made a small change because I hate when people completely change a recipie and then rate it. I adde..." See mored some italian herb season to the turkey as I cooked it. Only becuase I'm not a fan of plain ground turkey. Everything else the same and it was so good. The only problem I had is that it did not heat through enough. Next time I will crank the heat up to 350 and cook for 35-40 minutes. Also, definitely cover with foil. Ours was a little dry on top."