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I have been making ground turkey meat sauce quite often lately, as it keeps me full, satisfies my Italian cravings and has less calories and fat than meat sauce made with ground beef.

Normally, I like to pair meat sauce with some sort of starch or side, whether it is paleo (sweet potatoes or zoodles), or not paleo (brown rice or quinoa). But lately, I have really been liking eating my meat sauce with broccoli, in the form of broccoli rice (aka broccoli cut up into small pieces). 🙂

Spicy Ground Turkey Meat Sauce and Broccoli Rice Bowls (paleo, GF) | Perchance to Cook, www.perchancetocook.com

I got the idea to do this one night as I was eating a bowl of ground turkey meat sauce and broccoli, and found myself cutting up the broccoli into smaller pieces on my plate so that it would be easier to scoop up.

I thought hmmmm I should really just cut the broccoli into tiny pieces in advance and put it in a bowl… which resulted in many different variations of this meal until…

I came up with these Spicy Ground Turkey Meat Sauce and Broccoli Rice Bowls.

Spicy Ground Turkey Meat Sauce and Broccoli Rice Bowls (paleo, GF) | Perchance to Cook, www.perchancetocook.com

Now, I know that cauliflower rice has been all the rage lately. But I find broccoli rice to be just as good! I didn’t grate the broccoli to do this, though.

All I did for this broccoli rice is thinly slice the raw broccoli florets, which resulted in a crumpled up texture.

For the stems of the florets, I cut those into rice-sized pieces, but I did not use the stem of the head of broccoli.

I then cooked all of this broccoli rice in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil for 5 minutes.

Easy peasy.

Spicy Ground Turkey Meat Sauce and Broccoli Rice Bowls (paleo, GF) | Perchance to Cook, www.perchancetocook.com

I made my normal meat sauce recipe but added mushrooms, paprika, chili flakes, and chili powder to give the sauce some extra punch.

I find that adding spices keeps my palate satiated and this keeps me from wanting more.

(Oh, the tricks of the wedding diet 🙂 )

Spicy Ground Turkey Meat Sauce and Broccoli Rice Bowls (paleo, GF) | Perchance to Cook, www.perchancetocook.com

I love how pretty these bowls are, by the way… the red and green color just pop together!

However, the truth of the matter is that I do not eat these bowls like this… I’m a mixer-upper.

I literally mix up everything that I eat no matter what it is… kind of like this. 🙂

Enjoy!

Spicy Ground Turkey Meat Sauce and Broccoli Rice Bowls (paleo, GF) | Perchance to Cook, www.perchancetocook.com
Spicy Ground Turkey Meat Sauce and Broccoli Rice Bowls (paleo, GF) | Perchance to Cook, www.perchancetocook.com
5 from 2 votes

Spicy Ground Turkey Meat Sauce and Broccoli Rice Bowls (paleo, GF)

Servings: 4
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Spicy Ground Turkey Meat Sauce and Broccoli Rice Bowls (paleo, GF) | Perchance to Cook, www.perchancetocook.com
A homemade turkey meat sauce served up over broccoli rice for a tasty paleo main course.

Ingredients 

  • 2 tsp olive oil, , divided
  • 1/2 cup of diced yellow onion, (this was 1/2 onion for me)
  • 2 Tbs diced garlic, (this was 4 cloves for me)
  • 1 red pepper diced
  • 1 1/2 cups of sliced button mushrooms, (this was 14 mushrooms for me)
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, , sliced in half
  • 3/4- 1 pound of lean ground turkey breast
  • 1 1/2 Tbs tomato paste
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground paprika
  • 1/4 tsp crushed chili flakes
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1 1/2 cups strained tomatoes, (Pomi is my favorite)
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 Tbs water
  • 1.5 heads of broccoli, , cut/slice the tree parts of the florets into “crumbles” or rice

Instructions 

  • In a large pan, add 1 tsp of olive oil, 1/2 cup of diced yellow onion, and 2 Tbs diced garlic and heat over medium heat, mixing every so often for 3 minutes. Add the diced red pepper, mix, and cook for another 3 minutes.
  • Add 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms to the pan, mix, and good for about 6 minutes. Then, add the halved cherry tomatoes to the pan, mix and cook for 3 minutes.
  • Add the ground turkey to the pan, along with 1 1/2 Tbs of tomato paste, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp ground paprika, 1/4 tsp crushed chili flakes, and 1/4 tsp chili powder. Mix everything together well and let the meat cook about 7-8 minutes, until cooked through.
  • Add 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce to the pan, along with 1/2 tsp of dried basil, 1/2 tsp of dried oregano, and 2 Tbs of water. Mix and let everything boil for 7-8 minutes.
  • While the meat sauce cooks, take out a large frying pan and put 1 tsp of olive oil on it. Put the crumbles of broccoli onto the pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until green and fragrant.
  • Serve the meat sauce on top of the broccoli rice.

Nutrition

Calories: 391kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 57gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 936mgPotassium: 1962mgFiber: 10gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 3096IUVitamin C: 264mgCalcium: 175mgIron: 6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
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3 Comments

  1. I made this recipe exactly and it turned out delicious! I love ground turkey. Went well with steamed broccoli. Great recipe! Easy for meal prep.5 stars