Turkey Taco Spaghetti
In a dinner rut? Turkey Taco Spaghetti to the rescue! This baked spaghetti casserole combines two family favorites of tacos and spaghetti, making it the ultimate weeknight dinner to make sure everyone is happy!
Would you believe me if I told you even food bloggers get in dinner ruts? Well, this one certainly does. Big time. Especially during the summer! With school back in session, though, I'm ready to get my act together and be better about meal planning. Lucky for all of us, this Turkey Taco Spaghetti is an easy dinner idea that my whole family loved, that will for sure be a go-to dinner during the week.
I created this recipe because it's a combination of two of my kids favorite things: taco night and pasta night! If I'm ever low on dinner ideas, those are my simple go-tos, so why not make a dish that is both of those things?! This turkey taco spaghetti recipe starts with traditional spaghetti, which is cooked to package directions. To the spaghetti, a sauce made of a combination of ground turkey, onion, bell pepper, corn, green chiles, taco seasoning, and marinara is added. The entire mixture is layered with cheese in a baking dish and baked to cheesy perfection!
Ingredients in Turkey Taco Spaghetti
- Spaghetti
- Ground Turkey - you can definitely use ground beef or ground chicken, too.
- White Onion
- Red Bell Pepper
- Taco Seasoning - taco seasoning is a combination of chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, paprika, oregano, and salt. You can make your own from scratch or use store-bought!
- Frozen Corn
- Marinara Sauce
- Diced Green Chilies
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese - shredded sharp cheddar or shredded Mexican cheese blend both work!
- Diced Green Onions - for topping
- Other Optional Toppings: sliced avocados, chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream, sliced jalapeno, green onion
How to Make Turkey Taco Spaghetti
This Turkey Taco Spaghetti is a quick weeknight dinner that is so easy to make! It's a great recipe for the entire family - it's taco night in spaghetti form.
Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9x13" casserole dish.
Cook the spaghetti. Bring a large stockpot or dutch oven of water to boiling and cook the spaghetti according to pasta directions. I cook it al dente since it will be cooked more in the oven.
Cook the turkey. In a large skillet, cook the turkey over medium to medium-high heat in olive oil, breaking it up as it cooks. Add the onion and bell pepper, followed by ¼ cup water and taco seasoning to make the turkey mixture.
Prep the filling. To the turkey meat mixture, add the frozen corn, marinara, and green chiles. You could also throw in a can of drained and rinsed black beans, too, if you'd like!
Combine. Add the filling/sauce to the spaghetti noodles and mix well to combine.
Bake. Transfer half of the spaghetti mixture to the prepared casserole dish, top with half of the cheese, and then repeat with the remaining spaghetti and cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. You want the cheese melted and the casserole bubbling!
Serve. Serve this topped with green onions, fresh cilantro, pickled jalapeños, sour cream, and any of your favorite taco toppings! The best part is always the toppings!
Storage. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Turkey Taco Spaghetti FAQ's
Can I use a different type of ground meat?
Definitely. Ground beef and ground chicken would both be great substitute for lean ground turkey in this recipe.
Can this be made into a freezer meal?
Yes! I tested this taco spaghetti bake as a freezer meal, and it works great. Simply prepare the turkey taco spaghetti casserole up until baking. Cover with foil and freeze. Once you are ready to make it, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Add 5-10 minutes to the baking time to account for the colder starting temperature.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Also, yes. You can make this 1-2 days in advance up until the baking instructions and simply store in the refrigerator until you're ready to bake. Add 5-10 minutes onto the baking time to account for the colder starting temperature.
Can this recipe be halved?
Definitely. I actually like to make this whole recipe and split it into two 8x8" baking dishes. I make one for that day and then I freeze the other one. The 8x8" dish is the perfect serving size for our family of five (with three young kids).
Turkey Taco Spaghetti Variations
- Meat swap - use ground beef, ground chicken, or shredded chicken instead of ground turkey.
- Add beans. Add a can of drained black beans to the filling.
- Add salsa. Add a small jar of mild or medium heat salsa or rotel tomatoes to the filling for even more taco flavor.
- Different pasta. Use a different type of noodle if that's what you have. Penne, rigatoni, fettuccine, and elbow macaroni would all be great.
- Different shredded cheese. I use shredded cheddar cheese but a Mexican blend or Colby jack also work well.
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Turkey Taco Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- ½ white onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper stem and seeds removed, diced
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1 ½ cups frozen corn
- 24 ounces marinara sauce
- 4 ounces diced green chiles
- 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- chopped green onions for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray a 9x13" baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cook the spaghetti according to package directions.
- While the spaghetti is cooking, prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the turkey, onion, and red bell pepper.
- Cook, breaking up the turkey into smaller pieces as it cooks, and stirring well.
- Add the taco seasoning along with ¼ cup of water, and stir well to combine, cooking until the water has thickened.
- Add the corn, marinara, diced green chiles, and stir well to combine.
- Add the sauce to either the large pot that the spaghetti cooked in or a large bowl with the cooked spaghetti, and stir well to combine.
- Add half of the spaghetti mixture to the baking dish.
- Sprinkle 1 ½ cups of the shredded cheese evenly on the spaghetti.
- Top the cheese with the remaining spaghetti mixture and then sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the casserole is bubbling.
- Note: you can also refrigerate before baking if you want to prep this ahead of time. Simply add 5-10 minutes to the baking time to account for the colder starting temp.
- Serve topped with chopped green onions. Enjoy!
Notes
- Meat swap - use ground beef, ground chicken, or shredded chicken instead of ground turkey.
- Add beans. Add a can of drained black beans to the filling.
- Add salsa. Add a small jar of mild or medium heat salsa or rotel tomatoes to the filling for even more taco flavor.
- Different pasta. Use a different type of noodle if that's what you have. Penne, rigatoni, fettuccine, and elbow macaroni would all be great.
- Different shredded cheese. I use shredded cheddar cheese but a Mexican blend or Colby jack also work well.
This is excellent and one of my favorites. It uses real cheese not Velveeta and I love the marinara coating the noodles. I don't care for diced tomatoes as much like in most recipes. I used two small cans of tomato sauce and about a half a cup of enchilada sauce and a sprinkle of chili powder but used only about 2/3rds of the taco seasoning packet. I used minced dried onions instead too and didn't put in the red peppers. The cheese melted really nice in it. I only heated it for about 15 minutes. Easy and can be a staple recipe to modify if you want!