As comforting and delicious as pasta is, it tends not to be the most low-carb friendly meal around. Anyone following the keto diet or low-carb diet will tell you that they’re more likely to make this bolognese sauce with zoodles recipe over a traditional pasta dish.
The reason this recipe is well-loved by people on keto and low-carb diets is that instead of using high-carb pasta to prepare this meal, you use zucchini noodles, also known as zoodles.
Thanks to the invention of the spiralizer, you can turn almost any veggie into spiralized strands that mimic the look and feel of spaghetti. Zucchinis work especially well for dishes like this because they are firm enough to hold up under the weight of the bolognese sauce, yet tender enough to mimic the feel of pasta.
In addition, zucchini makes a great neutral base for the flavorful sauce to shine on top, rather than compete with the sauce. If you don’t have a spiralizer, you can easily buy store-bought zoodles at most natural food stores these days.
The bolognese sauce is made with ground turkey, but you can use ground beef if you like. We often use ground turkey because it’s a bit leaner than beef. We also use ingredients like wine, garlic, onion, and oregano to spruce up the sauce and make it as flavorful as possible. Since the zoodles underneath aren’t a big source of flavor in the dish, it’s important that your sauce on top isn’t bland.
An added bonus to this bolognese sauce with zoodles recipe is that the zoodles only take a couple of minutes to cook, making this recipe much quicker than your traditional pasta dish. Healthy, fast, and yummy — you can’t beat that!
Summary |
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Cook time: 35
Prep time: 15
Idle time:
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Level
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Servings:
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Ingredients
- For the Zoodles:
- 6 medium zucchini spiralized
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- For the Bolognese Sauce:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb. ground turkey (or ground beef)
- 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Spiralize your zucchini noodles and lay them out on a paper towel to dry. You can add a sprinkle of salt to the zoodles to help with this process.
- Begin preparing your bolognese sauce by placing a large skillet over medium heat. Add the tablespoon of olive oil and warm until hot. Add the onion and celery, and sauté until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another 30 seconds, until the garlic is fragrant.
- To the skillet, add the ground turkey and use a wooden spoon to break the turkey up into crumbles. Cook until the ground turkey is browned and no longer pink.
- Add the rest of the sauce ingredients to the pan, stir, and simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes.
- When the bolognese sauce is almost ready, prepare your zucchini noodles. Take out a large skillet and place it over medium heat. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil into the skillet and add the garlic. Sauté until fragrant. Add the zucchini noodles in (with a pinch of salt if you didn't sprinkle them with salt while they were drying), and cook for 2-3 minutes until the zucchini noodles are tender.
- To serve, scoop zucchini noodles onto a plate and top with a heaping scoop or two of bolognese sauce on top.
Additional information
Recipe adapted from eatyourselfskinny.com
