Spaghetti and Zoodles with Vegetable Bolognese

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Tender spaghetti noodles are paired with crisp zucchini spirals for a lighter, more textured base. The hearty vegetable Bolognese sauce simmers with a medley of carrots, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes, seasoned with garlic, herbs, and a splash of red wine for depth.

I’m back to pasta this week! I just can’t quit. I’ve been using my spiralizer a lot to make zoodles which I really enjoy and while my husband thinks they taste fine, he prefers actual pasta noodles.

What are Zoodles?

Zoodles are noodles made from zucchini that have been spiralized or cut into long, thin strands resembling pasta. They’re a popular low-carb and gluten-free alternative to traditional noodles.

One of the first recipes I made with zoodles was Zoodles with Vodka Sauce which was definitely yummy. I’ve also made Chicken Parmesan over top of zoodles which adds a good bit of nutrients from the zucchini.

I’ve been thinking about combining half pasta and half zucchini noodles to see if that made any difference in our pasta. We’d still get the benefits from the zucchini and it would be half the carbs and calories as all pasta.

Of course just making pasta and zoodles with a jar of sauce wasn’t going to cut it. I wanted to make a sauce that would go with the pasta.

I recently saw one for a vegetable bolognese sauce with the option of adding in a small amount of ground beef with a lot of vegetables.   I figured if I was going to try and make the pasta healthier, I might as well make the sauce healthier.

As it turned out, when I went in the freezer all I had was ground turkey instead of beef. It’s pretty light but still tasty and I thought it would go well with the vegetables. The sauce is made with ground turkey, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, carrots, and onion. I also added in a touch of red wine to give it some depth.

Do I have to use meat in the sauce?

No!  This vegetable bolognese is delicious just using the vegetables.  The small amount of ground beef, chicken, or turkey adds a ton of flavor but it is definitely not needed.

I poured the sauce over top of the spaghetti and zoodles combination and it looked amazing. You couldn’t even tell there were zoodles in with the spaghetti. I let my husband be the judge of how he liked the pasta and sauce.

He thought it was great! He liked how filling the vegetable and meat sauce was and had no idea it was turkey instead of ground beef. He also loved the spaghetti and zoodles.

He said if I hadn’t told him half of it was zoodles he would have never known. I thought it was a delicious meal and and it was half the calories of traditional spaghetti with meat sauce.

Can I use all zoodles or all noodles?

You sure can!  If you want to make it vegetarian and low carb go with all zoodles.  If you prefer your bolognese with carbs then go for the pasta instead!

Spaghetti and Zoodles with Vegetable Bolognese

Spaghetti and zoodles combined with a hearty vegetable and turkey bolognese sauce.

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Author: Hezzi-D

Ingredients

• 8 oz. spaghetti noodles cooked and drained
• 2 zucchini cut into noodles with a spiralizer
• 1 large onion chopped
• 8 oz. lean ground turkey
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 1 green pepper chopped
• 8 oz. mushrooms finely chopped
• 1 28 oz can finely diced tomatoes
• 3 Tablespoons red wine
• 1 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon fennel
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Instructions

• Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and keep warm.
• Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Spray it with cooking spray. Add the onion, ground turkey, and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring to break up the turkey.
• Add in the pepper and mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes or until all of the liquid is going.
• Pour the tomatoes and red wine into the skillet and mix well. Stir in the tomato paste, oregano, parsley, fennel, sea salt, and pepper.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Place 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over low heat. Add the zoodles and cook for 2 minutes. Add in the pasta and cook for 2 additional minutes.
• Place spaghetti and zoodles on a plate and top with the sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Adapted from Cooking Light