Healthy Bolognese Sauce (2024)

Healthy Bolognese Sauce is a delicious, hearty dinner. Paleo, Whole30 friendly and loaded with flavor – this hidden veggie bolognese is one you’ll love!

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Healthy Bolognese Sauce is one of the most comforting and delicious recipes. Heartier than regular tomato sauce, you can pile it high on top of zucchini noodles or your favorite pasta.

This classic dish is typically higher in fat, but I’ve come up with a lighter version that brings ALL the flavor while being veggie loaded and good for you!

Table of Contents

If you never had bolognese sauce, you might be wondering what the difference is from regular tomato sauce.

What makes this bolognese sauce healthy?

ALL the veggies – There are over 12 cups of veggies in this sauce. Meaning each serving of sauce has at least 2 servings of vegetables in it! Even the pickiest of eaters will enjoy this because you can’t even tell they’re hidden in there

Low in fat – Healthy fats are good for us, but typically bolognese can be high in fat from the meat used, making it somewhat greasy. This sauce is made with turkey, keeping it low in fat

SO easy– This sauce is so simple to make. I prefer to make it in the crockpot but you can also make it on the stove top in under an hour.

No dairy– Some bolognese sauces use heavy cream. This doesn’t need it.

Even though this bolognese sauce is healthy, it really doesn’t taste like it. The veggies give SO much flavor to this, and when let it cook low and slow in the crockpot (or on your stove) the meat becomes so tender.

We love our regularHealthy Crockpot Tomato Sauce with Ground Beef Meatballs or Turkey Meatballs, but make this for a nice change up all the time. It’s delicious and simple!

P.S. – If you love crockpot recipes, check out theseHealthy Crockpot Recipes!

Healthy Bolognese Ingredients

To make healthy bolognese sauce you’ll need

onion, garlic, carrots + celery
spices: salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
fresh herbs: basil & parsley
ground turkey
crushed tomatoes

You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded substitutions box.

The key to this recipe is cutting the vegetables SUPER finely. This is difficult to achieve with a knife. I use my food processor.

How to make Healthy Bolognese Sauce:

Making bolognese sauce is easy!

Brown your veggies
Remove veggies from pan and brown your meat
Add it all in the pot (or slow cooker) and let it cook! As I mentioned before – make sure you chop your veggies VERY finely.

This is an affiliate link for the food processor I use. It’s under $20 and will make cooking/chopping veggies SO much easier. I use it every day!

Once the sauce cooks, it thickens up and has such a rich delicious texture. It seriously is SO delicious and your whole house will smell heavenly.

Substitutions for Ground Turkey Bolognese

Meat: You can use ground beef or ground chicken in this recipe. I wouldn’t recommend using ground pork only because I think it would be a little bit fatty – but it would work. You can also try thisRosemary Chicken Sauce if you want a chicken breast recipe.

Wine:You can add 1/2 cup of red or white wine to this before turning it on to cook if you are not strict paleo/Whole30. It’s not necessary but it does add flavor.

Storing Turkey Bolognese Sauce

Storing: This sauce actually gets better as the days go on and the flavors have time to meld together. This bolognese sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. We like these containers for freezing!

Freezing:You can freeze it in an air tight container.If you freeze this sauce, when you’re ready to reheat, simply defrost the night before and warm on the stovetop.

What defines a Bolognese sauce?

Bolognese sauce is a ragu that’s made from a mix of ground meat + vegetables. It is typically made with wine and milk and served over pasta.

Regular tomato sauce typically doesn’t have meat in it and is much thinner.

My version of bolognese sauce is paleo, Whole30 friendly, gluten free and dairy free – however – you can totally doctor it up if you don’t follow any of those diets. I love it with parmesan cheese on top – and have included some other substitutions for you below!

How to prevent soggy zucchini noodles

I commonly get asked how to avoid watery zucchini noodles. I have two tips for you on how to avoid soggy zucchini noodles.

REALLY squeeze the water out of them- I use a thick, absorbent (and clean!) dish towel and squeeze the water out of the noodles, hard. The towel should be damp when done. I then lay the zucchini noodles out on a paper towel lined baking sheet or bowl until I’m ready to use them.
Don’t add in the zucchini noodles to the dish until you are ready to serve. If you’re meal prepping, you can place the chicken/veggie mixture into a container and place your raw zucchini noodles on top. When you’re ready to eat, microwave or heat over the stove to avoid mushy noodles.

We hope you love this hearty, delicious meal! It’s one of our favorites and is always a hit when served to family/friends.

If you love ground turkey, check out these Healthy Ground Turkey Recipes!

FAQ for Turkey Bolognese

What is the difference between Bolognese sauce and spaghetti sauce?

The main difference between bolognese sauce and spaghetti sauce is that bolognese sauce is made with ground meat while spaghetti sauce is made with just tomatoes. Typically bolognese sauce is made with a mix of ground pork and ground beef, while spaghetti sauce is just made with tomatoes and has no meat. Sometimes bolognese doesn’t have tomato in it.

Are meat sauce and Bolognese the same?

Meat sauce and bolognese are often used interchangeably and they can be the same thing. Bolognese sauce is made from ground meat, but meat sauce can be made with larger pieces of meat like seared pork or beef.

What can you not put in Bolognese?

Bolognese is a very versatile recipe. There isn’t much you ‘can’t’ put in it. Typically bolognese is made with ground pork and ground beef, onions, garlic and tomatoes.

What pasta shape is best for Bolognese sauce?

Pasta shapes that have crevices are best for bolognese because they help collect the sauce. Fusilli, cavatappi are some of our favorites. Noodles or flat pasta are delicious but don’t grip on to the sauce as well.

Other healthy Italian dinner recipes:

Chuck Roast Pasta Sauce
Whole30 Stuffed Peppers
Rosemary Chicken Sauce
Healthier Alfredo Sauce
Pasta Primavera
Pasta Fagioli
Vegan Penne Alla Vodka
Meatball Spaghetti Squash Boats

Healthy Turkey Bolognese Sauce

Recipe by: Liz Marino

4.90 from 19 votes

Healthy Bolognese Sauce is a delicious, hearty dinner. Paleo, Whole30 friendly and loaded with flavor – this hidden veggie bolognese is one you’ll love!

WW Freestyle Points 1

Prep Time : 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time : 1 hour hour

Total Time : 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Serves : 4 1.5 cup servings

(hover over # to adjust)

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Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1.5 cup carrots minced finely
2 tablespoons garlic minced finely
1 cup onion minced finely
1 cup celery minced finely
56 oz cans crushed tomatoes (2 28 oz cans) low salt
1/2 teaspoon salt optional
1 teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup fresh basil chopped finely
¼ cup fresh parsley chopped finely

Instructions

Crockpot Instructions:

In a pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Brown ground turkey for 5-7 minutes. When fully cooked, remove from pan and set aside, reserving the juices/grease
Add carrots, garlic, onion and celery. Saute until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add cooked ground turkey + veggies, along with tomatoes, spices + herbs into crockpot base
Stir to combine. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
Serve over pasta, zucchini noodles, rice, or whatever you like best!

StoveTop Instructions:

In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Brown ground turkey for 5-7 minutes. When fully cooked, remove from pan and set aside, reserving the juices/grease
Add carrots, garlic, onion and celery. Saute until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add cooked ground turkey back to the pan, along with tomatoes, spices + herbs.
Stir to combine, and bring to a boil over high heat.
Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour, uncovered, on medium- low heat, stirring every few minutes.
After 1 hour you can serve this sauce, but it’s best when simmered on low heat for 6-8 hours. This allows the flavors to come together and for the meat to be super tender.
Serve over pasta, zucchini noodles, rice, or whatever you like best!

Notes

SUBSTITUTIONS FOR THIS RECIPE:

Meat: You ca use ground beef or ground chicken in this recipe. I wouldn’t recommend using ground pork only because I think it would be a little bit fatty – but it would work. You can also try thisRosemary Chicken Sauce if you want a chicken breast recipe.

Wine:You can add 1/2 cup of red or white wine to this before turning it on to cook if you are not strict paleo/Whole30. It’s not necessary but it does add flavor.

Dairy: I prefer bolognese sauce without milk, but traditional bolognese does call for it. You can 1/2 cup whole milk to this recipe if you’d like.

Veggies: I have also made this with 1 cup chopped mushrooms added and it was delicious. If you don’t have a certain amount of veggies, you can mix and match with others. A little less of carrots or celery, etc – will not drastically affect the taste.

Nutrition Facts

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