Level up your pasta sauce with this easy, delicious veggie-loaded ground chicken spaghetti recipe. The homemade bolognese-style sauce is made with lean chicken, onion, carrot, zucchini, mushrooms and crushed tomatoes. So flavorful, great for meal-prep and family-friendly!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Not only is it delicious, this sauce is nutritious. Ground chicken is a leaner meat than beef which is traditionally used in a bolognese sauce, keeping the calories down. The addition of all the veggies makes it even more nutrient-dense and provides vitamins and fiber. If you enjoy ground chicken as much as I do, check out this ground chicken stir fry, chicken zucchini boats, and spaghetti squash pizza casserole.
- It's family-friendly! Adults and kids will love this comforting ground chicken spaghetti. And you can easily customize and cut the veggies super small if you feel like "hiding" them.
- This recipe is also great for meal-prepping. It gets better and better every time you heat it up.
- While it's impressive tasting, It's very easy to make! Besides a little chopping, the flavor of the sauce comes together by itself simmering.
Key ingredients and Variations
- Ground chicken: lean and delicious. It can easily be replaced by ground turkey or ground beef too.
- All the veggies: a mix of onion, carrot, zucchini, mushrooms, garlic. They're very tasty, budget-friendly and give the sauce great texture.
- Crushed tomatoes: you'll get the best results with crushed tomatoes. If you only have diced tomatoes, blend them quickly to get more of a saucy texture. You could also use your favorite jarred marinara sauce instead.
- Tomato paste: it had some depth to the sauce.
- Seasoning: I use a mixture of Italian dry herbs or Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Very simple but very tasty.
- Spaghetti: use any kind you enjoy, angel hair, capellini, gluten-free, low-carb, legume-based, zoodles, spaghetti squash. Your pick!
How to make ground chicken spaghetti
- Start by washing and chopping all the veggies small.
- You'll need a large skillet with high sides or a pot.
Heat up oil, then cook the veggies for about 5-6 min, until tender.
Then push them to the side and add the ground chicken, garlic powder, onion powder and cook until no longer pink, about 5 min.
Add the garlic and tomato paste, mix them in and cook for 1-2 min.
Then mix in the crushed tomatoes, water and Italian herbs. Bring to a low boil.
Let the sauce simmer at a low boil for at least 30 minutes.
Once almost ready cook the pasta and serve. Enjoy!
More Chicken dinner recipes
- Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Pineapple Kabobs
- Chicken Chili with Black Beans and Corn
- Air Fryer Chicken Cutlets
- Chicken Pizza with Black Beans & Smashed Avocado
- Creamy Dijon Chicken With Mushrooms and Leeks
Tips
- Let the sauce cook long enough, 30 minutes minimum, ideally longer. Low and slow will develop incredible flavors.
- Don't overcook the veggies. When sautéeing them, you want them to get tender but still have a bite. They'll continue cooking in the sauce. 5-6 minutes is all they need.
- Same with the chicken. Just sautée until no longer pink.
- Season the sauce. Taste as you go and add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Add a little more water if needed if the sauce feels too thick.
- Garnish your spaghetti with fresh parmesan and basil. It'll elevates this recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely.
Yes definitely like a little bit of red pepper flakes.
Leftovers need to be stored refrigerated in an airtight container. I'd recommend freezing the sauce without cooked pasta, and make them fresh when needed.
Absolutely! Skip the ground chicken, add more veggies or use a meatless substitute instead.
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Veggie-Loaded Ground Chicken Spaghetti
Equipment
- large skillet with high sides with lid
- wooden spoon
- pot
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 yellow onion about ¾ cup finely chopped
- 1-2 carrots about ⅓ cup finely diced
- 1 zucchini about 1 cup diced
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms about 6-7 mushrooms
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 4-5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes 1 large can
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 cup water
- fresh shredded parmesan
- fresh basil finely sliced or chopped
- 1 pound thin spaghetti
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat, then add diced onions, carrots, chopped zucchini and mushrooms, salt and pepper, reduce heat to medium and sautée veggies for 5-6 minutes, stirring often.
- Once veggies are tender, push them to the side of the skillet, add ½ tablespoon of olive oil to the empty side, then add the ground chicken, garlic powder and onion powder and cook stirring often for 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.
- Then mix the cooked chicken with the cooked veggies, add the tomato paste and minced garlic to the skillet and cook stirring them in until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, mix everything together.
- Add the cup of water to the can of tomatoes and swirl around to get all the leftover. Then add it to the sauce and mix it in.Bring to a low boil then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered or half-covered keeping it at a low-boil for 30 to 40 minutes
- When the sauce is almost ready, cook pasta per package instructions.
- Once sauce has thickened and flavors have developed, adjust salt and pepper, then serve over spaghetti. Sprinkle with fresh parmesan and fresh basil and enjoy!
Notes
- Pasta: use any kind of pasta you like, spaghetti, thin spaghetti, angel hair or capellini, from wheat, gluten-free, protein, chickpea, lentils. You can even use zucchini noodles to make this dish low-carb, or half regular half zoodles.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
About Priscilla Lawrence, Certified Nutritionist
Hi there, I'm Priscilla Lawrence, a certified nutritionist, recipe developer, food photographer & mom of two. I was born and raised in Paris, France, but have been living in San Diego, California...
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