Tri-Pepper Turkey Pasta from the stove

This Turkey Pasta with three kinds of peppers is sure to become a family favorite! Perfect for busy weeknight dinners and also hearty Sunday suppers.

When we're in the middle of a busy week, and it's cold and dreary outside, pasta is always a good idea.

We love pasta. Do you, too?

Pasta is something that We could eat every night, if the body would let me. Now We make it about once or twice a week. And We love how there are so many great options now for pastas: gluten-free pastas, whole grain pastas, zoodles – options galore!

Tri-Pepper Turkey Pasta

In the many years of cooking, We've got a LOT of favorite pasta recipes. This Taco Mac & Cheese pasta recipe has become a friend & family fave, a dish that We will now often bring to parties and potlucks at friends' requests.

When we're feeling a little fancy, We break out the Shrimp Fettuccine with Vodka Tomato Sauce recipe. And the Vegan, Dairy-Free Alfredo is the go-to comfort food that helps me still enjoy creamy pasta sauces.

But even older than all of those favorite pasta recipes is this one for Tri-Pepper Turkey Pasta. It's one that We have been making for the husband since before we got married, and We first shared here on Felnu way back in 2008 (more than a decade ago!!).

It's been with us for a LONG time. We love it so much, that We make it about once a month now for the family. We finally decided to update the recipe with more recent photos from one of the last times We made this dish.

This recipe makes enough for the husband and me, our two kids, one hungry dinner guest, and lunch leftovers for all.

Ingredients and substitutions

As with most of the recipes, this tri-pepper turkey pasta recipe is so simple to customize to your own family's taste preferences.

Here are some ideas for substitutions:

• Use Italian sausage instead of lean ground turkey
• If you want a "meatier" richer pepper flavor, use all red peppers and skip the slightly sweeter orange and yellow peppers
• Don't like basil? Substitute with thyme, oregano, or rosemary.
• You can use any pasta shape you like, but the ones that go best with this recipe are the ones that can act like vessels for the pepper sauce: think fusili, rotini, gemelli.

Baked pasta option

If you can tolerate dairy and love it, try adding ricotta cheese to the mix of ground turkey and peppers, add cooked pasta, place into a baking dish, sprinkle with generous amounts of mozzarella cheese, and bake in 375 degree oven until set for a super tasty baked pasta dish.

OH MY GOODNESS, you guys, this way of preparing the tri-pepper turkey pasta recipe is amazing! We love it, and if We could enjoy it this way more often, We would. If you try it, let me know how you like it!

You may also like this Pasta with Sausage, Peppers, and Corn recipe.

Best wine pairing for this pasta dish

This tri-pepper turkey pasta goes beautifully with an Italian Barbera or Nebbiolo. The bright acidity in Barbera wines make it a great match for the hearty pasta and sauce, especially if you decide to use Italian sausage instead of ground turkey. Nebbiolo wines also go famously with tomato-based sauces and if you decide to add the dairy options We've included with this recipe, a Nebbiolo will help bring out the flavors of the cheeses.

Tri-Pepper Turkey Pasta

By Marlynn Schotland Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 20 mins Total Time: 30 mins Servings: 4 people This hearty pasta dish is simple to customize to your family's taste. It comes together fast, and is an amazing weeknight dinner that is sure to become a family fave – as it is in mine!

Ingredients

• 1 lb rotini, fusili, or gemeli pasta (or any corkscrew-shaped pasta)
• 3 Tbs olive oil, divided – plus more for sauce if necessary
• 1/2 cup or so sliced onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 de-stemmed, cored, sliced red bell peppers
• 1 de-stemmed, cored, sliced orange bell pepper, s
• 1 de-stemmed, cored, sliced yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 cup half & half or coconut milk for a dairy-free option
• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 2 tbsp basil – either dried or fresh chopped
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese, or nutritional yeast for dairy-free, optional

Instructions

• Prepare pasta according to package directions.
• In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Do a little dance, because the people who make olive oil deserve it.
• Add sliced onions, all three peppers, and minced garlic to the skillet and sauté until slightly tender.
• When peppers are simply tender enough, add peppers, onions, and garlic mix into a food processor to cool for a bit. Make sure you've got a medium or large food processor. Sprinkle your dried basil or your finely chopped fresh basil on top of the pepper mix.
• While pepper mix is cooling, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the same skillet and start to brown the ground turkey.
• While meat browns, blend the pepper mixture plus your half & half or coconut milk in the food processor for about a minute, simply until you get the consistency you prefer.
• Add the blended pepper mixture to the ground turkey as soon as the turkey is cooked enough. Stir the pepper mixture and the ground turkey until the pepper mixture is distributed evenly throughout.
• The pasta should be done by now. Drain pasta water and add cooked pasta to the ground turkey pepper mixture. Add salt & pepper to taste, plus fresh parsley and/or grated romano cheese and voila!

Notes

PORTION NOTE: the more peppers you use, the heartier the sauce, so feel free to add more peppers if you wish. We usually stick to 1 to 1.5 of each type of pepper, with more of the red pepper than the orange and yellow. If you want a sweeter sauce, go with more yellow or orange pepper. Simply be aware of the shift in flavor and texture of sauce based on your portions of peppers. To make this dairy-free, We use Thai Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk and Bragg Nutritional Yeast. 

Nutrition

Calories: 764 kcal, Carbohydrates: 96 g, Protein: 45 g, Fat: 23 g, Saturated Fat: 9 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9 g, Trans Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 68 mg, Sodium: 184 mg, Potassium: 959 mg, Fiber: 6 g, Sugar: 8 g, Vitamin A: 3158 IU, Vitamin C: 174 mg, Calcium: 108 mg, Iron: 4 mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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This post was originally published on this blog on October 12, 2008. It has been updated with new photos and current content.