Instant Pot turkey bolognese
A rich, slow-tasting meat sauce of turkey, vegetables, tomatoes and a splash of milk, made in the Instant Pot in under an hour.
- 55 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $2.42 a serving
- 600 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
- 1½ lb ground turkey
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup milk
- 1 can crushed tomatoes, 28 oz
- 1 lb spaghetti
- ½ cup grated parmesan
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ tbsp salt, 1½ tsp for the sauce, the rest for the pasta water
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 bay leave
Each serving has about 600 calories, 37 g protein, 74 g carbs and 18 g fat, and costs about $2.42 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No ground turkey? Ground chicken works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No spaghetti? Fettuccine works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Set the Instant Pot to and heat the oil. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook 5 minutes, until soft.
Sauté. Sautéing means cooking cut-up food in a little oil or butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring now and then. It cooks things quickly and browns them lightly without burning.
How you’ll know: You hear a steady, lively sizzle, not a hiss and spit, and the edges start to soften and color.
Timer: 5 min
Add the turkey, 1½ teaspoons of the salt and the pepper and cook 6 minutes, breaking it up into fine , until no pink remains.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Timer: 6 min
Food safety: Ground turkey and ground chicken are done at 165°F, with no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Add the garlic and tomato paste and 1 minute.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Turn off , pour in the milk, and scrape the bottom of the pot clean.
Sauté. Sautéing means cooking cut-up food in a little oil or butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring now and then. It cooks things quickly and browns them lightly without burning.
How you’ll know: You hear a steady, lively sizzle, not a hiss and spit, and the edges start to soften and color.
Dolly’s tip: The milk makes the sauce silky and tender, and scraping now keeps the pot from scorching.Pour the crushed tomatoes over the top and add the Italian seasoning and bay leaf. Don’t .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Lock the lid, set the valve to Sealing, and cook on High Pressure 15 minutes. Let the pressure release on its own 10 minutes, then vent the rest.
Timer: 25 min
While it cooks, bring a large pot of water with the rest of the salt and cook the spaghetti as the package says. .
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
High heatTimer: 10 min
Fish out the bay leaf, set the pot to , and the sauce 5 minutes, , until thick.
Sauté. Sautéing means cooking cut-up food in a little oil or butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring now and then. It cooks things quickly and browns them lightly without burning.
How you’ll know: You hear a steady, lively sizzle, not a hiss and spit, and the edges start to soften and color.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Timer: 5 min
the spaghetti with some of the sauce and serve with more sauce and parmesan on top.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Dolly’s tip: Freeze the leftover sauce in portions. It keeps 3 months.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Chicken parmesan casserole
50 min
Rotisserie chicken alfredo bake
50 min
Chicken spaghetti
65 min
Baked ziti with ground beef
55 min
High-protein dinners ›Make-ahead and freezer-friendly ›What to make with pasta and parmesan ›What to make with canned tomatoes and parmesan ›What to make with canned tomatoes and pasta ›