One-Pot Baked Ziti with Sausage

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5 from 2 votes

One-Pot Baked Ziti with Sausage

Italian comfort food that is ready in just around 30 minutes. The perfect weeknight recipe!

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Calories: 350kcal

Author: Geri

Ingredients

1 pound 99% fat free ground turkey
1 small onion
1 tsp dried fennel
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (less if you don't like spice)
dash of nutmeg
1 tsp kosher salt, divided
1 28 ounce can crushed plum tomatoes
1 1/4 cups fat free chicken broth
10 ounces ziti, rigatoni, or penne pasta
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
5 cups packed baby spinach leaves
1 1/2 cups light shredded mozzarella cheese (like Trader Joe's brand)
2 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

OPTION 1: If you want to "marinate" the turkey

Puree onion, fennel, sage, garlic powder, thyme, red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper to taste in a food processor. Then add to ground turkey and let "marinate" covered in the refrigerator for as long as you can, up to 24 hours.
When you're ready to cook, heat a very large saute pan (preferably oven-safe) over medium-high. Brown the turkey in nonstick spray until cooked through, breaking up into pieces as you cook, about 5 minutes

OPTION 2: If you don't have time to marinade and want to just do everything at once

Mince onion as finely as possible. In a very large saute pan, cook the onions in nonstick spray until just translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
Add turkey to pan along with fennel, sage, garlic powder, thyme, red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper to taste.
Raise heat to medium-high and brown the meat, mixing spices in and breaking up the meat into smaller pieces, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes

**All remaining steps are the same no matter which option you choose:

To the cooked meat, add tomatoes, broth, pasta, minced garlic, basil, oregano, and remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Stir until everything is combined.
Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium, and cover. Cook, stirring every few minutes, until pasta is tender, about 12-15 minutes (smaller pasta will take less time). As it cooks, add more stock or water if sauce appears too dry.
When pasta is cooked, mix in spinach and half of the cheese until the spinach is wilted and cheese is combined throughout the sauce.
Top with remaining cheese, cover and let sit until cheese is melted. Or, put the pan under the broiler (if your pan oven safe) to melt and brown the cheese.

Notes

Click here to determine your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe (if you are logged in to your WW app, it should calculate for you automatically). Serving size is 1 2/3 cup

WW Freestyle SmartPoints: 7 for 1 2/3 cup

Nutrition