Turkey Cheeseburger Bacon Pasta satisfies that craving for burger flavors at home without having to break out a grill and plan to have buns and toppings in your house. It’s a meal that no one in my house complains about – on occasion I even get a helper in the kitchen.
Why this dish is greater than boxed meal kits
Hamburger Helper and similar box meal kits are convenient to have on hand when you don’t have time to plan, but there is a lot of salt and preservatives. This recipe is flavorful without using tons of added salt or fat. The ingredients you use, bacon, chicken broth, and cheese, already have a lot of salt and fat so you don’t need to be adding lots of it yourself. Since you have this recipe, you can save these kits for real emergencies when you absolutely have no time to figure out dinner.
There’s not too much planning needed for this one-pot meal. Things like onions, celery, milk, chicken stock or broth, and noodles are usually on hand in my house and re-stocked on a regular basis. If you are chopping vegetables for this dish, you can easily chop extra onions and celery for soup or stir fry the next day. In addition, one-pot meals make cleaning up after dinner much easier and gets you to bed sooner or gives you a little extra time to prep the next meal.
Health benefits of one-pot meals
I love one-pot meals because the vegetables are mixed in with the meat and starch. When my son was younger, he would work hard to pick out the vegetables. Now, he just shoves everything in his mouth because there are more important things to do like play sports or video games. Anything that makes it easier to get the vegetables in the mouth is a win.
One-pot meals also help get a consistent ratio of vegetables to meat and starch in each helping. When someone gets seconds, the next helping is not just more starch and meat while ignoring a salad. The extra fiber from the vegetables will help you to digest the rest of the food so you don’t have tummy trouble later.
The video shows how to make the base recipe without added vegetables. So far our favorite vegetables are sliced mushrooms, broccoli, or bell peppers. Just add the chopped vegetables with the ground meat and cook until the vegetables start to soften; the vegetables will finish cooking while the noodles cook.
Find more easy meals to cook throughout the week here:
Turkey Cheeseburger Bacon Pasta
Equipment
- 1 large cutting board
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 5 Quart pan or 11" chicken fryer
- 1 plate
- Paper towels
- measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 4 strips bacon sliced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 celery ribs diced
- pound ground turkey
- 8 ounces button mushrooms sliced
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 4 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 12 ounces egg noodles
- 2 cups cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat pan on high heat. Add bacon to the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the fat is rendered out. Remove the bacon and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Dispose of the fat in the pan.
- Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the ground turkey and cook for about 5 minutes until its cooked through and most of the water from the turkey has evaporated.
- Add mushrooms and black pepper. Stir to combine and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add egg noodles, chicken broth, milk, and salt. Stir until everything is combined. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cover. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Taste the noodles to make sure they are cooked through. Once cooked, turn off heat and add cheddar cheese. Mix until the cheese is melted and mixed into the sauce. The sauce will thicken further as it cools.
