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Dinner recipe · from the recipe book

One-Pot Turkey Fideo with Zucchini and Basil

Toasted short pasta simmers right in a smoky cumin-chile tomato broth with browned ground turkey and tender zucchini, finished with fresh basil, lime and crumbled queso fresco.

One-Pot Turkey Fideo with Zucchini and Basil

Ingredients

  • 1 lb450 gGround turkey, 93% lean
  • 10½ oz300 gPasta, dryshort shape such as ditalini or elbows
  • 2 medium400 gZucchinicut into half-moons
  • 1 medium110 gYellow oniondiced
  • 4 cloves12 gGarlicminced
  • 1 whole14 gJalapeñoseeded and minced
  • 14 oz400 gDiced tomatoes, canned
  • 2 tbsp30 gTomato paste
  • 3 cups720 gLow-sodium chicken broth
  • 1½ tbsp20 gOlive oildivided
  • 2 tsp4 gGround cumin
  • 1¾ tsp4 gPaprika (sweet or smoked)smoked
  • 2 tsp2 gDried oregano
  • ¾ tsp4 gSalt
  • ½ tsp1 gBlack pepper
  • ¾ cup leaves20 gFresh basiltorn
  • ½ lime, juiced22 gLime juice
  • ½ cup crumbled60 gQueso frescocrumbled

Steps

  1. Before you start cooking, dice the onion, mince the garlic and jalapeño, cut the zucchini into half-moons, tear the basil and crumble the queso fresco.
  2. Heat half of the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the dry pasta and stir for 3 to 4 minutes until golden and toasty, then tip it onto a plate.
  3. Add the remaining half of the olive oil and the ground turkey to the pot. Cook over medium-high heat, breaking it up, until browned and it reaches 165°F (74°C), about 7 minutes.
  4. Add the onion and jalapeño and cook 4 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano and tomato paste and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
  5. Pour in the canned tomatoes with their juice and the chicken broth, add the salt and black pepper, and bring to a boil.
  6. Stir in the toasted pasta, lower the heat to a lively simmer, cover partly and cook 6 minutes, stirring often.
  7. Add the zucchini and simmer uncovered 4 to 6 minutes more, until the pasta is tender and the sauce has thickened and clings.
  8. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the lime juice and most of the basil. Serve topped with the queso fresco and the rest of the basil.

Contains: Milk, Gluten.

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Saved in the Every Helping recipe book on October 24, 2026.

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