Spicy Turkey Spinach Roll Ups – Recipe
A hearty satisfying Italian meal fused with a touch of Mexican flare where you control the heat level. Spicy Turkey Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups use crushed red pepper flakes and salsa to bring up the heat. You’re in control, however, so make it mild to hot based on your preference.
Spicy Turkey Spinach Roll Ups are a fun variation of a tradition lasagna where each noodle gets rolled up with all the goodies inside. It’s slightly healthier using ground turkey and spinach, but the kicker is the salsa. Make your roll ups as spicy as you want using mild to hot salsa based on your preference. (And heat tolerance. HA!)
Making Your Assembly Line
While easy to make, there are some steps. Basically, you make all four parts first: the noodles, the sauce, the meat mixture, and the cheese mixture. Get the water boiling for the noodles while you mix the pasta sauce and salsa together. Set the sauce aside. Start the meat mixture on the stove, and while that’s cooking, mix the cheese mixture together and cook the noodles.
Putting Them All Together
Prepare the 13 x 9 baking dish by spreading a few tablespoons of sauce on the bottom and preheat the oven. Next, lay the noodles on top of some parchment paper. Starting with the cheese mixture, spread a heaping tablespoon on each noodle starting from the bottom to about 1 – 2 inches from the top. Leaving that little bit of noodle without anything on it allows you to seal it before everything squishes out. Next, spoon the meat mixture on top of that cheese layer. Almost done.
Starting at the bottom, roll each noodle up, then place seam-side down in the dish. If you used the 12 noodles per recipe, you’ll end up with 3 rows and 4 columns.
Spread the rest of the sauce over the tops of the roll ups and cover with foil. Bake these little darlin’s for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven. Uncover and sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top. Bake for another 10 minutes uncovered. Just before serving, sprinkle some fresh chopped parsley on top and you’re done. Beautiful and delicious!
Spicy Turkey Spinach Roll Ups might even be better the next day. You know how Italian food is, all those flavors marinating in the frig over night. And they freeze well, too.
Spicy Turkey Spinach Roll Ups
Materials
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup onion, (approx. 1 small onion) finely chopped
- 1 lb. ground turkey, (I like Jenny-O Italian Seasoned)
- 1/2 tsp. garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- 12 lasagna noodles
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, (divided)
- 1 egg
- 24 oz. jar pasta sauce
- 1 cup salsa
- 4 cups fresh baby spinach
- 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water and salt, bring to a boil.
- In another large pot, heat olive oil. Add onion and ground turkey, breaking up the turkey as it cooks. Add garlic salt, pepper, oregano, cumin and red pepper flakes. Cook turkey thoroughly (approx. 5 - 8 min.): turkey should always be cooked to an internal temperature of 165°.
- Add lasagna noodles to boiling water and cook as directed on package. Drain and set aside.
- In medium bowl, mix pasta sauce with salsa. Stir 1 1/2 cups into turkey mixture. Add spinach to turkey mixture until spinach is wilted. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer as you prepare cheese mixture.
- In medium bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and egg. Turn off heat from under turkey mixture and preheat oven to 375°.
- Spread about 1/4 cup sauce on bottom of 13 x 9 baking dish. Lay out noodles on top of parchment paper. Spread cheese mixture on each noodle, (approx. 1 heaping Tbsp.) from the bottom of noodle to about 1 - 2 inches short of the top. Spread the meat mixture (1-2 heaping Tbsp.) on top of the cheese.
- Roll the noodles from bottom, place seam-side down in baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over top of noodles. Bake for 30 minutes covered.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle on remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake another 10 min. uncovered. Remove from oven and sprinkle with parsley. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
If you’d like some other great turkey recipes, check these out:
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