Main dish

Slow Cooker Turkey Pasta

An easy one-pot slow cooker pasta meal. Chunks of turkey in a rich tomato and herb sauce are mixed with penne pasta and garnished with fresh grated Parmesan

To recipe
Penne pasta with turkey in a rich tomato herb sauce
Recipe insights & TIPS

I think I may have been one of the few people in the country who didn't own a slow cooker. The truth is, I never really though that I needed another appliance jamming up my cupboards. Sometimes being wrong is okay though.

Penne pasta with turkey in a rich tomato herb sauce

I've always loved the slow cooker meals prepared by friends, so it was a nice surprise when Hamilton beach asked me to try their Set and forget 6 Qt Programmable Slow cooker. Right away I started trying to come up with ideas of what I could make. I never knew slow cookers were so popular until I started looking for recipes and there's tons of them available. So far I've used mine a few times and been really pleased with the results, heck I even made a cake in it and it was so easy! For this recipe I used some leftover turkey and mixed it with a few cans of tomatoes, some herbs, red wine, garlic and fresh basil. I added the pasta uncooked and just let the slow cooker work it's magic.

An easy one pot slow cooker meal of pasta and turkey chunks

I know you're thinking you can just make these recipes in a regular pot and shove it in the oven. Well, yes you can but I live in California where it gets really hot and not having the oven blasting for 3-4 hours is a good thing! You can also fire up the slow cooker and take care of some errands with the peace of mind that you're house won't burn down by the time you return home.

Slow cooker tomato sauce with turkey, penne pasta and fresh herbs
A white, fluffy chef's hat with an orange band, logo of Foodness Gracious.

Recipe

Penne pasta with turkey in a rich tomato herb sauce

Course:
Main dish
COOKing TIME:
120 minutes
Total TIME:
140 minutes
CUISINE:
Italian
PREP TIME:
20 minutes
SERVINGS:
8

Ingredients

  • 2 oz cans crushed tomatoes (28)
  • 1 pound cooked (shredded turkey (or rotisserie chicken))
  • 2/3 cups red wine
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/2 cup sliced shallots
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh basil (chopped plus more for garnishing)
  • 3 leaves bay
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 cups uncooked penne pasta
  • Parmesan cheese for garnishing

Ingredient Swaps

Instructions

  1. Add all of the ingredients to your slow cooker.
  2. Stir well.
  3. Set to HIGH and cook for 2 hours.
  4. Stir once more and adjust the seasoning.
  5. Garnish with grated Parmesan and more chopped basil.
A white, fluffy chef's hat with an orange band, logo of Foodness Gracious.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @foodnessgracious on Instagram and hashtag it #foodnessgracious so we can see all the deliciousness!