This Spicy Ground Turkey Pasta is an ideal weeknight dinner — quick to make and full of flavor.

I love spicy food. My refrigerator door is always lined with jars and bottles of sauces, pastes, and spice blends. When I cook, I often spread them across the counter and experiment. That habit can make simple, fast dinners feel like more work—until I found a spice blend that changed everything.
My new go-to is Ayoba-Yo Spice Blend. This single jar combines sea salt, coriander, Worcestershire powder, and black pepper into a bold, balanced mix that often replaces several individual seasonings. Because it’s so flavorful on its own, I can streamline meals without sacrificing taste.
Besides the spice blend, Ayoba-Yo also offers biltong, a soft, well-seasoned jerky that makes a great Paleo-friendly snack.
This pasta came together easily: I cooked it in the morning, refrigerated it, and we enjoyed it for dinner. I added Asian-inspired notes — ginger, rice vinegar, and coconut aminos — to complement the spice blend, but you can easily adapt the dish to Mexican, Italian, or Indian flavors.
I used a grain-free chickpea pasta for this version. My family usually prefers traditional pasta, but the Ayoba-Yo blend masked the chickpea flavor so well they couldn’t tell the difference. That’s always a sign of a keeper recipe.

Serve this with a crisp Caesar-style salad and you’ve got a comforting, satisfying meal.

Healthful ingredients in this recipe include:
Turkey — A lean protein with a favorable protein-to-fat ratio that helps you feel full without excess calories. Turkey provides important B vitamins and selenium. This recipe uses ground turkey, which eliminates skin and excess fat.
Coriander — The dominant component of the Ayoba-Yo blend, coriander supports digestion and adds a bright, citrusy note.
Ginger — A warming root used in traditional Chinese herbal practice (known as Sheng Jiang). Fresh ginger supports immune function and helps counter seasonal transitions and damp, chilly weather.
Ghee — Clarified butter with the milk solids removed. It offers a buttery flavor, a higher smoke point than regular butter, and is lactose-free. Ghee contains compounds like conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) that have been associated with cardiovascular benefits.

- 8 oz pasta, cooked al dente and drained (I used a grain-free chickpea pasta)
- 1 lb ground turkey
- Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 tbsp Ayoba-Yo spice blend
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp date or coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp ghee
- Fresh basil leaves, for garnish
- Heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
- Add the ground turkey and break it up with a wooden spoon.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- When the meat is no longer pink, stir in the Ayoba-Yo spice blend and tomato paste. Cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes.
- Add the grated ginger, sugar, rice vinegar, and coconut aminos. Stir to combine.
- Reduce heat to low and let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes to meld flavors.
- Remove from heat and stir in the ghee and cooked pasta until well combined.
- Garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve warm.
