In honor of my never-ending love of tacos, I want to share a super easy recipe for simply seasoned ground turkey tacos. If you’ve never ventured outside using taco seasoning packets from the store to make your tacos, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to make your own delicious taco meat!
About This Recipe
I could eat tacos all the time. Fish tacos, chicken tacos, carnitas, carne asada, veggies, and shrimp; I love it ALL! Simply cook up the filling, put it in a corn tortilla with some avocado and fixings, and you have an instant dinner. But simple ground turkey tacos are by far the family favorite over here. And it doesn’t get any easier than this recipe. All you need is a handful of spices and a few minutes!
When I know I have a busy week ahead of me, this is one recipe I know I can double or triple and use all week without getting tired of it. I’ve talked before about my love for salads, and this simple ground turkey taco meat gets thrown into my salads regularly! Besides salads, this meat is perfect for taco bowls, tacos, enchiladas, or anything else you want to add some protein to. And EVEN MY BOYS love it. An easy kid-pleaser.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Ground turkey: I chose ground turkey for this recipe because it’s low in fat, and I like the flavor better than the super lean ground beef. I normally grab the 93/7 organic Fulton Farms ground turkey packs from Costco and the macros reflect this. If you use a more traditional 93/7 ground turkey you’ll need to be aware that your macros for each serving of cooked taco meat will change by +4 fat, and – 2.5 protein.
- Seasonings: Garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, oregano, kosher salt, paprika and black pepper.
- Green enchilada sauce: The enchilada sauce adds little moisture and a lot of flavor. But it’s not a deal breaker, so if you’re not a fan of green enchilada sauce, or don’t keep it on hand, just sub a little salsa or even water.
How To Make
- Preheat the pan. When it comes time to cook the ground turkey taco meat, grab your favorite heavy-bottomed pan and heat it over medium-high heat. I love to use my enamel cast iron pan for just about everything, including this recipe! But I recently used my brand new, beautiful Caraway pan and that worked great too! I was amazed at how easy it was to clean.
- Cook the ground turkey. Mist your pan with olive oil and let it heat up for a few seconds. Make sure you’re using one without propellants if you’re using a nice pan! Then add your ground turkey and break it apart into pieces. Let it sit in the pan for a couple of minutes to get some color and then continue to break it apart.
- Add the seasonings. Once it’s no longer pink, add all of your dry seasonings and the enchilada sauce (or water). Stir it to combine. Cook a few more minutes until it’s cooked through. Don’t forget to break apart the larger chunks of ground turkey as it cooks. You want your finished taco meat to fit nicely in your taco shells!
- Enjoy in tacos, bowls, or salads. This turkey taco meat is perfect in tacos, but I like to enjoy it in my bowls and salads as well. It’s super versatile and so YUMMY.
Serving Suggestions
There are so many ways to enjoy this delicious and easy taco meat! I’ve written a whole blog post on What To Serve with Turkey Tacos including ideas for sauces, side dishes and more!
Some of my favorite recipes to use this taco meat with are:
- Sheet Pan Tacos with Jalapeño Avocado Dressing
- Quick Taco Spaghetti Squash Boats
- Fresh and Healthy Taco Salad
- Roasted Veggie and Ground Turkey Bowl
For More Delicious Recipes
- Mushroom Turkey Taco Meat
- Fresh and Healthy Taco Salad
- Chipotle Lime Instant Pot Taco Chicken
- Skinny Crispy Carnitas Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch
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Simple Ground Turkey Tacos
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb 93/7 organic Fulton Farms ground turkey one pack from Costco (671g)
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp oregano
- 1 tsp kosher salt more to taste
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp pepper
- 3 Tbsp green enchilada sauce 45g
Instructions
- Heat a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Add a mist of 100% olive oil spray and let it heat up for a few seconds.
- Add the ground turkey, breaking it apart into pieces. Let it sit for a couple of minutes to get some color, then continue to break apart.
- Add all of your seasonings and enchilada sauce (or water) and combine well. Cook and crumble for a few more minutes until the ground turkey is cooked through.
- Use this ground turkey taco meat in tacos, bowls, salads, and more! I love it as an easy prepped protein to throw in my salads all week!
Notes
- If you use a more traditional 93/7 ground turkey, they’re usually going to be about 8 fat/4 oz. This will change the macros per serving of cooked taco meat by +4 fat, – 2.5 protein.
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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Which type of paparika did you use smokey? Spicy? Regular kind? Hungarian?
Don’t want this to be spicy.
Karen
I wish I would have read the comments before I made this. If you make this, omit the salt!!! We ended up having to throw this out bc it was SO salty.
I’m so so sorry! I wish I could say it was a typo. I’ve learned I like things saltier than most, so I need to keep that in mind! Just edited the recipe to say 1 tsp. Should have done that a while ago now that I’m seeing these comments. So sorry Lauren!
I love Lillie’s recipes and the fact that they are on My Fitness Pal. However, I made this recipe and it was VERY salty. It calls for 1 TBSP of salt. I think it must be a typo. I’m not sure if you even need salt with all of the other spices.
I LOVE this recipe- it’s the perfect taco meat. You’d never guess it’s Turkey! I do wonder should the salt be one teaspoon instead of a tablespoon?
Any green enchilada sauce ?
Loved it! Even my super picky husband loved it after raising an eyebrow to turkey tacos. Only thing I changed was added some chicken broth just to change the consistency a little. 🤤