How To Cook Ground Turkey (And Make It Taste Delicious)

This mouth-watering flavor packed ground turkey recipe is sure to make your taste buds sing. It combines a tantalizing blend of spices with the juiciest ground turkey you'll ever make to create a dish that's to die for. And what's even better is that you can also make some incredible ground turkey tacos from this recipe too! Not to mention the whole process of putting it together couldn't be simpler. In fact, in you can have it ready and on the table in under 15 minutes.

The Best Ground Turkey Recipe

If you've been wondering how to cook ground turkey the best way possible, this recipe is the answer.

The reason I say "the best way possible" is because the turkey actually turns out juicy - which is a rare occurrence with most turkey recipes. Couple that with the fact that it's also super flavorful and crazy easy to make, and you've got something special. At least I think you do,

Seriously, this is easily one of my absolute favorite ground turkey recipes to make for myself and for the fam, so I hope you love it just as much. It's an especially big hit on taco Tuesday night.

Plus, as I mentioned just a second ago, it couldn't be easier to cook up. You literally just have to add the ground turkey and a few pantry staples to a skillet and cook everything together for just a few minutes.

Yep, it's literally as simple as that.

By the way, if you end up making tacos with this ground turkey recipe and you want to put a low carb spin on 'em, then I definitely recommend making these low carb tortillas to make your tacos with. My dad is obsessed with making 'em that way.

Ingredients

As I mentioned earlier, you'll need just a few pantry staples to make this ground turkey recipe. And, honestly, there's a good chance that you have most - if not all - of them on hand already.

Anyway, here's what you'll need to make it:

• 1lb. ground turkey
• ½ tablespoon garlic powder
• ½ tablespoon cumin powder
• ½ tablespoon chili powder
• ½ tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon paprika powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoon water or enchilada sauce

And for assembling the tacos - if you decide to make 'em:

• Flour or corn tortillas
• Mixed greens salad
• Sliced or chopped
• Chopped cilantro
• Lime wedges

Petty basic stuff, right? 

You can even use a lot of the same spices I mentioned here to make this chorizo recipe as well. It's another recipe that doubles as an awesome taco meat filling!

How To Cook Ground Turkey 

Now that we've covered all of the ingredients, it's time to get cooking!

And again, this recipe couldn't be easier or quicker to make. You basically just saute the ground turkey, season it in your spices, and then put together your turkey tacos - that is, of course, if you're making them - however you want. Seriously, that's all there is to it!

With that said, let's jump right into the details of this ground turkey recipe.

Step 1: Cook the Ground Turkey

First things first, you'll want to take out a large skillet and bring it to medium heat on the stove. Then, you can either evenly coat it with cooking spray or oil.

Once the pan is hot, you can add your ground turkey to it and let it cook for around 3-5 minutes - or until it's nicely browned on all sides. Also, while you're cooking, make sure to stir and break up the lumps of turkey to prevent it from burning.

Step 2: Add The Taco Seasoning

As soon as your ground turkey has some nice color to it, you'll want to add in all the spices - that would be your garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, paprika, salt, and pepper - plus the two tablespoons of water or enchilada sauce.

Now you can stir the ground turkey with all those spices to combine everything together. Then, you can cook the turkey for a few more minutes or until it's completely cooked through with some more browning on all sides.

Step 3: Serve Or Assemble The Ground Turkey Tacos

Finally, you can eat your ground turkey as is, or you can make some ground turkey tacos with it.

If you're going to go the taco route, you can get out the tortillas of your choice, and then you can add the ground turkey taco meat to 'em, followed by all of your favorite taco toppings.

I like to use flour or corn tortillas for the tacos, and then I like to fill them up with mixed greens, avocado, chopped cilantro, and some lime wedges for squeezing on top. But of course, you can make your ground turkey tacos however you like!

Anyway, once the tacos are ready to eat, you can dig in and enjoy!

How To Store Ground Turkey

This recipe for ground turkey will make enough for 4 servings, so it'll be great for family taco night. However, if you need to, you can easily make a double - or triple - batch of it if you have a bigger group.

Speaking of leftovers, if you end up with some, they store great. Just transfer your cooked ground turkey to an airtight container, and you'll be able to store it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

You can also freeze the cooked ground turkey in a freezer bag for up to 6 months if you want to keep it for longer.

How To Reheat Ground Turkey

The best way to reheat ground turkey taco meat is exactly how you made it - on the stovetop!

So to reheat your ground turkey, just put it in a large skillet set over medium heat and warm it for a few minutes - stirring occasionally - until it's fully reheated.

With that said, you can also just eat your leftover ground turkey cold, and it'll still be delicious.

FAQs About This Ground Turkey Recipe

How long should you cook ground turkey?

Ground turkey typically will need to cook for about 5-8 minutes over medium heat in a pan on the stovetop. Once all of the ground turkey meat turns from pink to white it's done. Just keep in mind that you'll want to pull it from the heat pretty quickly after the meat turns white - if can easily dry out if you do.

Can you cook ground turkey in a pan?

Yes, you can cook ground turkey in a pan. In fact, sauteeing ground turkey in a pan or skillet is one of the best ways to cook it evenly and also keep it super juicy since you can pull it from the heat right when it's done cooking. Other cooking methods for making ground turkey make it harder to do that. 

Do you need oil to cook ground turkey?

You don't need oil to cook ground turkey, but it does help prevent it from sticking to the pan if you're sauteeing it. Also, if you don't have oil, you can use some butter - or even water - to cook the ground turkey in.

Wrapping It Up

Well, that's how to cook ground turkey!

I may be biased, but I honestly think this is one of the tastiest healthy ground turkey recipes you can make. Plus, it's super versatile too - you can eat it as is, or you can make some incredible ground turkey tacos with it. Not to mention, it's also super quick and easy to throw together too.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this ground turkey recipe as much as I do.

As always, if you give this recipe a try, be sure to leave a comment below and let me know what you think!

More Turkey Recipes

If you're looking for more delicious turkey recipes, I have a bunch of quick and easy ones on the blog you can try next.

Check all of these out:

• Turkey salad
• Turkey bacon
• Turkey legs
• Turkey cutlets
• Turkey tenderloin
• Turkey wings
• Roasted boneless turkey breast
• Turkey meatballs

Oh, and if you're looking for even more tasty recipes, be sure to check out my Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube channel! I post new ones on them all of the time.

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