Turkey Taco Skillet
Turkey Taco Skillet is a quick and flavorful one-pan dish combining seasoned ground turkey, sautéed vegetables, frozen corn, black beans, and melted cheese – perfect for taco Tuesday. Serve this turkey skillet meal over rice or with chips for a complete Tex-Mex meal!
Cheesy Turkey Taco Skillet
How many ways can we make tacos, burrito bowls, nachos, and quesadillas? Let me count the ways!
Yes, we’re huge Tex-Mex people (as if you didn’t already know that) and this one is the EASIEST! You’ll cook everything in just one skillet (plus the rice if serving it that way) and voila – dinner served.
Why This Recipe Works:
- NUTRIENT DENSE – This ground turkey meal is lean and mean, includes REAL, simple ingredients, and is loaded with fiber and protein. I can that a win/win.
- FILLING MEAL – Even the biggest eaters will feel satisfied after a serving of this simple meal.
- CUSTOMIZABLE – Feel free to change up the ingredients as you like. Use ground beef, ground sausage, or ground chicken. Add or subtract veggies. Include different types of cheese.
- EASY TO DOUBLE – Serving a large group? Simply double the ingredients!
Ingredients Used:
- Ground Turkey -I recommend using 93% lean ground turkey. You could also substitute ground beef or ground chicken instead.
- Fresh Veggies – You’ll need onion, jalapeño, bell pepper, and cherry tomatoes – plus frozen corn (or use fresh corn if in season). Other veggies could be used as well, including zucchini, mushrooms, or squash.
- Canned Goods – You’ll need a can of black beans and a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes.
- Taco Seasoning – I have a homemade seasoning that I keep handy for all the Tex-Mex things, but store-bought seasoning works too.
- Olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper – My go-to’s for almost all of my recipes.
- Cheese – While I used shredded Mexican cheese, you could use any version or combination you prefer. Try to use freshly grated cheese so it melts properly.
- Toppings – Cilantro, avocado slices, sour cream, tortilla strips, etc.
- To Serve – Depending on how you’re serving this meal, you may need rice, taco shells, tortillas, lettuce, chips, or a combination.
How to make Cheesy Turkey Taco Skillet:
You can easily make this recipe under an hour, including the slicing of the veggies. I like to prep the day before and store the veggies in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Makes dinner time a snap!
Step 1
Sauté the meat. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, ground turkey, onion, jalapeño, and bell peppers – and cook until turkey is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add taco seasoning and cook another couple of minutes.
Step 2
Add remaining ingredients. Add the frozen corn, black beans, and diced tomatoes. Stir well and simmer mixture for another 5-6 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
Step 3
Add cheese. Reduce heat and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the turkey mixture. Let melt, and then remove the skillet from heat.
Step 4
Serve. Top the skillet meal with chopped cilantro. Serve with avocado slices, cherry tomatoes, sour cream, and/or tortilla strips over a bed of rice.
Store leftover turkey taco skillet in an airtight container in your refrigerator for 3-4 days.
How to enjoy ground turkey taco skillet:
We appreciate our Tex-Mex here, and we especially love how many different ways you can enjoy it.
- Scoop taco mixture into a hard shell taco or a flour tortilla. Top it with sour cream and salsa.
- Enjoy turkey mixture over a bed of lettuce – with a drizzle of our Skinny Chipotle Ranch Dressing or Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing.
- Consume this meal as a bowl alongside cilantro lime rice or Green Chile Rice. Add sour cream, tomato slices and avocado slices to serve.
- Add cheesy turkey mixture to a bowl, top with chips and other toppings, and enjoy.
We’re all about the toppings! Try our Spicy Pickled Onions, Easy Pico de Gallo, Chunky Guacamole, and Mexican Street Corn Salad.
Plus we’re going to need a margarita (or two). Try our Fruity Margaritas, Pineapple Coconut Margaritas, or Skinny Margaritas!
Other Delicious Skillet Meals:
We have a large stash of cast iron skillets and love using them for so many different meals.
Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)
xoxo ~Sue
Turkey Taco Skillet Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground turkey – 93% lean
- 1/2 large yellow onion – diced
- 1 large jalapeno – diced (with or without seeds)
- 1 medium bell pepper (any color) – thinly sliced
- 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning – use my homemade recipe or store-bought
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn – or fresh (about 3 ears)
- 15 oz. black beans – rinsed and drained
- 15 oz. fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 6 oz. freshly shredded cheddar cheese
- cilantro, avocado slices, tortilla strips, rice – to serve
Instructions
- Sauté the meat. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, ground turkey, onion, jalapeño, and bell peppers – and cook until turkey is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Add taco seasoning and cook another couple of minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients. Add the frozen corn, black beans, and diced tomatoes. Stir well and simmer mixture for another 5-6 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
- Add cheese. Reduce heat and sprinkle the shredded cheese on top of the turkey mixture. Let melt, and then remove the skillet from heat.
- Serve. Top the skillet meal with chopped cilantro. Serve with avocado slices, cherry tomatoes, sour cream, and/or tortilla strips over a bed of rice.
Notes
-
- Scoop taco mixture into a hard shell taco or a flour tortilla. Top it with sour cream and salsa.
- Enjoy turkey mixture over a bed of lettuce – with a drizzle of our Skinny Chipotle Ranch Dressing or Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing.
- Consume this meal as a bowl alongside cilantro lime rice or Green Chile Rice. Add tomato slices and avocado slices to serve.
- Add cheesy turkey mixture to a bowl, top with chips and other toppings, and enjoy.
Made this for my lunches at work, love the add ins as well! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s a good one, and I need to make this again soon! ❤️
Do you know the calorie amount per serving?
Yes, the recipe card shows the calories for one serving. It’s 325 calories without rice and/or tortillas.
You get me, anything Tex-Mex and I’m in!! I’m always looking for something new to do with ground turkey. Yum!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Shari! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Tastes amazing! I love this skillet recipe…..
Love using my cast iron! 🙂