Lighter Ground Turkey Tacos

At a glance

What stands out: Make a standby ground turkey tacos packed with zesty flavor, lean protein, and plenty of veggies. This taco meat is a go-to recipe in our family. It’s the ultimate make-ahead weeknight recipe.

How long it takes: 30 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: skillet
Servings: 4

Speedy and Flavorful Ground Turkey Tacos

We're sometimes a little hesitant to share our simpler recipes, the ones that we make so often, we could make them with our eyes closed. But these ground turkey tacos are straightforward and full of flavor (not to mention lighter) that we know you’ll love them just as much as we do.

Our taco meat recipe has seen many, many variations throughout the years. The main ingredients are always there: lean and juicy ground turkey, crisp bell peppers and onions, and our favorite from-scratch taco seasoning. But tacos are one of those “clean out the fridge” recipes in our house, with endless ways to make them using ingredients we have on hand.

Of course, we can’t forget toppings. We've included all our must-have taco toppings later on in this post, so you can plan the ultimate weeknight meal. We can’t wait for you to try these simple yet memorable ground turkey tacos!

Skip Said:

“we make these at least once a week. We haven’t used ground beef in 2 years. With taco seasoning you can’t tell the difference! So tasty 😋 and budget friendly.”

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Straightforward Taco Meat Recipe

There are so many reasons why we'll always come back to these flavorful and straightforward turkey tacos. This recipe is:

Protein-packed. Ground turkey packs in tons of lean protein while keeping this recipe lighter and light. It’s also straightforward to swap in ground beef or go half-and-half if you’d prefer a more traditional taco. (If you like the idea of using ground turkey, try our turkey Bolognese pasta sauce and turkey burgers, too!)

Loaded with veggies. We love the flavor and nutrition that diced red peppers and onions add to this recipe. Adding veggies is also an inexpensive way to bulk up your taco meat with fewer added calories.

Make-ahead friendly. This recipe makes a generous batch of taco meat, enough to feed a hungry family of four, plus leftovers! You can even double the batch and freeze your extras for straightforward meal prep.

What goes in

Don’t forget to check out the full recipe details in the recipe card below the post.

• Onion and Bell Peppers: We love the flavor and nutrition that diced red peppers and onions add to this recipe. Adding veggies is also an inexpensive way to bulk up your taco meat with fewer added calories. The veggies are sautéed in a little olive oil.
• Ground Turkey: These ground turkey tacos are a great source of lean protein. You can also make this recipe with ground beef or ground chicken, or a combination of ground meats. If you’re wondering what’s a standby ground turkey for tacos, we recommend using 93% lean ground turkey when making this taco meat. It’s still flavorful and juicy without being overly greasy.
• Flour: Sprinkling all-purpose flour into the taco meat thickens up the sauce.
• Taco Seasoning: It’s so straightforward to mix your own taco seasoning (highly recommended!), but you can also use your favorite brand of packaged taco seasoning as well. If you’re using store-bought taco seasoning, you can skip adding flour as the pre-packaged seasonings usually already contain thickeners.
• Fixings: Everything you need to make your tacos into a meal. Your choice of tortillas, plus toppings like shredded cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, etc. See further on for more ideas and serving suggestions.

How it comes together

The filling for your flavor-packed ground turkey tacos comes together in less than 30 minutes in one skillet:

Sauté the ingredients. First, you’ll sauté the ground turkey, onion, and bell peppers in a large skillet with oil. Break up the meat as you go, and give it an occasional stir until the turkey is browned and the veggies are tender.

Combine. Now, stir in your taco seasoning along with a sprinkle of flour. Continue to cook off the flour and spices for a minute or two longer, then pour in a bit of water to create the sauce.

Cook. Simmer the taco meat on medium-low for about 10 minutes, until thickened.

Tips for Success

You can’t go wrong with these lighter ground turkey tacos. Here are our final tips for a reliable straightforward dinner:

Keep the taco meat warm until serving. Cover the skillet with a lid and keep your taco meat simmering at a low temperature on the stove until you’re ready to serve it. Just stir in a bit more water if it starts to dry out.

Scale the recipe. This recipe makes about 4 servings, depending on how large your tortillas are and how much you put on each taco, but feel free to double or even triple the recipe if you’re feeding a crowd, or to store and save for later meals. Keep reading for storage and reheating instructions.

Ways to change it

• Different protein. If you’re not a fan of the ground turkey in this recipe, try these crockpot chicken tacos, crockpot salsa chicken, or Instant Pot carnitas. You can also replace ground turkey with lean ground beef.
• More/less vegetables. Sauté diced carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, riced cauliflower, sweet corn, or jalapeños with the ground meat for a spicy kick. If you’re not a fan of bell peppers, you can leave them out or substitute another veggie.
• Add beans. Stir in canned black beans or pinto beans. We often do this to stretch our meat dollars, and to add plant protein to the tacos.
• Make it spicy. Increase the amount of taco seasoning, or stir in additional cayenne pepper or chili powder for extra heat.
• Make nachos, pizzas, or taco cups instead. Substitute this taco meat for the beef in beef nachos or use it as the meat filling for taco cups. If you’re a fan of Taco Bell’s Mexican pizza, this meat is reliable to make that straightforward recipe, too.
• Try taco turkey burgers for a fun (bun) variation or Mexican spaghetti, if you’re more in the mood for pasta.

What to Serve with Tacos

These lighter ground turkey tacos are a family-favorite dinner, especially on from-scratch flour tortillas! Serve tacos with a side of air fryer tortilla chips and restaurant style salsa. We'll also pair our tacos with this cilantro lime rice or Mexican rice whenever we need to bulk up the meal.

Make it a Tex-Mex-style feast and serve these lean turkey tacos with taco slaw, or this black bean and avocado salad. When we make this with friends, we’ll always wash everything down with a fresh, spicy paloma cocktail or pineapple margarita. And don’t forget to fill the table with your favorite taco toppings!

Taco Topping Ideas

We're always adding tacos to our weekly meal plan, so we usually have all the fixings for a great taco ready to go.

• Guacamole
• Restaurant style salsa
• Refried beans
• Pickled red onions
• Sour cream
• Lime wedges
• Shredded lettuce
• Diced tomatoes
• Shredded carrots
• Grated cheese
• Jalapeños

Can we Prepare Taco Meat in Advance?

Yes! This taco meat freezes well. We always make a double batch so we have plenty to freeze (see below). Use this turkey taco meat in tacos, nachos, salads, burritos, quesadillas, you name it! It’s versatile and handy. We often use it to make Mexican lasagna.

Keeping leftovers

Fridge. Refrigerate leftover cooked turkey taco meat in a covered container for 3 to 4 days. Reheat the taco meat on the stovetop or in the microwave with a bit of water added to get it saucy again.

Freezer. Cool the fried ground turkey taco meat to room temperature and freeze it in airtight containers or resealable bags for up to 3 months. Thaw your taco meat in the refrigerator before reheating.

Free Meal Plans

Interested in a weekly meal plan includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #20, Meal Plan #56, or Meal Plan #100. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. Let us do the planning for you this week!

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• Yield: 4
• Prep: 10 minutes
• Cook: 20 minutes
• Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup finely diced red onion (about ¼ large red onion)
• ½ cup finely diced red bell pepper (about ½ pepper)
• 16 ounces ground turkey (93/7) (see note)
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (more if desired)
• ⅓ cup water (more if needed)

For serving:

• tortillas, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, or whatever you like on your tacos!

Method

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. If you’re using a nonstick skillet, you may not need oil.
2. Add onion, bell peppers, and ground turkey. Cook, breaking up the meat, until the meat is no longer pink and the vegetables are cooked.
3. Add flour and taco seasoning and stir to combine, continuing to cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until spices are fragrant.
4. Stir in water, and reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until water is mostly evaporated, about 10 minutes. You can keep this at a low simmer, partially covered, until you’re ready to serve, adding more water if necessary to keep the mixture from drying out.

Notes

Taco seasoning: Omit the flour in this recipe if you’re using store-bought taco seasoning. Many packaged taco seasonings already contain thickeners (ours does not).

Ground meat alternatives: Lean ground beef or a 50/50 combination of beef and turkey can be substituted for the turkey.

Nutrition note: Nutrition information is for meat mixture only and does not include tortillas or toppings. Each serving is about ⅔ cup, or enough for about 2 tacos each.

Make-ahead: The recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. Cool the mixture and store it in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months. Extra taco meat can also be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.