Quick and Easy Turkey Taco Skillet

I love quick, easy, and delicious recipes, especially if it is a busy week. Preparing foods on Sunday for the week is also extremely helpful so that you can grab them for lunch or dinner during the week. Mexican food is a delicious cuisine full of flavor from cumin and tomatoes, peppers, fresh herbs like cilantro. And of course, don’t forget the cheese! These reasons are why I love this recipe, Quick and Easy Turkey Taco Skillet. This recipe only takes 30 minutes! You will make dinner in no time!

turkey taco skillet in a bowl with chopped cilantro, green onions, and sour cream on top
Turkey Taco Skillet

How to Make Quick and Easy Turkey Taco Skillet

First, using a large skillet, preferably nonstick, cook and brown ground turkey over medium heat. Next, break up the turkey into small pieces. Continue to cook the turkey until it is brown and it is no longer pink. Once this happens, it is time to add some of the other ingredients.

browned ground turkey in a skillet
The first step in the Turkey Taco Skillet, brown the ground turkey

Second, stir in taco seasoning mix, water, salsa, corn, peppers, and black beans. I used frozen corn instead of canned corn because I prefer the flavor over canned corn. And frozen corn is also sodium-free compared to canned corn which can have over 300 mg of sodium in ½ cup serving size.

cooking turkey taco skillet, with corn, bell peppers, salsa, and black beans in a skillet
Adding the seasoning, water, corn, salsa, and beans

After you add these ingredients, you bring the mix to a boil. Then stir in the rice and simmer on medium for 5 minutes. Then cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid and turn off the heat but keep the pot on the burner. After letting it sit for about 15-20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, the taco turkey skillet is ready to dish up!

cooking turkey taco skillet, brown rice added
Bringing the ingredients to a boil
brown rice absorbed liquid
After the rice has absorbed the liquid, it’s now time to dish up the Turkey Taco Skillet!

Lastly, dish the taco turkey skillet into bowls. Again, you can be creative and add your desired toppings such as shredded Mexican-style cheese, fresh chopped tomatoes, sour cream, sliced avocado, green onions, salsa, hot sauce, or jalapenos.

turkey taco skillet in a bowl with shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped cilantro and green onions on top
Turkey Taco Skillet

Nutritional Benefits from Quick and Easy Turkey Taco Skillet

Black Beans

Black beans are high in fiber and protein! In addition, black beans have many other nutritional benefits, such as phytonutrients like saponins, anthocyanins, kaempferol, and quercetin which have antioxidant properties. Antioxidants reduce the risk of developing heart disease.

Black beans also contain complex carbohydrates, and the body slowly digests resistant starch and prevents a spike in blood sugar levels. They also have an excellent source of iron and magnesium and are a good source of potassium, zinc, and Vitamin E.

Turkey

Historically eaten at Thanksgiving, turkey is an excellent substitution for beef. Using ground turkey instead of ground beef is beneficial because it is leaner. Choosing lean protein sources such as chicken or turkey is a heart-healthy choice. If you prefer red meat, try to use ground sirloin or ground beef that is at least 90% lean, 10% fat.

And not only is turkey a leaner choice, but it has other super nutrients such as vitamins B3 (niacin), B6, and B12! It is also full of minerals like zinc, phosphorus, and selenium.

Red Bell Peppers

Bell peppers are a delicious, low-calorie addition to this Turkey Taco Skillet recipe. And in addition to being low in calories, they are high in vitamin C, providing 169% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)! Bell peppers also have vitamin E, B6, K, A, folate, and potassium.

Tips

  • This recipe can be as spicy or mild as you prefer. I used Frontera Chunky Salsa, which is a medium-level salsa. If you prefer hotter or more mild then adjust the salsa accordingly.  You can also add fresh peppers such as jalapenos to top the dish if you like a little heat.
  • If you want to save even more time, you can buy pre-chopped bell peppers, either fresh or frozen. I like Trader Joe’s Fire Roasted Bell Peppers and Onions.
  • Be creative with your toppings to create even more flavor to this dish. Use toppings such as shredded Mexican-style cheese, fresh chopped tomatoes, sour cream, sliced avocado, green onions, salsa, hot sauce, or jalapenos.

Recipe adapted from Yummy Healthy Easy.

Be sure to take pictures of your Turkey Taco Skillet masterpiece and tag @noshnourishwander on Instagram if you make this recipe! Also, pin this recipe to your Pinterest board!

Also, be sure to leave a rating and comments about the recipe! Thank you!

More Recipe Ideas!

turkey taco skillet in a bowl.

Quick and Easy Turkey Taco Skillet

Veronica Thompson
This recipe combines the familiar flavors of Mexican cuisine into a quick and delicious meal you can make in 30 minutes!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Mexican Inspired
Servings 6
Calories 270 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb ground turkey, 93% lean
  • 1 pkg taco seasoning
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 16 oz jar of salsa
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 cup instant brown rice
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 can black beans, drained, rinsed
  • additional toppings such as Mexican style shredded cheese, fresh chopped tomatoes, hot sauce, chopped cilantro, green onions, avocado, guacamole, sour cream, or jalapenos

Instructions
 

  • First, using a large skillet, preferably nonstick, cook and brown ground turkey over medium heat. Then break up the turkey into small pieces. Continue to cook the turkey until it is brown, and it is no longer pink.
  • Next, stir in taco seasoning mix, water, salsa, corn, peppers, and black beans.
  • Bring the mix to a boil. Then stir in the rice and simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes. Then cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid and turn off the heat, but keep the pot on the burner. After letting it sit for about 15-20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, the turkey taco skillet is ready to dish up.
  • Dish the turkey taco skillet into bowls. Add desired toppings and enjoy!

Notes

Tips

 
  • This recipe can be as spicy or mild as you prefer. I used Frontera Chunky Salsa, which is a medium-level salsa. If you prefer hotter or more mild then adjust the salsa accordingly. You can also add fresh peppers such as jalapenos to top the dish if you like a little heat.
  • If you want to save even more time, you can buy pre-chopped bell peppers, either fresh or frozen. I like Trader Joe’s Fire Roasted Bell Peppers and Onions.
  • Be creative with your toppings to create even more flavor to this dish. Use toppings such as shredded Mexican-style cheese, fresh chopped tomatoes, sour cream, sliced avocado, green onions, salsa, hot sauce, or jalapenos.

Nutritional Information

(does not include toppings)
270 kcal, 37 grams carbohydrates, 21 grams protein, 7.7 grams fiber

Nutrition

Calories: 270kcal
Keyword quick, turkey
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

2 Comments