Your weeknight dinners just got a whole lot tastier! This Ground Turkey Skillet is full of fresh veggies including zucchini, peppers, and corn. It comes together in just one pan in under 30 minutes making it perfect for even the busiest of nights.
30 minute Skillet Meal You’ll LOVE
Everyone loves a one-pan, easy meal. Minimal effort with maximum flavor. I get great reviews on my Ground Beef and Sweet Potatoes Skillet, I knew I wanted to make a more summer forward version.
Enter this one-pot Ground Turkey Skillet which takes advantage of summer veggies including sweet corn, zucchini and bell peppers. It’s fresh, flavorful, and high in protein. There’s really nothing to complain about! When I hear that “cooking healthy is hard”, this recipe swoops in to prove that theory wrong.
I love this for an easy weeknight, helathy dinner or meal prep for a busy week. There are so many ways to enjoy it whether that be over rice, quinoa, or lettuce, in a tortilla or plain on its own. Regardless, the whole family will enjoy it and it may become a staple in your recipe rotation, especially when dinner time creeps up fast.
And if you’re looking for more of my favorite skillet recipes, also check out this Skillet Shepherd’s Pie, or this Cheesy Mexican Skillet. And if you want more easy ground turkey recipes check out this round up of 10+ Recipes with Ground Turkey that actually taste good.
Recipe Ingredients
- Turkey – I used 93% lean ground turkey. It is lean enough that there isn’t excess gease, but has enough fat to still have great flavor.
- Veggies – We will use white onion, bell pepper, zucchini, spinach, corn, and fire roasted diced tomatoes. The tomatoes will make the dishy saucy.
- Black Beans – Makes this skillet hearty with lots of fiber. Be sure to drain and rinse.
- Cheese of choice – I used grated parmesan, but any shredded cheese will do, too.
- Seasonings – Salt, onion powder, paprika.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- Switch up the meat: Instead of ground turkey, feel free to use ground chicken or ground beef. Or try this Southwest Ground Beef Skillet for some different flavors.
- Play with the spices. Try adding garlic powder, chili powder, Italian seasoning, or cumin.
- Other veggies to add: Chopped broccoli, shaved brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, leeks. Go crazy with it!
- Use whatever type of bean you’d like! Reach for cannellini beans for a more Italian ground turkey skillet, chickpeas, kidney beans, or soy beans (edamame) are options, too!
How to Make This Recipe
1. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and add 1 teaspoon of oil. Add ground turkey, salt, paprika and onion powder.
2. Use a meat spatula to continuously break up the meat while it’s cooking. After ~6ish minutes (it wont be fully cooked yet), push the meat to a side and add chopped onions with another teaspoon of olive oil. Allow onions to sauté for a few minutes. **If there is a lot of liquid in the skillet from the turkey, remove it so there is no more than 2 tablespoons.
3. Add diced bell pepper, fire roasted tomatoes, chopped spinach, black beans, and frozen corn to the skillet. Stir everything together before covering and cooking for ~6-8 minutes. The corn and tomatoes will add liquid to the skillet and help the other vegetables cook.
4. Turn the heat to low and fold in diced zucchini (at this point the skillet should be pretty stuffed). Fold the zucchini cubes into the mixture and cover again for 5 minutes until the zucchini is fork tender (key to this is cutting the zucchini in small cubes (I use my vegetable chopper for evenly sliced cubes)).
5. Remove from heat and sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese. Garnish with fresh herbs from the garden if desired (basil, parsley, or cilantro). Enjoy as is or in a bowl with rice or over a bed of greens!
PRO TIPS
- Drain excess fat from the turkey mixture. If the ground turkey releases a lot of liquid or fat, drain it off before to avoid a soggy dish.
- USE SUMMER FRESH SEASONAL VEGETABLES. This dish is screaming to be made with your local farmers market produce and herbs. Fresh cut corn and garden zucchini will be the star of the show.
Recipe FAQs
Store this Ground Turkey Skillet recipe in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave in individual portions.
Turkey, especially a leaner cut, will have much less moisture as compared to say a fattier beef. For this reason, I highly recommend using a bit of oil in the pan to prevent sticking and provide extra flavor. This will ensure your ground turkey isn’t dry, too.
I used my Our Place Pan, which is my go to for all of my skillet meals. I like that it’s wide, but also has a bit of depth. A cast iron skillet will also work well, but note that cooking time may vary slightly, depending on the thickness of the pan and how quickly it heats up.
Serving suggestions
There are so many ways to enjoy this Ground Turkey Skillet! Eat it alone, with a side salad or try one of the suggestions below:
- Over Cilantro Lime Rice, Parmesan Rice or quinoa
- Make them into tacos or burritos with sour cream, enchilada sauce, green chiles and guacamole on top, or scoop up your turkey taco skillet with tortilla chips.
- Love the idea of putting this mixture into a stuffed pepper (hollow out the bell peppers and stuff them with the skillet mixture. Bake in the oven at 375°F for about 20 minutes, covered (or until peppers are tender). Top with shredded cheese for the last few minutes to melt!
- Low carb option – serve the mixture in large lettuce leaves or on cauliflower rice! Some fresh herbs on top are always a great idea (cilantro, I am really into fresh mint + basil combo lately).
More Recipes You’ll Love
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating and comment in the recipe card below. Thanks for visiting!
Ground Turkey Skillet Recipe
Equipment
- deep skillet I used an Our Place Always Pan, if you don't have one use a large stove top pot
- Rubber Spatula
- Meat masher
- vegetable chopper or knife and cutting board
- Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 1 lbs ground turkey, 93% lean
- 2 ½ tsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 small white onion
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 can fire roasted tomatoes, 15 oz
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 bag frozen corn, 16 oz
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 medium zucchinis
- 1/2 cup cheese of choice, I used grated parmesan
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and add 1 teaspoon of oil/cooking spray. Add ground turkey, salt, paprika and onion powder.
- Use a meat spatula to continuously break up the meat while it’s cooking.
- While the meat cooks, chop the onion, zucchini, spinach and bell pepper.
- After ~6ish minutes (it wont be fully cooked yet), push the meat to a side and add chopped onions with another teaspoon of olive oil. Allow onions to saute for a few minutes. **If there is a lot of liquid in the skillet from the turkey, drain so there is no more than 2 tablespoons.
- Add diced bell pepper, fire roasted tomatoes, chopped spinach, black beans, and frozen corn to the skillet. Stir everything together before covering and cooking for ~6-8 minutes.
- Turn the heat to low and fold in diced zucchini (at this point the skillet should be pretty stuffed). Cover again for 5 minutes until the zucchini is fork tender (key to this is cutting the zucchini in small cubes (I use my vegetable chopper for evenly sliced cubes)).
- Remove from heat and sprinkle with fresh parmesan cheese.
- Garnish with fresh herbs from the garden if desired (basil, parsley, or cilantro). Enjoy!
Nutrition
Video
Notes
Looking for this in MyFitnessPal?
If you’re using MyFitnessPal, search ‘A Paige Of Positivity’ and find Ground Turkey Skillet calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
made this for my family & they loved it! Such an easy summer recipe.
Super flavor and easy to make!
Delishhhh! Super easy dinner to whip up that everyone in my family enjoyed:)
Simple and tasty! Loved this quick weeknight meal, which also held up great as leftovers the next day
Another great recipe! This is my second APOP recipe I’ve made this week and another 10/10. Loved it with chips but so good without as well.
always love your reviews! Thank you, Morgan 🙂
Delicious, easy recipe. Using it for lunch meal prep for the week! Didn’t have fire roasted tomatoes so I used dice tomatoes with a few dashes of liquid smoke. Delish!!
My family is trying to eat better. This was perfect and we are adding it to our lunch prep rotation. Thanks!