Easy Ground Turkey Tacos

Ground Turkey Tacos in a flavorful saucy meat mixture that's done in 30 minutes or less.  They're perfect for Taco Tuesday, a themed taco party or simply as a quick and easy weeknight dinner. 

This recipe is so simple and can easily be adapted to make burritos, lettuce wraps, nachos, or even taquitos.  On the other hand, if you're looking for other taco dinner inspo check out this Fried Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Crema and this Soft Taco Recipe is definitely worth mentioning. Now, pull out your ingredients and skillet and let's make ground turkey tacos.

Jump to:

• Recipe notes
• FAQs
• How to make this recipe
• Taco shell variation
• How do you make ground turkey moist
• Tips
• Other ground turkey recipes:
• Did you make this recipe
• 📖 Recipe

Recipe notes

• If possible, aim for 85% lean turkey meat. This means that it's 85% lean and 15% fat. This is the ratio that I recommend over 93% lean ground turkey and 99% lean turkey.
• Generally speaking, ground turkey has a low fat content and therefore is one of the healthiest proteins you can eat if you're not vegetarian. However, there's one caveat, because this protein doesn't have much fat, it can lack flavor if it isn't seasoned properly. As a result, it's important to add a healthy fat and a generous amount of seasoning to the meat so it's flavorful, savory, and delicious.
• Feel free to use your favorite taco seasoning or make it homemade as I did with this recipe. Keep reading below for all the details on how to make an amazing taco seasoning that's quick, easy, and uses common pantry ingredients.
• When making the taco sauce, use tomato paste instead of tomato sauce, as the tomato paste creates a thicker taco sauce than when using tomato sauce.
• When creating the actual sauce, use chicken broth instead of water, as chicken broth adds much more flavor than water.

FAQs

How to make this recipe

Brown the meat:

• Place a skillet or frying pan over medium high heat and add grape-seed oil or other cooking oil.
• Add the ground turkey to the skillet and break apart using a spoon season liberally with kosher salt, black pepper and brown just until no longer pink making sure you do not overcook. 
• After the ground turkey meat has browned place the browned turkey meat on a clean plate and set aside.

Make the homemade taco sauce:

• Place the same skillet over medium high heat and add the tomato paste and all the seasonings to the skillet and saute for up to a minute or so.
• Slowly add in the chicken broth and begin to whisk until all the ingredients are combined and the sauce begins to thicken. 
• Add the browned turkey meat back to the skillet and simmer in the sauce for several minutes.
• Alternatively, you can use your favorite store brand taco sauce instead of making it homemade, add it to your turkey meat after it has browned and then bring it to a simmer.

Choose your taco shells:

• I thought it would be fun to use these crispy taco shells boats.
• Feel free to use any store bought crispy taco shell, corn tortillas, or even soft taco shells.
• You can also make your own crispy taco shell by adding a little oil to a skillet and frying for at least a minute or so.

Assemble:

• Divide the taco meat across the prepared taco shells.
• Add your favorite toppings in whatever order you prefer.
• We like to add the cheese after adding the meat so the cheese can melt.
• Then, top with lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, sour cream, avocado crema, and jalapenos for a little heat.

Taco shell variation

Round white or yellow corn tortillas (4 options)

1. Make your own crispy taco shell - Add a little cooking oil to a skillet and pan fry your corn tortilla for a few minutes until crispy
2. Make it non-crispy - Just place your corn tortilla in a dry skillet (without cooking oil) for a few minutes until warm
3. Place your corn tortilla directly on a stove-top burner for several seconds until a slight char appears (this process can happen extremely fast so do not walk away)
4. Simply follow the instructions on the packaging

If you prefer hard taco shells, simply purchase a box of shells or do like I did and use the taco shell boats for a little fun.

How do you make ground turkey moist

Ground turkey is like chicken breast.  It has a low fat content which causes the meat to dry out quickly and lack flavor if not seasoned properly.  With that being said, turkey meat needs a little more attention to avoid these mishaps. One of the most obvious ways of making ground turkey moist is making sure it doesn't get overcooked and these:

• Adding a healthy cooking oil to the pan before browning (or if making turkey burgers add it to the meat as you would the other ingredients).
• Allowing the ground turkey to simmer in a sauce as in this recipe.
• If you're not using a sauce, adding creamy ingredients such as (cooked whole beans, re-fried beans, avocado, guacamole, sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt.
• Adding wet ingredients (such as salsa or enchilada sauce).

Tips

• Season liberally
• Do not overcook the ground turkey
• Add tomato paste as the base for the taco sauce
• Saute tomato paste and seasonings together before adding liquid
• Add chicken broth as the liquid instead of water when creating the sauce (this adds more flavor)
• Buying store brand taco sauce doesn't make you less of a cook (I buy it myself) remember it's about making things easier, so you can spend more time doing the things you enjoy
• Taco meat freezes beautifully (just take out the freezer and defrost in the fridge overnight) for a make ahead weeknight dinner
• Use to make taco salad, burritos, burrito bowls, lettuce wraps, nachos or tostadas

Other ground turkey recipes:

• Best Turkey Burger
• Turkey Burger Sliders on Hawaiian Rolls
• Ground Turkey Lasagna Roll Ups
• Easy Teriyaki Meatballs
• Baked Ziti with Ground Turkey
• Turkey Enchilada Casserole
• 30 Minute Turkey Bolognese

If so, let me know how it went. Leave a star rating within the recipe card down below or TAG @cookingwithbliss on Instagram. I can't wait to see how it turned out.

📖 Recipe