The more time goes on, the more protein we’re supposed to eat, apparently — even just figuring out how much protein to eat is a chore since the numbers are so hotly debated on social media. Once you have your goal set and you’re recipe planning, though, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut with bland chicken breasts and protein pasta. But with these ground turkey recipes, you can eat lean protein meals all week long with pretty minimal effort in the kitchen.
With most recipes, you can easily switch between ground beef, ground chicken, and ground turkey. But I do think there are some special considerations to be made when you’re cooking with ground turkey, because honestly, it tends to get dry really easily. And nobody wants to eat their fifth meal of prepped ground turkey bowl knowing it’s going to be like chewing on eraser shavings (ask me how I know). These recipes all make the most of their main ingredient, and stay juicy and saucy and delicious despite turkey’s tendency to dry out. Chef’s kiss.
01Greek Turkey Meatballs With Feta
One of the best antidotes to a naturally drier protein? Sauce! All The Healthy Things’ Greek turkey meatballs stay nice and juicy regardless, but with the addition of all those fresh veggies and homemade yogurt sauce, you could never accuse this turkey dish of being anything but delicious.
02Turkey & Vegetable Stir Fry
Need a fast, filling, nutritious weeknight meal? Then Averie Cooks’ turkey and veggie stir fry is where it’s at. Ready in just 25 minutes, it’s a great way to curb your takeout cravings while also hitting your protein goal for the day.
03Turkey Meatball Sliders
If you make a big batch of turkey meatballs for the last recipe, you have the hardest part of this recipe already done. Damn Delicious’ turkey meatball sliders are the perfect easy recipe to follow whether you have spare meatballs lying around or not, and they’ll take very little time to throw together on a busy school night.
04Burger Bowls With Special Sauce
I don’t know about you, but I could quite literally always go for a cheeseburger. So, this burger bowl recipe from All The Healthy Things is high on my list to try in the coming weeks. You could get super creative with the toppings here — like bacon and bleu cheese burger bowls, or mushroom and Swiss — or keep it classic. This recipe calls for ground beef, but the blogger specifies that swapping in ground turkey is no issue at all.
05Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps
Damn Delicious’ lettuce wraps made with ground turkey might be the ultimate recipe. It comes together in one skillet, is super flavorful and high in protein, and it only takes 25 minutes start to finish. Grab some butter lettuce to scoop them up, and you really won’t even have any silverware to wash.
06Easiest Burrito Bowl Meal Prep
Budget Bytes’ burrito bowls are so easy to make that it’s hard to believe they’re also so satisfying. Just brown and season your ground turkey, then add whatever burrito fillings you’d normally enjoy, like cheese, salsa, or pico, lettuce, rice, beans, you name it. This is precisely my kind of recipe — barely any cooking, plenty of flavor, and it’ll feed me many times.
07Healthy Baked Ziti
Baked ziti is a satisfying, crowd-pleasing sort of dinner for when your family just wants some comfort food. This recipe from All The Healthy Things advises that you can keep the dish a little lighter and higher in protein by using ground turkey instead of the usual beef.
08Easy 30-Minute Turkey Chili
Chili is a great way to use up ground turkey with pretty minimal effort, and Averie Cooks’ version is no different. It packs tons of flavor, too. Bonus points if you top it with a little Greek yogurt instead of sour cream (because protein), and yes, cheese is protein too.
09Turkey-Chili-Smothered Sweet Potatoes
You will want to add some extra fiber to your diet to complement all that protein, and this dish from Budget Bytes is the perfect way to do that while also breathing new life into your leftover chili. Top a baked sweet potato (a high fiber food) with a heap of tasty chili, top with cheese and fresh cilantro, and serve it up.
10Zucchini, Quinoa, & Turkey Sausage Stuffed Peppers
The title of the recipe is a little deceiving, but you can make this recipe with standard ground turkey — just add a little garlic and fennel to replicate that sausage flavor, Foodie Crush says. The juicy peppers help their contents stay tender, and you’ll definitely hit all your protein and veggie goals with this meal.
So, which ground turkey recipes will you add to your repertoire?
