Turkey Taco Meat
Seasoned Ground Turkey Taco Meat made with the best homemade taco seasoning mix! This easy taco meat recipe is healthy, delicious, and ready in 10 minutes!
Healthy turkey tacos are perfect for a Mexican fiesta on Cinco de Mayo, Taco Tuesday, or any night of the week! Turkey tacos are healthier and less greasy than beef tacos and these are packed with flavor! You can also use it for more than just tacos. This taco seasoned ground turkey meat is great for burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, taco salad, nachos, and more. For a healthy low-carb and gluten-free option, you can serve it on lettuce with toppings to make a turkey burrito bowl.
I hope that you enjoy the turkey tacos! If you need more taco ideas, you might want to try my Shredded Mexican Chicken Tacos, some yummy Pork Carnitas Tacos, these spicy Cajun Shrimp Tacos, or these delicious Sweet Potato Tacos for a healthy vegetarian option.
Note: The printable recipe is located at the end of this post. Please visit The Scoop for my latest posts or you can search or browse my Recipe Index.
Turkey Taco Meat Ingredients
- ground turkey – I used 93% lean ground turkey.
- olive oil
- minced garlic
- tomato paste
- water
- seasoning – see below.
Taco Seasoning
Can you use store-bought taco seasoning? Yes, of course. However, making your own taco seasoning is super quick and easy! One of the reasons that this is the BEST taco seasoned meat recipe is because of the homemade taco seasoning. It is also easy to adjust to your personal preference. The following is all you need to make it.
- chili powder
- paprika
- kosher salt
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- cumin
- cayenne pepper – Easy to adjust the heat.
How to make Ground Turkey Taco Meat
You can easily double this recipe to make more and the leftovers are great reheated.
In a small bowl, stir to combine the chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Brown the turkey and break up the meat with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes or until no longer pink.
Add the minced garlic, tomato paste and taco seasoning to the pan, then pour in the water and stir to combine.
Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Serve with warm tortillas and choice of toppings.
Turkey Taco Toppings
I like to top my tacos with shredded cheese, cilantro, and other various taco toppings with chips and dip on the side.
Turkey Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup water
Taco Seasoning
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir to combine the chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Brown the turkey and break up the meat with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes or until no longer pink.
- Add the minced garlic, tomato paste and taco seasoning to the pan, then pour in the water and stir to combine.
- Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Notes
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If you make this Turkey Taco Meat, please leave a comment. I would love to hear from you and I truly appreciate your feedback! I will always do my best to respond to every comment ASAP. Thank you and happy cooking!
Excellent recipe – moist and so flavourful! I love this seasoning so much I make it in large batches and use it regularly in skillet dinners, and on grilled or oven roasted meats and vegetables.
Thank you for the compliment, Lise! I’m so glad you enjoy the taco meat and seasoning. I also make my seasonings in large batches to use on various things.
Really good recipe. Great taco seasoning and it was not dry like a lot of other ground turkey recipes. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the compliment, Leon! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
This was SO good. I’ve tried a dozen homemade taco seasoning recipes and they’re always bland especially with ground turkey but this was super flavorful. Will def make again. I didn’t have tomato paste so I used a few spoonfuls of crushed tomatoes and it worked just fine.
Thank you so much for the compliment, Dani! I am so glad you enjoyed it!