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Juicy Ground Turkey Tacos

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These Ground Turkey Tacos are great for your taco weeknight dinners. These tacos are juicy and full of amazing flavor with only a few ingredients.

gorund turket taco meat in hard shells topped with cheese and cilantro


 

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Full Recipe Ingredients/Instructions are available in the 
recipe card at the bottom of the post. 
You can find important tips/tricks in the
blog post.

My oldest daughter requests tacos about three times a week. I can’t blame her, tacos are pretty amazing and versatile. Whether they are made with this yummy carnitas meat, beef, or fish, my household knows how to have an epic Taco night. 

I started making these ground turkey tacos to give us a nice spin on the traditional beef taco, and they do not disappoint. They’re full of flavor and juicy and the perfect taco addition. 

I don’t use a pre-packaged taco mix for this recipe as I prefer to make my own. With just a few spices, you can have an amazing dinner in no time. 

Ingredients Needed

ingredients for turkey tacos
  • Aromatics – yellow onions and minced garlic add amazing flavor.
  • Canola oil – to help sauté the ingredients.
  • Ground turkey – I prefer to use the 85% lean, 15% fat ground turkey meat. It doesn’t dry out as easily.
  • Seasoning – chili powder, cumin, oregano, kosher salt. This is our seasoning for the tacos so you don’t have to use premade packets.
  • 10 oz can tomatoes with chilies, undrained – adds flavor and keeps the tacos juicy.
  • Fresh lime juice – This is the game changer of the recipe. The addition of acid is what gives the taco meat the ultimate flavor.

How to make Ground Turkey Tacos

First, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, turkey meat, onion, and garlic to the skillet. Stir and cook until the meat has broken up and fully browned. 

ground turkey in stainless steel skillet

Then add the seasonings (use the ones in the recipe card or use 2 Tablespoons of my homemade taco seasoning)and the undrained can of tomato and chilies. The extra liquid in the tomatoes helps keep the turkey meat juicy rather than dry.  Reduce the heat and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes.

ground turkey taco meat in skillet

Squeeze a hint of lime juice over the top. This is the acid that will take your taco meat to a whole other level. Serve with your favorite taco toppings and enjoy. 

hand squeezing lime over ground turkey taco meat

Is Ground Turkey better than Ground Beef?

I did a ton of reading and research and ultimately found that…it depends a lot on the fat content of the ground turkey or beef you buy. I just choose to buy ground turkey to give my family a variety of the foods we consume. 

Are ground turkey tacos dry?

Nope. Ground turkey has a reputation for being dry and boring. And it usually is. But with these tacos, adding the seasoning gives it a ton of flavor, and adding an undrained can of tomatoes with chilies adds the moisture that it needs.

Can you freeze leftover ground turkey meat?

To Freeze

Yes! To freeze the meat, allow it to cool and place it in a freezer-safe container. Label the container with the name and date. Taco meat can be frozen for up to 6 months.

To thaw

When ready to thaw, it should be thawed in the refrigerator, not at room temperature.

tacos on plate surrounded by toppings

Recommended Taco Toppings:

  • Cheddar cheese
  • Sour cream
  • Shredded Lettuce
  • Did I mention Sour Cream?
  • Guacamole
  • Or you can try any of these taco toppings.

This taco meat is great for bowls, burritos, enchiladas, and lettuce wraps. The possibilities are endless.

You may also like these fried chicken tacos.

Looking for recipes to serve with these tacos? Try these out:

Looking for more ground turkey recipes? Try this Pressure Cooker Turkey Chili.

ground turkey tacos in hard shells topped with cheese and cilantro
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5 from 3 votes

Juicy Ground Turkey Tacos

This Ground Turkey Taco meat is moist and full of flavor. With only a few simple ingredients and a few simple steps, you can have dinner ready in less than 20 minutes.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword easy tacos, ground turkey tacos
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 196kcal
Author Tanya

Ingredients

  • 1-2 Tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 Tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 10 oz can tomatoes with chilies undrained
  • 1 squeeze fresh lime juice
  • tortilla shells

Instructions

  • Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, ground turkey meat, onion, and garlic to skillet. Stir and cook until the meat has broken up and fully browned.
  • Then add chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and the can of tomato and chilies. Stir to combine.
  • Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes until the meat mixture is heated through. Squeeze fresh lime, about 1 tsp, over the meat mixture. Serve and enjoy 🙂

Video

Notes

  • Top with your favorite toppings such as cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, sour cream, or avocado. 
  • This ground turkey taco meat is great for meal prep and freezes well.
  • I used the 10-inch Mealthy stainless steel skillet for this recipe. 

Nutrition

Calories: 196kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 682mg | Potassium: 577mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 717IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 3mg
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This post was originally published on 8/29/2019. It has been updated with some new photos and helpful tips.

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Recipe Rating




Melanie

Saturday 9th of September 2023

The tacos had just the right amount of spice & heat, were juicy w/o being too thin or runny. Perfect for us 2 & had a little leftover, but I’m sure someone will beat me to it tomorrow!

Tanya

Sunday 10th of September 2023

Thanks so much, Melanie! So happy you liked the tacos!

Nita

Monday 16th of August 2021

This recipe is awesome! I tried it a few months ago with ground turkey. I've been vegan for a little over a month now. Tonight I used Gardein Plant-Based Ground Be'f crumbles from Wal-Mart. It turned out delicious! I went a little heavier on the oil. I used olive oil because that's what I had. The vegan crumbles don't have as much water as turkey does. Even after adding the tomatoes with chilies. I also went heavier with the cumin and salt and I added black pepper. I added a pinch of sugar because the vegan crumbles were a little bitter. I love that the onion and tomato stretches the volume of the taco meat. You can never have too much taco meat. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.

Tanya

Tuesday 17th of August 2021

Thank you Nita! I love that you made it plant-based too :)

Ran

Wednesday 3rd of June 2020

I love this recipe, and so does my family. The turkey comes out very juicy and flavorful. I used this same recipe to repurpose leftover grilled chicken breast, and it came out great too! I chopped it up, added it to the pan after the onions and garlic and followed the rest of the recipe as is.

Tanya

Wednesday 3rd of June 2020

Thank You! I love that you used leftover chicken breast too. Such a great idea.

JP

Monday 6th of April 2020

Made these and they were the bomb! Used fresh oregano from the garden. Peace and Thanks- Jan