Quinoa Ground Turkey Skillet - One Pan Dinner

Quinoa Ground Turkey Skillet - This veggie-packed and flavorful quinoa and ground turkey skillet is quick & easy to make - perfect for a weeknight dinner. I've recently updated this easy homemade dinner into an even easier one-pan ground turkey skillet - all the delicious flavors of a taco skillet with less cleaning up!

Jump to:

• one-pan dish with turkey + quinoa = easy weeknight dinner
• Ingredients
• Quinoa Ground Turkey Skillet - One Pan Dinner
• How to Make a One-Pan Quinoa and Ground Turkey Skillet Dinner

one-pan dish with turkey + quinoa = easy weeknight dinner

This Quinoa Ground Turkey Skillet is such a great dinner dish. It came about one night when I wanted something kind of like chili, but not chili, and also had some quinoa I wanted to use up. We ate this with my homemade tortillas and it was fantastic.

I am updating this recipe because this recipe is still a favorite. It's been about 5 years since I posted this recipe though (August 2016) and it needed new photos and nutritional information.

I've also simplified the method by cooking the quinoa in the dish instead of needing precooked quinoa. This makes the recipe a one-pan quinoa with ground turkey dinner marvel. Easy, delicious, healthy, homemade - everything I love.

Taco skillet vibes, especially if you serve this dish with tortilla chips on the side or fried corn tortilla strips on top!

Ingredients

For this recipe you'll need:

Quinoa: Quinoa is a healthy, whole-grain seed rich in protein, fiber, and B vitamins. Easy to cook.
Ground Turkey: I prefer to use ground turkey or chicken in my recipes because I just don't eat much red meat, but I'm sure ground beef would work really well in this recipe - think taco quinoa skillet.
Vegetables: Bell peppers - whichever ones you have or like, some garlic, onion, corn
Tomato: A large can of diced tomatoes - a can of fire-roasted tomatoes would be great here if your grocery store has them.
Spices: I use chili and cumin for this recipe because it makes it like a turkey taco quinoa skillet - like stovetop tacos!
Other: Pickled jalapenos - I like the added spice but you can leave this out if you prefer. Black beans.
Garnishes: I like to serve this with grated cheese, yogurt (sour cream would be fine), avocado, and cilantro.

EXPERT TIP: This recipe is extremely versatile! Make whatever substitutions you want to for this turkey quinoa skillet recipe - just use the basic ratio and cooking method. If you're out of black beans, use whatever bean you have - I use pinto sometimes too like in these photos. Use whatever bell peppers you have on hand, feel free to skip the corn or replace it with something else like green beans. Find ground turkey too bland? Use ground beef!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.

This post was originally posted on March 15, 2017. Updated March 29, 2021, to provide clearer recipe information, nutritional information, ingredient information, and updated photography. The recipe has not changed.

How to Make a One-Pan Quinoa and Ground Turkey Skillet Dinner

Read the in-depth instructions below or watch the video tutorial.

To make this dish, heat up a big dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion in oil until they're soft and then browned. Add some ground turkey and brown that too.

Add the garlic, jalapeno, and bell pepper. Cook for only a minute or so to cook the garlic.

• 

• 

• 

Add black beans, corn, tomatoes, and spices. (For a vegetarian dish, I would double up the beans in place of the turkey.) Add a cup of water and the quinoa. Bring to a simmer and add a lid. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked, stirring once to resubmerge the quinoa in the liquid. If you need more liquid, add another ¼ to ½ cup of water.

Garnish with avocado, shredded cheese, and some yogurt or sour cream to balance the heat. And I like to serve it with tortilla chips.

Enjoy this one pan quinoa with ground turkey for an easy, healthy homemade dinner.

A note on photography: I try to improve my photography with every photo I take. I like to see how far I've come also and what I've learned. The photo below was taken 5 years before the updated photos.