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!
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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!
Recipe
Quinoa Ground Turkey Skillet - One Pan Dinner
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 green bell pepper (diced)
- 1 red bell pepper (diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ 7 oz can of pickled jalapeno (diced, optional (adds a bit of heat. Could also use pre diced green chilies, or diced fresh jalapeno))
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 14 oz. can corn (drained)
- 1 19 oz. can black beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
- salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup quinoa (uncooked)
- Optional: diced avocado (shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, for serving)
Instructions
- Sauté onion in oil, over medium about 4-5 minutes.
- Add turkey and season with salt and pepper. Cook until brown, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add peppers, jalapenos and garlic, cook about 3 minutes.
- Add corn, beans, tomatoes, water, and spices. Bring to boil.
- Add quinoa and press into the liquid, making sure it's submerged. Add a lid, lower heat to about medium and simmer about 20 minutes or until quinoa is cooked. Stir once, halfway, making sure quinoa stays submerged in liquid. Season with salt and pepper.
- Garnish with diced avocado, shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate. Values vary based on products used.
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.
Ingredients Cook Ground Turkey Add everything else.
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.
Genie says
YUMMM! Love quinoa!
pipercooks says
Thanks for the comment Genie, Quinoa is great!
Angie says
Hi does anyone use salt and pepper
Jacqueline Piper says
Hi Angie,
Somehow I forgot to add salt and pepper to the ingredients list. I season the turkey and vegetables while they are cooking and then the whole dish once it's done cooking. I've updated the recipe card to reflect this. I hope you try and enjoy this recipe 🙂
Jacqueline
frugal hausfrau says
I can tell this isn't dull at all! Spicy and delish! Thanks for sharing with us at Throwback Thursday!
Mollie
pipercooks says
Thanks for hosting!
Karly says
This looks so healthy and delicious! Thanks for linkin' up with What's Cookin' Wednesday!
Quinn Caudill says
I am always looking for new ground turkey recipes. Thanks for sharing with us at Throwback Thursday! Pinned and shared!
Michelle says
The avocado sold me!
I need to give this a try. My husband is resisting a love for quinoa- maybe this version will change his mind!
Thanks
Michelle
pipercooks says
mm, avocado! Good luck with the recipe 🙂
KC says
Thank you for the recipe. It was easy preparation with simple ingredients. Easy to cook and the quinoa cooked perfectly. Very delicious. Would not change a thing.
Jacqueline Piper says
I'm glad you liked it, thanks for commenting 🙂
Carrie says
Absolutely delicious and easy. Our family loves this recipe.
Jacqueline Piper says
I'm glad your family loves this recipe, we love it too. Thank you for commenting!
Jacqueline Lambacher says
I absolutely love this! I don't add jalapeno, corn, or avocado! I also put it on a tortilla with sour cream and cheese, and my son loved it! I make a batch, and have it for lunch all week! It's nommy hot or cold! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Jacqueline Piper says
Thanks for the comment Jacqueline! I'm glad your family likes this recipe, and wrapping it in a tortilla is something I'll have to try 🙂
Jacqueline
Brooke says
I made this recipe and it turned out great! I doubled the amount of ground Turkey and it was great!
Jacqueline Piper says
That's great Brooke, I'm glad you liked it, good idea to double the protein 🙂 Thanks for commenting!
Jacqueline
C W says
Delicious!
I changed two things. I added the spices to the turkey as it cooked, and added the corn and beans near the end of the cooking time.
Five star recipe.
Jacqueline Piper says
Thank you for the notes and thanks for commenting, I'm glad you liked this recipe! 🙂
Jacqueline
loki says
this recipe makes about 8 servings. I would cut the quinoa in half.
Jacqueline Piper says
Thanks for trying it out and commenting!
Julie says
This was great, my husband even liked it!!! For the nutrition info, how much of it is 1 serving? It says it makes 4 servings but how much is 1 serving?
Jacqueline Piper says
Hi Julie,
I'm glad you both like the recipe! When I serve this I just divide it in 4 from the pan - the next time I make this I will measure out the servings and update this post!
Thanks for commenting 🙂
Jacqueline
Amy says
I’ve made this twice now and love it. It’s a delicious, flexible recipe that is easy to follow. I have officially added this healthy, protein-packed dish to my meal prep toolbox. Thank you for sharing it!
Jacqueline Piper says
That's great Amy! I love it when we can add something easy to our dinner plants 🙂 Thanks for commenting, I appreciate it!
SusieQ says
I was all out of black beans so I substituted fruit cocktail. I would not recommend using this in the future.
Keri Evert says
I did, but I changed it. I made it Mediterranean. I did the oil, turkey, onion, bell peppers, quinoa, water and tomatoes. Then I added garlic powder and Italian seasoning, kalamata olives and raw spinach. It was really delicious. Thank you!
Jacqueline Piper says
Those additions sound great Keri, thanks for sharing, and thank you for commenting!
Jacqueline
Cynthia says
I didn't have black beans on hand so used dark kidney beans. I also used multi-colored peppers. I added taco sauce to mine and garnished with sour cream and shredded cheese. My husband added hot sauce to his. We both like this dish!
Jacqueline Piper says
Sounds great Cynthia, love your substitutions! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Jacqueline