How to cook ground turkey for tacos

Are you looking for a quick, easy, and tasty taco recipe? These ground turkey tacos are just right for a simple dinner on a busy night. Your family will love these – and bonus, this recipe is gluten free and dairy free, too!

We all need easy dinner recipes in our arsenal, right? Recipes that require simple ingredients, very little effort, but still taste great are an important part of feeding a family.

These quick and easy turkey tacos are just the thing to make on those nights when you want to serve something everyone loves, but don’t have a ton of time to spare.

• Ingredient Notes
• Taco Seasoning
• Serving Suggestions
• Side Dishes for Turkey Tacos
• Serving a Crowd
• Storage
• More Gluten Free Dinners
• Recipe

Ingredient Notes

• Ground Turkey – You need to use 93% lean ground turkey. This is the kind of ground turkey that has more fat and therefore more flavor and moisture. If you get anything leaner than that, your taco meat will be dry.
• Spices – To make your own taco seasoning, you will need paprika, chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder. I use McCormick spices, but you should always check and make sure that any brand is safe for your particular allergies or dietary needs.
• Ketchup – I use ketchup when I make this taco meat. You could also use tomato sauce or tomato paste if that’s what works for you. If you can’t have tomato due to a nightshade allergy, feel free to leave it out.

Taco Seasoning

Back in the days before you had food allergies or intolerances, you may have purchased a taco kit – the kind of thing that has taco shells, seasoning, and sauce – everything you need to make a quick dinner. But if you are trying to avoid allergens, extra additives, or cross contamination of allergens, you may want to make your own taco seasoning. That way you can choose the brands of spices you use, and you can control the level of spiciness as well.

The homemade taco seasoning in these turkey tacos is full of flavor, but still mild enough for children. If you want to spice it up more, just increase the amount of chili powder, or add hot sauce or spicy salsa.

Serving Suggestions

We like to use corn taco shells for our turkey tacos. If you are gluten free, please read the label to make sure that your corn taco shells are gluten free.

If you have a corn allergy, don’t despair! This turkey taco meat is delicious when served over rice. Just prepare your rice, and serve the taco meat on top, along with your favorite taco toppings, like tomatoes, lettuce, dairy free cheese, dairy free sour cream, salsa, cilantro, or guacamole.

There are also some brands of corn free tortilla chips out there. You could check into brands like Siete or Beanitos. Be sure to check and see if they will work for your specific allergy needs.

Side Dishes for Turkey Tacos

• Homemade Salsa Verde
• Cherry Tomato Salsa
• Roasted Summer Vegetables

Serving a Crowd

This is a great recipe to feed a crowd – I’ve made these turkey tacos for parties, and they’re always a big hit! Simply double or triple the recipe as needed.

Storage

Store leftover taco meat in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It should stay fresh for about 4 days.

You can also freeze this taco meat – place in a freezer safe container or bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

More Gluten Free Dinners

• Turkey Sloppy Joes
• Delicata Squash Taco Boats
• Roasted Red Pepper Vegan Quesadillas

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Recipe

5 from 4 votes

The Tastiest Turkey Tacos (Quick and Easy).

These turkey tacos are quick, easy, and family friendly! You will love this flavorful meat filling – it's delicious and simple to make.

Course Entree

Cuisine Dairy Free, gluten free

Keyword easy, kid friendly

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes

Total Time 22 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 328 kcal

Author Kelly Roenicke

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey 93% lean
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• 1 Tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons ketchup
• ¼ cup water
• gluten free taco shells prepared according to package directions
• toppings of your choice lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, dairy free cheese, avocado

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

1. Put the 93% lean ground turkey and chopped onions in a skillet and cook over medium heat until browned and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Drain off any grease.

2. Add the spices, ketchup, and water. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.

3. Spoon taco meat into taco shells and top with your choice of toppings.

Recipe Notes

I often double this recipe – feel free to double or triple for larger families.

I use McCormick brand seasonings because I am comfortable with their labeling and allergen statement. Be sure to read labels and use a spice brand that is safe for your needs.

Be sure to use 93% lean ground turkey. Anything leaner and the meat will be dry. If you would rather use ground beef, you can do that.

Store leftover taco meat in the refrigerator. It should stay fresh for about 4 days.

You can also freeze this turkey taco meat. Store in a freezer safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.

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