Best Ground Turkey Recipes for Dinner

Ground Turkey Recipes take up a ton of space in my cookbook. Lean ground turkey is a healthier alternative to ground beef, simple to cook yet still incredibly flavorful.

Ground turkey recipes are a budget-friendly way to add lean protein to just about any meal, like turkey burgers, turkey meatballs and turkey meatloaf.

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Why I Love Ground Turkey Recipes

Who says turkey is just for Thanksgiving? If you aren’t cooking with ground turkey, you should be! It’s a great way to shave a few calories off your weeknight dinner routine.

Ground turkey easily replaces ground beef in just about any recipe and cooks up in the same amount of time with a lot less fat. Turkey has a great flavor and it’s easily influenced by whatever flavors you want to throw at it.

We love using ground turkey instead of beef for easy weeknight meals, and use it often for turkey burgers, soups, and tacos.

FAQs

Tips and Tricks for Cooking

• Great for freezing! Make up a double batch of ground turkey when you’re cooking it for your recipe and freeze it to use later.
• Be careful not to over-handle the meat. As with ground beef, turkey can become tough when over-mixed. Handle the meat as little as possible when shaping into burgers, meatballs and meatloaf, and use a soft touch to prevent pushing too much air out of the mixture. That’s what’s going to yield the most tender and juicy bite.
• Don’t overcook the meat. Because of it’s low fat content, ground turkey can quickly dry out and become tough. To avoid this, keep an instant read thermometer on hand to check the temperature. It should reach 165 degrees when fully cooked.
• Serve cooked ground turkey on it’s own over mashed potatoes or brown rice with a side salad and your choice of veggies.

Storage

You have two options when freezing ground turkey – raw or cooked.

Freezing raw ground turkey:

You can place this into the freezer directly in the package from the grocery store or re-wrap it tighter to help prevent freezer burn.

The best way to thaw anything, especially raw meat, is to place it in the refrigerator overnight. Thawing on the counter is not recommended as the uneven temperature can cause bacteria to develop.

To thaw frozen ground turkey quickly, unwrap and place in a microwave safe dish and use the defrost setting on your microwave. Be sure to turn it in the dish a few times to ensure even defrosting. Of course you can also thaw overnight in the fridge.

Freezing cooked ground turkey:

Cook the turkey in a big batch with whatever seasonings you like. Allow it to cool completely (but for no longer than 2 hours), then place portions into freezer bags or airtight freezer containers and freeze for up to 4 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then add to soups, tacos, wraps and more.

Refrigerating cooked turkey:

Store cooked meat in the fridge in an airtight container and use it up within 4 days. Great for lunch prep or for adding to soups, tacos, etc. throughout the week.