Ground Turkey Dinner Skillet
This ground turkey dinner skillet is one of my quick and easy ground turkey recipes. This healthy dinner skillet can be on the table in less than 30 minutes! With good-for-us asparagus, it’s a wholesome dinner that’s Whole30 compliant, too.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, time is at a premium around here. With so much going on, time for cooking has shrunk considerably. So I’m really having to come up with quick meals, particularly dinner.
I think most of you can probably relate to it being the day before payday with nothing much in the fridge. I was so there until I discovered a package of ground turkey in the freezer. Eureka! Dinner was saved!!
And the best part is that the ground turkey dinner skillet is super fast and easy to make. I had dinner on the table in under 30 minutes and even saved a small dish to photograph for my post here the next morning. Ground turkey recipes save the day yet again!
Is Turkey Better For You Than Beef?
If you compare nutrition data, lean ground turkey is the better option. While turkey has more cholesterol than beef, beef has more saturated fat. Your best option, strictly based on nutrition data, is the leanest ground turkey you can find.
How Long Can You Keep Ground Turkey In The Fridge?
One to three days is the limit. By day four, you can usually smell a change in the meat, which means it’s going bad.
Can You Freeze Fresh Ground Turkey?
Absolutely! I highly recommend freezing any raw ground turkey you buy unless you plan to eat it quickly. It’s a great way to stock up during sales. Ground turkey can be frozen for about 4 months before the flavor starts to change.
What You’ll Need To Make This Ground Turkey Skillet Recipe
Ground turkey – This can be lean ground turkey or regular ground turkey. In fact, if you prefer, you can even use ground beef. One will work here.
Asparagus – Clean and chop your asparagus into bite-sized pieces. Pieces that are too large won’t be as easy to eat in this dish.
Garlic powder – I used garlic granules, but powder works just as well here. Use what you have.
Onion powder – Again, I used onion granules, but the powder does just fine.
Dried parsley – If you prefer to use fresh parsley, you’ll want to chop about 3 tbsp. to add to this dish. Plus, it’s nice to have a little extra for garnish.
Salt and pepper – I like to add these after cooking so I don’t end up over-salting my food. But there is a lot to be said for salting during the cooking process. So I leave that up to you.
Oil – If you find that while you are browning your meat, the pan starts to dry out, you can use more oil if you wish, but I find that using a little chicken broth is better. It still gets the job done but doesn’t add any extra fat.
How To Make Ground Turkey Asparagus Skillet
In a large skillet, warm the oil.
Add the meat and stir to scramble while cooking until browned.
Add in the spices and asparagus and continue cooking until the meat is cooked through.
Serve over whole-grain pasta or brown rice, or enjoy as-is for a lower-carb option.
NOTE: If your skillet starts to dry out before the asparagus is fully cooked, you can either add more oil or use ½ a cup of chicken or vegetable broth to finish cooking everything. I use chicken broth when needed.
Optional Add-Ins
If you want to round out this meal a bit, you can try adding some of the following:
- Mushrooms
- Black beans
- Cheese – for garnish, like parmesan cheese or mozzarella
- Bell peppers
- Tomatoes
- Corn
Garnishes To Try
- Cilantro
- Parsley
- Sour cream – or plain Greek yogurt
Ground Turkey Recipes For Dinner
- Garden Vegetable Turkey Skillet Recipe – The Gracious Pantry
- Ground Turkey Pumpkin Skillet Recipe – The Gracious Pantry
- Instant Pot Pasta With Pesto And Mozzarella – Recipes From The Pantry
- Whole30 Meatballs With Zoodles And Marinara Sauce – One Clever Chef
- Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet – Midlife Healthy Living
- Turkey Chili With Chipotle And Apples – Snacking In Sneakers
- Air Fryer Turkey Burgers – Simply Happy Foodie
- Healthy White Bean Turkey Chili – Plating Pixels
- Italian Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet – Delicious Little Bites
- Turkey Vegetable Spaghetti – This Delicious House
- Greek Turkey Burgers With Tzatziki Sauce – Swirls Of Flavor
Low-Carb Turkey Dinner Recipes
- Turkey Meatballs With Thyme And Ricotta – Step Away From The Carbs
- Turkey Picadillo Lettuce Wraps – Kalyn’s Kitchen
- Slow Cooker Turkey Pumpkin Chili – Low Carb Yum
- Turkey Taco Skillet – Step Away From The Carbs
- Spinach And Feta Turkey Burgers – Atkins
- Taco Stuffed Avocados – Kirbie’s Cravings
- Ground Turkey Cabbage Skillet – Primavera Kitchen
- Ground Turkey Skillet With Green Beans – Primavera Kitchen
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Ground Turkey And Asparagus Skillet
CLICK TO WATCH THIS RECIPE IN ACTION!
Equipment
- Large Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1 lb. asparagus (cleaned and chopped)
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. dried parsley
- salt and pepper (to taste after cooking)
- 2 tbsp. oil (more as needed or use chicken broth to lower fat content)
Instructions
- In a large skillet, warm the oil.
- Add the meat and stir to scramble while cooking until browned.
- Add in the spices and asparagus and continue cooking until the meat is cooked through.
- Serve over whole grain pasta, brown rice or enjoy as is for a lower carb option.
- NOTE: If your skillet starts to dry out before the asparagus is fully cooked, you can either add more oil, or use a ½ cup of chicken or vegetable broth to finish cooking everything. I use chicken broth when needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe from the Gracious Pantry archives, originally posted 12/17/17.
It appears there is some sort of breading or soemthing on there, am I missing an item on ingredients
Andy – Nope! No breading! 🙂
I liked the recipe, but I put minced garlic cloves and chopped onions and fresh Italian flat leaf parsley for garnish. I also used a little nutritional yeast on top. Served it over organic brown rice/quinoa fusilli pasta. It was good. Thanks for sharing!
Sheri – Wonderful! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Sounds like you made some great additions!
My food burned and my asparagus wasn’t cooked through so I can’t really recommend this one 🙁
Michelle – It could be a difference between our cookware and stove tops. Perhaps try adding the asparagus in earlier so every thing cooks together. Sorry it didn’t work well for you! 🙁
This is an amazing healthy quick dinner! I added 2 tsp of ground ginger in with the spices and coconut aminos in with the asparagus, covered and simmered until asparagus was cooked to my liking.
Christina – Fantastic! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Absolutely delicious & oh so healthy.
Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.
Thank You for sharing.
Ruth – Fantastic!! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 😀
This is good but I chopped up green pepper,onion,garlic as well as adding the spices. I also added 1 TBS of ginger and a little veggie broth just to coat the bottom while the asparagus cooked so it would not burn.😉
Crystal – Glad it worked for you! 🙂
Not going to lie, I did not have high hopes for this recipe. I was only eating it to diet a bit. My 5 year old said it was “the perfect meal” said she wanted to eat it every single day and gobbled it up. My husband and I both really enjoyed it! I will definitely be making this again. I used green beans instead of asparagus because thats what I had on hand. I also air fried some cubed sweet potatoes with cayenne, chili powder, and garlic powder, and threw them in the final product and it was really great. Thanks for the recipe!
Isbelle – I’m so happy you all enjoyed it! Yay! Thanks for the feedback! 😀
a this was so easy and pretty tasty! my picky kids even liked it. I added the asparagus immediately when i put the turkey in and added about 1/4 cup chicken stock after the turkey started to brown.
We served it on top of cavatappi pasta (spiral macaroni) with a handful of shredded mozzarella to top off each bowl. so easy! i will definitely be saving this recipe to make again.
Katie – I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 😀 I love it when kids like my recipes. It’s like getting an extra high-five. LOL!
This was excellent! Thank you for sharing. I didn’t have dried parsley so I used dry oregano instead. I cooked the ground turkey till done, added chicken broth and asparagus and cooked for 4 minutes uncovered. Served it over some white rice with soy sauce and sesame seed cause we love Asian inspired food. Really tasty recipe 🙂
Brianna – Fantastic! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! I like your version, I’ll have to try it. 🙂
I made this pretty much exactly as directed but added some red pepper flakes and a splash of dry white wine. Served over zoodles and it was delicious!! Yum! Will make again!
Cara – Thanks for the feedback! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 😀
This was excellent. I will be making it again. Quick and easy, with flavor
Ann – Wonderful! I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thanks for the feedback! 😀
To my surprise my family really liked this. My kids asked me to make it again. It was a last min I don’t know what to make for dinner kind of night, so I looked up what to make with ground turkey and this popped up. I happened to have some asparagus we needed to use and this was perfect. I also added some soy sauce and ground ginger). Served over jasmine rice.
Will be using this in our rotation now. Thanks
So much!
HeatherG – That’s fantastic! I’m so happy everyone enjoyed it. Thanks for giving it a try! 🙂
How much is a serving size?
Amanda – A 1/4 of the recipe.
I’m confused by the step-by-step photos, ingredients, and your final close-up photo.
Final photo has larger bits of asparagus and definitely looks like whole, diced or shredded turkey with breading? Are these two different recipes?
Will try the posted recipe, though, since so many rated it highly.
Cinda – That’s just the way it looks when the turkey browns. You can cut the asparagus to whatever size you prefer. I just didn’t get it very uniformly cut. I was in a hurry. Hope you enjoy it!
Yummy recipe! We made this, atop quinoa cooked in turkey stock. A bit of fresh grated Parmesan for garnish. VERY tasty!! Thank you! 😊
Jenna – Fantastic! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 😀
Very quick and easy recipe. I made a couple of modifications – once ground turkey was cooked through and all ingredients were together I left on heat and covered with a lid to soften the asparagus. I also mixed in 2 Tbsp of Coconut Aminos as I thought the flavor was a bit bland.
I would definitely fix this again. Quick, easy healthy recipe that one could add any number of vegetables to for variety.
TG67 – I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I thought it was a little bit bland so I added some garlic cloves. I like one commenter’s suggestion of adding some chopped onion and fresh parsley. Next time I might try that along with the author’s suggestion of mushrooms, peppers, or even Greek yogurt. I think this is a good base recipe to add your own twist to. Super easy to make too!
Kim – I’m glad you were able to adjust it! 😀