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.

An up close, overhead view of a white platter holding a serving of this Ground Turkey Dinner Skillet Recipe.

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!

An overhead view of a square, white platter holding a swerving of this Ground Turkey Dinner Skillet Recipe.

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

Warming the oil in the skillet for this Ground Turkey Skillet Dinner Recipe.

In a large skillet, warm the oil.

Adding the raw meat to the skillet for cooking this Ground Turkey Skillet Dinner Recipe.

Add the meat and stir to scramble while cooking until browned.

Adding the spices to the skillet.

Add in the spices and asparagus and continue cooking until the meat is cooked through.

Adding the asparagus to the skillet for this Ground Turkey Skillet Dinner Recipe.

Serve over whole-grain pasta or brown rice, or enjoy as-is for a lower-carb option.

The finished Ground Turkey Dinner Skillet Recipe on a white, square platter.

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

Low-Carb Turkey Dinner Recipes

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An up close, overhead view of a white platter holding a serving of this Ground Turkey Dinner Skillet Recipe.

Ground Turkey And Asparagus Skillet

This easy to make ground turkey dinner skillet will get dinner on the table in no time!
4.18 from 45 votes
Print Pin Rate Add to Collection
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 238kcal

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.
    Warming the oil in the skillet for this Ground Turkey Skillet Dinner Recipe.
  • Add the meat and stir to scramble while cooking until browned.
    Adding the raw meat to the skillet for cooking this Ground Turkey Skillet Dinner Recipe.
  • Add in the spices and asparagus and continue cooking until the meat is cooked through.
    Adding the spices to the skillet.
  • Serve over whole grain pasta, brown rice or enjoy as is for a lower carb option.
    Adding the asparagus to the skillet for this Ground Turkey Skillet Dinner Recipe.
  • 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.
    The finished Ground Turkey Dinner Skillet Recipe on a white, square platter.

Notes

Please note that the nutrition data below is a ballpark figure. Exact data is not possible.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25the recipe | Calories: 238kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 74mg | Potassium: 683mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 935IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 4.1mg

Recipe from the Gracious Pantry archives, originally posted 12/17/17.

Author: Tiffany McCauley

Title: Journalist

Expertise: Food, cooking, travel

Bio:

Tiffany McCauley is a nationally syndicated journalist and an award-winning cookbook author. She is also a food blogger. She has been featured on MSN, Huffington Post, Country Living Magazine, HealthLine, Redbook, and many more. She has helped thousands of people learn to cook simple, clean, and healthy foods in their own home kitchens. She lives in Maine and loves Elvis, sunflowers, and a good seafood chowder, as well as travel writing.

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34 Comments

  1. It appears there is some sort of breading or soemthing on there, am I missing an item on ingredients

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Andy – Nope! No breading! 🙂

      1. 4 stars
        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!

  2. My food burned and my asparagus wasn’t cooked through so I can’t really recommend this one 🙁

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      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! 🙁

  3. Christina Marie says:

    5 stars
    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.

    1. The Gracious Pantry says:

      Christina – Fantastic! I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂

  4. Ruth Kukaska says:

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious & oh so healthy.

    Looking forward to trying more of your recipes.

    Thank You for sharing.

  5. Crystal M Wend says:

    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.😉

  6. 5 stars
    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!

  7. 4 stars
    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.

    1. 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!

  8. 5 stars
    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 🙂

  9. 5 stars
    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!

  10. 5 stars
    This was excellent. I will be making it again. Quick and easy, with flavor

  11. 5 stars
    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!

  12. How much is a serving size?

  13. 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.

    1. 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!

  14. 5 stars
    Yummy recipe! We made this, atop quinoa cooked in turkey stock. A bit of fresh grated Parmesan for garnish. VERY tasty!! Thank you! 😊

  15. 4 stars
    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.

  16. 4 stars
    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!