by Traci · Published: 10/03/2017 · Updated: 04/18/2022 · This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Turkey Taco Meat Recipe

Name: Turkey Taco Meat Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons Olive Oil; 1/2 medium Red Onion (diced (about 1 cup)); 4 cloves Garlic (minced); 1 pound Ground Turkey; 1 cup Long Grain White Rice (uncooked); 1 (14.5 ounce can) Diced Tomatoes (keep juice); 1 cup Chicken Broth; 1 cup Water (or more as needed); 2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning; 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

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5 from 17 votes

30 minutes

Family-friendly Turkey Taco Meat made with ground turkey, rice, canned tomatoes, everyday veggies, and a few pantry ingredients. Enjoy as an entree or as a Mexican filling. Includes stove and Instant Pot instructions.

turkey taco meat and rice in skillet with tomatoes and green onions

Table of Contents hide

1) Turkey Taco Meat with Rice

2) Turkey taco meat (stove instructions)

3) Turkey taco meat (Instant Pot instructions)

4) Turkey Taco Meat Ingredients

5) Turkey Taco Meat Recipe

Turkey Taco Meat with Rice

Here's a super simple Mexican dish. It's ground turkey taco meat made with rice in one skillet or in the Instant Pot. It's perfect for game day, Taco Tuesday, or busy-week burrito meal prep that you're planning to freeze.

I love it that one pot of this can be so flippin' delicious, and versatile, and gets me through a busy week! If I'm using it for meal prep, once it's cooked and cooled, I simply store it in the fridge in an airtight container. I then dish it out through the week into a taco salad, burritos, enchiladas, nachos...you name it!

Turkey taco meat (stove instructions)

Ground turkey, white rice, tomatoes, and taco seasoning are simmered to create a quick skillet dinner or a tasty filling for your favorite Mexican foods. Here's the step by step with photos. You can grab the full recipe below!

Step 1. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

red onions and celery being sauteed in skillet

Step 2. Add ground turkey and cook through, stirring as needed. Then add uncooked rice and saute briefly.

ground turkey and rice being stirred by wooden spoon in skillet

Step 3. Add canned tomatoes, chicken stock, and seasoning.

turkey taco meat in skillet with tomatoes and chicken broth

Step 4. Bring it to a boil, cover, and simmer until the rice is cooked through; serve warm as an entree or as a filling for your favorite Mexican foods.

Turkey taco meat (Instant Pot instructions)

Step 1: Place stainless insert in the Instant Pot, press the “Saute” button and add olive oil. When the Instant Pot liner is hot, add and saute onions and garlic, stirring as needed. Add ground turkey and saute until cooked through.

Step 2: Then add remaining ingredients to the Instant Pot: rice, tomatoes, chicken broth, water (if needed), and seasonings. Stir to combine.

Step 3: Close and lock the lid, turn the steam release knob to “sealed” position; set Instant Pot to Manual or Pressure Cook for 5 minutes.

Step 4: When the cooking cycle is complete, allow the pot to sit, untouched for about 15 minutes. This is called natural pressure release. Then, carefully turn the steam release knob to fully depressurize the Instant Pot (takes 2-4 minutes). Stir the pot for even distribution of ingredients. Serve warm as an entree or use as a filling for your favorite Mexican recipes.

Turkey Taco Meat Ingredients

olive oil - You can also use extra-virgin olive oil or any neutral-flavored oil for that matter.

red onion - I'm crazy about red onions...what can I say?! Any onions will work for taco meat.

fresh garlic - Huge fan of fresh garlic for just about everything! You could use garlic powder if you have no fresh on hand.

ground turkey - Try to buy lean ground turkey (white meat) as opposed to non-lean, which can be just as fatty as beef.

long-grain white rice (uncooked) - The beauty of this recipe is that you don't have to cook the rice separately. Everything is done in one pot.

canned diced tomatoes - Try to buy the low sodium version of diced tomatoes so you can be in control of the salt.

chicken broth - This is another ingredient where you can buy a low sodium broth...I always do!

water - This is only necessary if you feel you need to add more water to cover your ingredients in the skillet or in the instant pot.

taco seasoning - Use store-bought packet or make taco seasoning substitute.

Kosher salt - You can also use fine sea salt, but you'll want to cut the amount in half that of the Kosher salt.

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(top) turkey taco meat and rice in skillet with tomatoes and green onions (bottom) title text

(top) turkey taco meat and rice in skillet with tomatoes and green onions (center) title text (bottom) turkey taco meat in skillet with tomatoes and chicken broth

(top) process photos of turkey taco meat recipe being made (bottom) title text

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