Turkey Taco Meat Recipe

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 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. Boom!

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!

That’s if I’m being civilized, of course, because sometimes I just scoop it right out of the skillet with tortilla chips…and call it dinner!

I know…so classy!

Turkey taco meat: Stove Instructions

Ground turkey, white rice, tomatoes, and taco seasonings 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.

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

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

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 +4 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.

* see full recipe below

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 – Who doesn’t love the convenience and flavor of taco seasoning?

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

Recommended Kitchen Tools

• chef knife and cutting board
• Non-stick skillet
• silicone spoon

Hey wait! No beans?

Nope.

It’s crazy, but not everyone can eat beans…and sometimes I like to take breaks from them.

So, this recipe is dedicated to my bean-free readers.

But, if you want ’em…knock yourself out! Just add a can of drained, rinsed beans to the skillet before you simmer it. Boom!

Grab these healthy, Mexican recipes

10-Minute Cilantro Lime Brown Rice

Restaurant Style Salsa in 5 Minutes

30-Minute Vegetarian Skillet Enchiladas

Print REcipe

5 from 16 votes

Turkey Taco Meat Recipe

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.

Course Main Course, Meal Prep

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6 1-cup servings

Calories 251kcal

Author Traci Antonovich

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/4 large Red Onion diced
• 4 cloves Garlic finely grated
• 1 lb Ground Turkey
• 1 cup Long Grain White Rice uncooked
• 1 14.5-oz can No Salt Added Diced Tomatoes don’t drain
• 1 cup Reduced-Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 cup Water may need to adjust
• 2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt

Instructions

Taco Meat Stove Instructions

• Heat OLIVE OIL In a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.
• Add ONIONS and GARLIC; saute until tender (about 2 minutes).
• Add GROUND TURKEY and break into small pieces with a cooking utensil; saute until cooked through, stirring as needed (4-5 minutes).
• Add UNCOOKED RICE, TOMATOES, CHICKEN BROTH, WATER, TACO SEASONING, and SALT; stir to combine.
• Bring to a boil and maintain that for about 5 minutes, stirring as needed.
• Cover; reduce heat to med-low and simmer 15 minutes or until rice is cooked through. You can cook a little longer if there's excess liquid, or add a little water if you like it saucier.
• Serve warm as a filling/topping for burritos, nachos, tacos, or quesadillas. Garnish with any of the following: green onions, lime, cilantro, sour cream, Mexican cheese.

Taco Meat Instant Pot Instructions

• Place stainless steel insert into the Instant Pot, add OLIVE OIL, press the sauté button, and allow the oil to heat (about 2 min).
• Add ONIONS and GARLIC; saute until tender (about 2 minutes).
• Add GROUND TURKEY and break into small pieces with a cooking utensil; saute until cooked through, stirring as needed (4-5 minutes).

  Then add UNCOOKED RICE to the pot and allow it to saute in the oil for a few minutes, stirring as needed.
• Press “cancel” to stop sauté cycle; add TOMATOES, CHICKEN BROTH, WATER, TACO SEASONING, and SALT; stir to combine; close and lock the Instant Pot lid and turn steam the knob to “sealing" position.
• Press Manual > High Pressure, and set the timer for +4 (this step will take about 15 minutes)
• When the cycle ends, allow to sit, untouched, for 10 min (this is known as "natural pressure release").
• Then, carefully turn the steam knob to “venting” position to release all steam. This can take about 4 minutes. When steam is fully released, unlock and remove the lid (the Instant Pot defaults to “keep warm”).

RECIPE NOTES

Yield: 6 cups

Serving size: 1 cup

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy and are estimates based on unbranded ingredients acquired from a nutrition database. For accurate calculations, please refer to brand packaging information and consult your nutritionist.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Turkey Taco Meat Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 cup)

Calories 251 Calories from Fat 63

% Daily Value*

Fat 7g11%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 42mg14%

Sodium 320mg14%

Potassium 307mg9%

Carbohydrates 27g9%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 21g42%

Vitamin A 102IU2%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 15mg2%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Traci Antonovich

Recipe author and food photographer at The Kitchen Girl

I'm on a mission to help you eat healthy AND save money through simple, everyday recipes, product reviews, and budget-friendly kitchen tips.

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