Recipe Roundup

31 Ground Turkey Recipes That Make the Best Weeknight Dinners

Fast-track dinner—and make the whole household happy—with these easy recipes that make the most of ground turkey.
A plate of turkey meatballs on a bed of bright red romesco sauce.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by D'Myrtrek Brown

Ground turkey recipes are essential to our weeknight cooking rotation. They’re easy. They’re speedy. And everyone at the table happily digs in. If you have a pound of ground turkey in the fridge and you’re not sure how to use it, let us guide you to our best spins on comfort foods like meatloaf, shepherd’s pie, and burgers, plus lots of options to add to your own weekly meal plan.

When we’re making recipes with ground turkey, we tend to shop for the type that includes at least some dark meat from the turkey legs. It’s richer and less prone to drying out than lean ground turkey breast. However, the two are relatively interchangeable, so feel free to use whatever you have on hand. And, the truth is that ground turkey can sub in for pretty much any ground meat, so you may want to peruse our archives for ground pork and ground chicken recipes as well. But before you jump over there, scroll down for a few of our favorite ground turkey recipes, each one primed and ready for dinner tonight.

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  • Lead image for New Year's Day foods saucy pistachiopomegranate turkey meatballs in a baking dish.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    1/32

    Kufteh-Ye Pesteh-o Anar

    You may think of ground turkey recipes as Tuesday night dinner material, but some of them are worthy of a celebration. These herby meatballs get flavored with pistachios and sauced with tangy pomegranate juice plus both pomegranate and grape molasses. Wrap each juicy bite in lavash and lettuce.

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  • Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton
    2/32

    Simple Turkey Chili With All the Toppings

    Make a big batch of our go-to turkey chili recipe, and you’ll be set for busy evenings to come. Pile with avocado, crumbled tortilla chips, and cilantro—or your favorite toppings.

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  • Baxter Miller
    5/32

    Sloppy Joe Shirred Eggs With Spinach

    Nostalgia factors in hard on this sloppy-Joe-inspired turkey skillet recipe. Garlicky spinach punches up the flavor while adding greens. No bun required, though you might want a hunk of bread for dipping.

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  • Photo by Sarah Leung and Kaitlin Leung
    6/32

    Curry Puffs

    Not sure what to serve as an appetizer at your next dinner party? Grab some puff pastry at the store. These sweet-and-savory bites from The Woks of Life cookbook are a guaranteed hit.

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  • Photo by Alice Gao, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Diana Yen
    7/32

    Turkey Meatballs With Cranberry Sauce

    Holiday flavors like cranberry and sage are the backbone of this recipe, while ginger adds warmth. These little guys are great as an appetizer or piled into a sub—and they make a great post-Thanksgiving dinner if you didn’t end up with any leftover turkey.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    8/32

    Spiced Turkey Chili With Spaghetti Squash

    Love a warmly spiced Cincinnati chili? Then this version, served with the fun noodle-like threads you get from roasted spaghetti squash, is made for you. Top with sliced olives and chopped onion.

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  • 23/32

    Chili of Forgiveness

    There’s a reason chili comes up frequently when you're talking about easy ground turkey recipes. It's fuss free and very flexible. No squash on hand? Don’t worry! Sub in sweet potato and continue with your meal prep. Like most chili recipes, this reheats well.

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  • Photo by Maraia Charles
    24/32

    Old-Bay Turkey Cheeseburgers

    These turkey burgers use English muffins instead of buns, and the Tabasco ketchup adds some perky heat.

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  • Stephanie Gaudreau
    25/32

    Spinach and Olive Turkey Burgers

    Spinach, olives, and fresh herbs give this ground turkey recipe a burst of Greek-inspired flavor. We suggest a garnish of sliced tomato, crumbled feta, and cucumber.

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  • Catherine McCord
    26/32

    Spaghetti Pie

    Here’s one of those dinner recipes that the whole family will request on repeat. Spaghetti serves as the “crust” on this playful dish, which has a super cheesy blend of ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan for richness and flavor.

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  • Yunhee Kim
    27/32

    Summer Squash Sloppy Joes

    You don’t need ground beef to satisfy a sloppy Joe craving. Summer squash adds bulk here, giving the old-school dinner a bit of summer flair. A sauté of carrots and onion brings in natural sweetness.

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell
    28/32

    Hot Sesame Noodles With Scallions

    How is this weeknight dinner? “Really good and quite easy,” reports one reader. Says another: “The sauce is fantastic and easy to make.” We’re sold.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca
    31/32

    Herby Sheet-Pan Meatballs With Green Beans

    These bouncy meatballs start with a combo of ground dark-meat turkey and grated zucchini, flavored with cumin and tons of fresh herbs.

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  • Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht, Prop Styling by Emma Ringness
    32/32

    Falafel-Spiced Turkey Burgers

    We’re guessing you have plenty of ideas for what to make with ground turkey now, but we’ll round out this list of our best ground turkey recipes with just one more burger—it’s a good one. Crisp the patties in a skillet then pile on the red onion, mint, and lemony yogurt sauce. Want to skip the bun? These work as lettuce wraps too.

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Following stints at StarChefs and Saveur, Joe joined Epicurious in 2016 where he’s written about how to make the very best biscuits, the singularity of third-culture cooking, and the ultimate cream cheese frosting. Currently, he works across both BA and Epi as the senior SEO editor for cooking stories, which... Read more
Senior SEO Editor, Cooking
The Epicurious editorial team develops original recipes, and publishes stories about cooking better, faster, and more creatively, sustainably, and affordably. See our full masthead, here.
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