40 Ground Turkey Recipes That Will Make You Forget About Beef
Anything beef can do, turkey can do better.
Who says turkey is only for Thanksgiving? Yes, sometimes we might make a batch of Thanksgiving burgers well before the holiday season, but ground turkey is our all year favorite for adding lean protein to pasta, soups, burgers. Sometimes we even prefer ground turkey as a healthy alternative to ground beef, especially when it means we get to eat ground turkey Italian sloppy joes, Instant Pot Thai turkey meatballs with rice noodles, and banh mi burgers.
Speaking of burgers, we love how delicious turkey burgers can be. When it comes to making a mean, lean turkey burger, we don't think you need to to cover up the fact that it's turkey, especially with our special hacks to help you achieve a supremely moist, flavorful patty. And you don't even have to grill out, simply turn on your oven and you'll be on your way to a killer baked turkey burger. After you try that, next on the menu are our recipes for Greek-stuffed turkey burgers, Italian turkey burgers, and sriracha turkey burgers.
Ground turkey is also one of our favorite ways to make our all-time favorite comfort foods a bit lighter, like we did with our turkey meatloaf and turkey shepherd's pie. Personally, we think there's really nothing more comforting than a freshly baked pasta dish (or really any pasta ever), which is why we have turkey lasagna, baked penne alla vodka with turkey, and spaghetti with turkey ragù on repeat.
Once you've mastered these, you'll love trying out all of our best ground chicken and ground beef recipes too.
Air Fryer Turkey Meatloaf
These little meatloaves are exactly what we want to eat when we’re homesick, even if we never had meatloaf growing up. Maybe it’s the ketchup. Maybe it’s the brown sugar. Maybe it’s the tantalizing scent of a cozy meal made extra easy in our air fryer!
Get the Air Fryer Turkey Meatloaf recipe.
Turkey Zucchini Enchilada Casserole
There are few things zucchini can't do, it seems. From grilled zucchini to zucchini soup and zucchini lattice lasagna, you can use it in so many different ways. Here, the summer squash is standing in for corn tortillas in this savory turkey zucchini enchilada casserole recipe.
Get the Turkey Zucchini Enchilada Casserole recipe.
Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps
No bread? No problem. Doubling up on romaine leaves insures a mess-free lunch, sans the carbs. If you're looking for more lettuce cup recipes try these easy Thai chicken lettuce cups next!
Get the Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps recipe.
Air Fryer Turkey Breakfast Sausage
You’re gonna flip over the flavor of these homemade sausage patties. They’re just as delicious as the classic pork version but made with leaner ground turkey (and in your air fryer = less oil!). Serve these alongside some air fryer pancakes or French toast sticks for the easiest breakfast ever.
Get the Air Fryer Turkey Breakfast Sausage recipe.
Turkey Feta Meatballs
These turkey feta meatballs are easy to make and can be served any way you like. We like these atop our lemon-yogurt spread, but feel free to get creative—meatball subs, spaghetti & meatballs, whatever you like.
Get the Turkey Feta Meatballs recipe.
Best-Ever Turkey Burger
We love our turkey burger for one simple reason: We let it be. We don't try to cover up the fact that it's turkey. Instead, we embrace it. Turkey burgers tend to be drier, so we add an egg to ours to help it hold together and give it moisture. Pro tip: Use 94 percent lean ground turkey so the patties easily stay together.
Get the Turkey Burger recipe.
Turkey Lasagna
We love ground beef with all our heart, but every now and then, we need a break. Enter: this beautifully cheesy ground turkey recipe. It's got everything you love about a traditional lasagna, only you'll feel a little better after destroying a big slice.
Get the Turkey Lasagna recipe.
Slow-Cooker Turkey Chili
Having a big bowl of chili ready at dinner with very minimal effort (and dishes) is what winter is all about. This turkey chili is both comforting and healthy. So grab your slow cooker and cozy on up.
Get the Slow-Cooker Turkey Chili recipe.
Turkey Shepherd's Pie
When the weather outside is frightful, nothing satisfies our craving for comfort food quite like a good shepherd's pie. A traditional shepherd's pie is made with ground lamb or beef, but this turkey version is surprisingly light and SO easy to make. If you'd like to bulk it up with more veggies, frozen corn, and/or frozen peas are a great addition!
Get the Turkey Shepherd's Pie recipe.
Best-Ever Turkey Meatloaf
Ground turkey recipes have a bad rep for being bland and boring. But this meatloaf is LOADED with flavor. How? Worcestershire garlic, rosemary, and thyme. We love rosemary and thyme, but you can feel free to add herb any you like (sage would be awesome in this recipe). And not only is the glaze totally delicious, but it's also only two ingredients: ketchup and brown sugar.
Get the Best-Ever Turkey Meatloaf recipe.
Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers with Pepper Jack
When you need a quick, healthy weeknight dinner option, stuffed peppers—and the endless ways to make them—are here for you. Swap ground turkey into our cheesesteak stuffed peppers next!
Get the Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers with Pepper Jack recipe.
Ground Turkey Italian Sloppy Joes
With ground turkey swapped in for beef and an Italian flair, these sloppy joes are anything but basic. For more sloppy eats, try ground turkey in our sloppy grilled cheese next!
Spaghetti With Turkey Ragù
You have no excuse to not make this stupid-easy ragù: Made with ground turkey, white wine, and crushed tomatoes, it's a flavor bomb.
Get the Spaghetti With Turkey Ragù recipe.
Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
We love how you can stuff sweet potatoes with pretty much anything. We took these into Tex-Mex territory with a combo of ground turkey, onion, carrots, tomatoes, and taco seasoning.
Get the Taco Stuffed Sweet Potatoes recipe.
Baked Italian Turkey Meatballs
These meatballs don't have any bread crumbs but instead are held together with ricotta and Parmesan. They're light and airy with tons of flavor, and the sauce brings it all together! Letting the meatballs simmer in the sauce for just 10 minutes after baking them will help make them get extra tender and flavorful.
Baked Turkey Burgers
These juicy turkey burgers are packed with flavor, thanks to soy sauce, garlic, scallions, and shallot. Baking the burgers removes the guesswork of knowing whether they're fully cooked. You can top these however you like, but we love adding some richness to the lean turkey burger with some avocado and onion.
Get the Baked Turkey Burgers recipe.
Baked Penne Alla Vodka with Turkey
There is nothing quite as comforting as a baked pasta dish. The sides get a little crispy and topping of melty cheese is to die for. Here we changed up the classic penne alla vodka a little bit and added in ground turkey. The result is a creamy pasta that satisfies every carb craving possible with a little extra boost of protein.
Get the Baked Penne Alla Vodka with Turkey recipe.
Spicy Turkey Chili
Making chili healthier might seem boring—who doesn't want some beef—but we found a way to make ground turkey taste ultra flavorful with garlic, jalapeño, cumin, and chili powder. Once you've mastered this recipe, check out all the chilis you can make all winter.
Get the Spicy Turkey Chili recipe.
Cheesy Turkey Meatball Skillet
Simmering in tomato sauce (we use jarred tomato sauce as a shortcut), these cheesy, super flavorful ground turkey meatballs are comfort in a skillet. Top your noodles with these or eat simply with some homemade focaccia!
Instant Pot Thai Turkey Meatballs
These turkey meatballs are the perfect dinner to get you back on track after a long string of late-night takeout. They're light, fresh, and full of flavor. Try them over rice noodles, a bed of greens, or some brown rice.
Mackenzie Filson is a food writer and contributing digital food producer at Delish. Her favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate-pine. If wine was an astrological sign she'd be a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. She's never met a bag of Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos she didn't eat in one sitting.