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This easy, one-pan cheesy ground turkey taco skillet dinner is going to quickly become a family favorite meal. Super simple prep, uses lots of pantry staples and is so cheesy and loaded with flavor. It is a hearty meal made in one dish and pairs perfectly with all your favorite toppings from taco night–think outside of the tortilla!
Taco night just got even better with this easy cheesy taco skillet dinner. Your favorite Mexican inspired dinner that is a whole meal in one dish–can’t wait until you try it!
Love one-pan and one-pot dinner recipes? Try these other favorites: Ground Turkey Stroganoff, One Pan Chicken and Rice, One-Pot Chili Mac and Cheese, Ground Turkey Pot Pie or these Ground Turkey Egg Roll Bowls.
Why We Love This Cheesy Turkey Taco Skillet Dinner
One-pot meals are by far my favorite dinner recipes of all. This new cheesy turkey taco skillet dinner was made to be kid friendly but also the husband fell in LOVE –adult friendly and kid friendly? Sign me up!
This cheesy ground turkey taco skillet:
- is a one-pan dinner that’s simple, hearty, and flavorful
- a perfect family-friendly weeknight meal with familiar taco flavors the kids and adults will love
- uses your favorite taco seasoning to keep it not too spicy for your family (or extra spicy if you like that!)
- a full meal that includes protein, veggies, rice, and cheese in one pan
- is a well-balanced comfort food dinner that is also great for leftovers or weekly meal prep
My husband doesn’t really do leftovers but eats this meal several days in a row when I make it–enough said!
Ingredient Notes
See full list of ingredients with measurements below in recipe card.
- We use ground turkey that is not too lean for optimal flavor and juiciness. I typically buy the 93% lean or 85%. I find the 99% lean doesn’t have as much flavor and tends to dry out more easily.
- Any rice that has been previously cooked should work just fine in this recipe. Leftover rice in the fridge, a pouch of pre-cooked rice, frozen rice, white rice, brown rice, etc. If adding frozen rice, you will want to add a couple minutes to cook time for it to thaw and reheat. Using pre-cooked rice allows this recipe to be made without a lot of extra liquid–bonus!
- I use a can of corn kernels because I always have too many cans of it that sit forever, but you can use frozen corn if preferred.
- Use a can of fire-roasted tomatoes instead of plain diced tomatoes for an extra layer of flavor in this cheesy taco skillet.
- Shredded your own cheese will make for the gooiest, meltiest cheese versus using a bag of pre-shredded cheese, but either will still work just fine!
Ways To Vary This Recipe
- skip the taco seasoning: you can use the seasoning from this Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet which has a combination of smoked paprika, chili powder, cumin, oregano and a few other spices!
- use a different meat: you can skip the ground turkey and use ground beef or ground chicken instead. If you use ground beef, you will want to drain any grease after browning it.
- make it extra spicy: use a spicy taco mix packet, add some hot sauce or sriracha or add some crushed red pepper
- vary the cheese: use a pepper jack cheese, an habanero cheese, queso fresco–the options are really endless
- use riced cauliflower instead of the rice for a more veggie forward dish. If opting for cauliflower rice, the main focus is not to overcook it so it doesn’t become mushy. For best results, you probably want to cook it separately. Add it to a separate skillet with olive oil and sauté for about 5-6 minutes and then stir it into the turkey taco skillet along with the tomato sauce, cheese and cilantro.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Heat a large sauté pan, skillet or short dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and allow to heat up until glistening. Add the diced onion and bell peppers. Sauté, stirring regularly until the onions begin to become translucent. Scoot the veggies to the side of the pan and add the ground turkey. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder over top of the turkey and let it sit unbothered for about 2-3 minutes before breaking apart the meat into smaller pieces.
Step 2: Cook the ground turkey and vegetables together until the turkey is cooked through and no longer pink.
Step 3: Shift the heat to medium and add in the diced tomatoes, green chiles, black beans, corn, rice, taco seasoning, remaining garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and allow to simmer for about 4-6 minutes to allow the ingredients to heat up.
Step 4: Test that the rice is heated and once it’s cooked, stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese, tomato sauce, lime juice and chopped cilantro. Stir until cheese is melted.
Step 5: Once cheese is melted, remove the skillet from the heat and sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese over top. Transfer to the oven and broil on high for about 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.
Step 6: Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving topped with more cilantro. Top with any favorite toppings like diced avocado, diced tomatoes, jalapeños, sour cream and much more!
Recipe Tips
Use an oven proof pan or skillet so that you can easily pop it in the oven to broil. If you don’t have one, you can transfer to an oven-safe dish or just allow the cheese to sit and melt over top of the hot taco skillet.
If the mixture seems a bit dry, or too much of the liquid from the tomatoes evaporates, add a bit of chicken broth or extra tomato sauce to help balance it a bit.
You can serve this in a variety of ways beyond just spooning it on a plate. We stuff baked sweet potatoes, lettuce wraps, burritos, or use chips and spoon it onto them.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for about 3-4 days in the refrigerator. You can freeze this dish quite easily as well as long as you allow it to cool completely first. Then add to a freezer-safe sealed container for up to 3 months.
To reheat, you can bake in a baking dish at 350°F for about 15-20 minutes, adding fresh cheese over top or microwave single servings for about 90 seconds to two minutes.
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Cheesy Turkey Rice Taco Skillet
Ingredients
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1½ tsp garlic powder, divided
- 2 bell peppers (we use 1 red and 1 green), diced
- ½ medium red onion, diced
- 1 packet taco seasoning (1 – 1.3 oz.), we use Siete
- ½ tsp each: salt and pepper, less salt if desired
- 1½ cup rice, pre-cooked
- 1 can of diced green chilies , (4 oz.)
- 1 can corn kernels, drained, (15.25 oz.) approx. 1½ cups corn
- 1 can black beans, (15 oz.)
- can diced tomatoes (with juices), (14.5 oz.)
- juice of 1 lime
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 – 2½ c shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large sauté pan, skillet or shallow dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil and allow to heat up until glistening.
- Add the diced onion and bell peppers. Sauté, stirring regularly until the onions begin to become translucent. Scoot the veggies to the side of the pan and add the ground turkey. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder over top of the turkey and let it sit unbothered for about 2-3 minutes before breaking apart the meat into smaller pieces.
- Cook the ground turkey and vegetables together until the turkey is cooked through and no longer pink.
- Shift the heat to medium and add in the diced tomatoes, green chiles, black beans, corn, rice, taco seasoning, remaining garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and allow to simmer for about 4-6 minutes to allow the ingredients to heat up.
- Test that the rice is heated and once it's cooked, stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese, tomato sauce, lime juice and chopped cilantro. Stir until cheese is melted.
- Once cheese is melted, remove the skillet from the heat and sprinkle remaining cheddar cheese over top. Transfer to the oven and broil on high for about 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes before serving topped with more cilantro and any other desired taco toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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