Ground Meats
$1.44per plate
Prep
5 min
Ground Meats · Ground Turkey
Ground Turkey Tacos
Ground turkey tacos are the leaner, cheaper answer to taco night, and they feed four for about $1.59 a plate. Unlike shredded chicken tacos, which start from meat you already cooked, these brown a pound of raw ground turkey with onion and taco seasoning right in the skillet, so it is a one-pan dinner from scratch in twenty minutes. Turkey is lean, so a little oil and a splash of salsa keep the taco meat juicy instead of dry. Pile it into warm corn tortillas with cheese and whatever toppings you have and dinner costs less than a couple of drive-thru tacos.
$1.59per plate
Estimated recipe total
$6.35 · serves 4
Cook
15 min
Total
20 min
Serves
4
1 How to make it
1
Brown the turkey and onion
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high. Add the diced onion and the ground turkey and cook 6 to 8 minutes, breaking the meat up with a spoon, until the turkey is cooked through and the onion is soft. The oil matters here; lean ground turkey releases little fat of its own, so a spoonful keeps it from drying out and sticking.
2
Season the taco meat
Stir in the taco seasoning and about 1/4 cup of the salsa, plus a splash of water if it looks dry. Simmer 2 to 3 minutes until the meat is coated and glossy and the raw edge of the seasoning has cooked off.
3
Warm the tortillas
While the meat simmers, warm the corn tortillas: 20 seconds a side in a dry skillet or a few seconds over a gas flame until soft and pliable. Warm tortillas fold without cracking, which is the difference between a taco and a mess.
4
Build the tacos
Spoon the ground turkey taco meat into the warm tortillas, top with the shredded cheese and the rest of the salsa, and finish with whatever you like: lettuce, onion, cilantro, a squeeze of lime, or a spoon of sour cream. Serve right away while the tortillas are warm.
2 Cheaper ingredient swaps
- Ground chicken or beef for the turkey. Ground chicken is just as lean and browns the same way, swapping in one for one. Ground beef is fattier, so drain it after browning. Keep the oil with turkey or chicken so the taco meat stays juicy.
- Flour tortillas or hard shells. Corn is cheapest and most traditional, but flour tortillas or crunchy hard shells both work. Warm soft tortillas so they fold; toast hard shells so they stay crisp.
- Stretch it with beans. Stir a drained can of black or pinto beans into the taco meat to turn four servings into six for almost nothing, or to bulk it out if you are short on turkey.
- Make a taco bowl or salad. Skip the tortillas and spoon the taco meat over rice or a bed of lettuce with cheese and salsa for a lighter taco bowl using the exact same seasoned turkey.
3 Budget tips
- Ground turkey is usually priced at or below ground beef and makes taco meat just as easily, so this is one of the lowest-cost ways to put taco night on the table.
- Corn tortillas are one of the cheapest carbs in the store, often under two dollars for a dozen and a half. Buy a big pack and freeze what you do not use.
- Stretch the taco meat with a can of beans, extra salsa, or a scoop of rice so a single pound of turkey feeds the whole table with tacos to spare.
4 Storage, freezing & reheating
Fridge
Refrigerate the taco meat in an airtight container for up to 4 days, tortillas and toppings kept separate. It reheats fast for taco lunches or a quick burrito bowl over rice.
Freezer
Freeze the cooked seasoned taco meat (without tortillas or toppings) for up to 3 months. It thaws and reheats straight into tacos, quesadillas, or a rice bowl.
Reheating
Reheat the taco meat in a skillet over medium with a splash of water or salsa to loosen it, or microwave in short bursts. Always warm the tortillas fresh so they stay soft.
5 Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
360
Protein
27g
Fat
15g
Carbs
30g
Estimates per serving of two tacos, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not a substitute for medical advice.
6 Frequently asked questions
How do you keep ground turkey taco meat from being dry?
Ground turkey is much leaner than beef, so it dries out if you overcook it or skip the fat. Brown it in a spoonful of oil, pull it off the heat as soon as it is cooked through, and stir in salsa or a splash of water so the taco meat stays juicy and glossy.
What is the difference between ground turkey tacos and shredded chicken tacos?
Ground turkey tacos brown raw ground turkey with seasoning right in the pan, so it is a one-pan dinner from scratch. Shredded chicken tacos start from chicken you already cooked, like rotisserie or a batch of shredded breast, and just warm it with seasoning. Both are cheap; ground turkey is faster from raw.
What toppings go on ground turkey tacos?
Anything you would put on a taco: shredded cheese, salsa, shredded lettuce, diced onion, cilantro, a squeeze of lime, sour cream, or avocado. The seasoned turkey is a blank canvas, so load it up with whatever cheap toppings you have.
How is the price per plate figured?
About $6.35 for a pound of ground turkey, the onion, seasoning, tortillas, salsa, and cheese, split across four servings of two tacos each, which comes to roughly $1.59 a plate. Ground turkey and store-brand tortillas are what keep it cheap.
Helpful Tools for This Recipe
As an Amazon Associate, Budget Plates may earn from qualifying purchases.
- 12-inch nonstick skillet. A wide nonstick skillet browns ground meat, fries rice, and builds a one-pan sauce with less oil and easier cleanup. Best for everyday stovetop dinners like skillet meals, fried rice, pasta sauces, and patties.
- Cast iron skillet. Cast iron holds heat for a deep sear and moves from stovetop to oven, and it lasts for decades with basic care. Best for searing chops and chicken, and recipes that start on the stove and finish in the oven.
- Chef's knife. One sharp chef's knife handles almost all the chopping, from onions to chicken, and replaces a drawer of gadgets. Best for all-purpose prep in essentially every recipe on the site.
- Cutting board. A large, stable cutting board makes prep faster and safer, which matters when you cook most nights. Best for everyday chopping of onion, garlic, and vegetables across nearly every recipe.
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