Easy Ground Turkey and Zucchini Skillet
This quick ground turkey skillet is a healthy dinner made with zucchini, bell pepper, and spinach. You’ll love this one pot meal for busy weeknights or meal prep!
Update: This recipe was originally published in 2020 and has been republished with all new photos.
As the self proclaimed queen of easy healthy recipes I’m clearly a fan of one-pot meals (and I even have a cookbook dedicated to them). This Easy Ground Turkey and Zucchini Skillet is light, simple, and flavorful. It’s a quick lean protein + veggie combo that’s really everything you need. You can serve this with a grain or potatoes. If you want to make it a low carb meal serve with riced cauliflower, zucchini noodles, or a side salad.
Since first publishing this recipe in 2020 I’ve heard from so many of you who rave about this dish’s simplicity (that’s probably the best part) but also how original it is. One-pot meals or skillet meals can sometimes feel a bit boring and it’s usually a chicken with a vegetable. This recipe may be made with basic ingredients but the end result feels just a bit special. So if you’re tired of the same old healthy chicken dinner I really believe this recipe is a great option for you. Add it to your meal plan this week and give it a try!
Like this? I have two delicious recipes for zucchini boats you should check out. Try my Turkey Lasagna Zucchini Boats and my Salsa Chicken Zucchini Boats. A few of my favorite skillet recipes are my Ground Chicken and Green Bean Stir Fry, Steak and Zucchini Stir Fry, and 20 Minute Skillet Sausage and Zucchini. I also have more delicious ground turkey recipes I think you’ll enjoy too.
Easy Ground Turkey and Zucchini Skillet Ingredients
- Ground turkey: Lean ground turkey or lean ground beef are both great options. Another lean ground meat like ground chicken can also be used.
- Minced garlic: You can mince your own garlic or use a jarred variety.
- Olive or avocado oil: The oil helps sauté the veggies until tender. I recommend olive or avocado oil but you can use any oil you’re comfortable cooking with.
- Zucchini: Zucchini softens quickly as it cooks, making it a great choice for quick stir fries and skillet meals.
- Bell pepper: Any color will work well.
- Onion: Both white or yellow onion work well here.
- Tomato paste: Tomato paste packs a lot of concentrated tomato flavor.
- Baby spinach: Spinach is filled with antioxidants, vitamin K (one cup has almost double the daily requirement), and iron. It’s considered one of the best superfoods!
- Dried herbs and spices: We’re using plenty of herbs and spices to beautifully flavor this easy recipe. The seasonings include dried oregano, dried basil, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and black pepper.
How to Make This Ground Turkey and Zucchini Skillet
To create this delicious skillet recipe, we’ll start by browning the ground turkey in a large skillet. Yes, of course, feel free to use a lean ground beef if you prefer. Once the meat is browned, season it and add minced garlic. Let the garlic sauté for a quick minute until it turns golden in color. Now take the turkey mixture out of the pan because it’s time to work on our veggies!
Sauté those beautiful vegetables in a little olive oil or avocado oil until tender. Season. Toss the meat back into the skillet. Stir in fresh spinach. Simmer with water and tomato paste. Dinner is done, my friends! It’s not hard but dang is it ever yummy.
You can easily make this meal even more satiating by serving it over rice (traditional or cauliflower). You can also stir it into pasta or add it to roasted spaghetti squash. But it’s pretty perfect all on its own too!
How small should you cut your zucchini?
Cut off and discard the ends. Cut your zucchini length-wise so you have two zucchini halves. Then slice each horizontally to create half-moons or half-circles. Slice these half-moons again. That’s the size you want.
Each piece will be about 3/4 to 1-inch. They’re small enough to cook quickly but substantial enough in size to hold up to the heat of the skillet.
Your bell pepper and onion should be cut so they’re close in size to the zucchini pieces.
How to Store Leftovers
Want to enjoy this easy turkey zucchini skillet the next day or later in the week? Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 to 5 days. Reheat in a skillet on the stovetop on low to medium-low heat until warmed through. You can also heat in the microwave until warmed through.
How to Serve This
I recommend serving this healthy meal over brown rice, white rice, cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, or roasted potatoes. A simple side salad with Easy Homemade Italian Dressing would be a delicious addition to your plate too.
Easy Ground Turkey and Zucchini Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground turkey, can use lean ground beef if preferred
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
Veggies
- 1½ tablespoon olive or avocado oil
- 2 medium zucchini, cubed
- 1 bell pepper, any color, cut into 3/4 inch pieces (close to same size as zucchini)
- ½ white or yellow onion, cut into 3/4 inch pieces (close to same size as zucchini)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 5 ounces fresh baby spinach
Instructions
- Add your ground turkey (or beef) to a large skillet on the stovetop. Use a spatula to crumble the meat. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned.
- Stir in salt, pepper, chili powder, oregano, paprika, and minced garlic. Saute for one more minute so garlic is golden in color. Remove meat mixture from pan and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add the oil to skillet with the zucchini, onion, and bell pepper. Sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, basil, paprika, and pepper. Stir. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and peppers and zucchini are close to tender, about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Return the cooked ground turkey and garlic to the skillet. Add the water, tomato paste, and fresh spinach. Stir. Cover and simmer everything for 5 to 10 minutes or until it's all warmed through and spinach is wilted.
141 Comments on “Easy Ground Turkey and Zucchini Skillet”
This was so flavourful and easy to throw together! It will definitely be on rotation at our house. Thanks!
This was soooooo good! Super flavorful! I had all the veggies and no ideas when I saw this recipe and so glad we tried it out. Thank you for this tasty dinner!
My family absolutely loved this dish! My husband is a picky eater and he went back for seconds! Very flavorful. I will definitely be making this again soon.
Hello,
I am planning to make this recipe tonight but I don’t see some of the measurements for the veggie spices. Can you please clarify?
Thank you,
Becky
Hi Becky, I’m not sure why the measurements wouldn’t be showing up for you. They’re all there. I’m so sorry you’re having that problem!
Hi Christina, I think my question is similar to Becky’s. As it displays for me on the website, the recipe says “1/2 dried oregano” and “1/2 dried basil” – are those 1/2 measurements referring to tsp or tbsp? Thanks for your help & all your great recipes!
Ah ha! I see it now! Thank you! Its tsp and recipe is updated. I appreciate you giving me a heads up!
I added a can of whole kernel corn, some asparagus sliced, and black beans (rinsed). Best flavor ever! So easy and so delicious!
Easy and healthy !
Added a splash of Sriracha to my serving for a little spice
I mixed this with Chickpea pasta shells, and it was a winner at my house!
Made this on friday and it was easy and so good. We added extra spinach and some mushrooms to the meal. I love an easy healthy skillet meal!
Just discovered a recipe of yours on Pinterest and decided to check out your blog. Found this recipe and decided to try. It was delicious!! My husband loved it! I served it over rice to help fill him up 😀 I’ve been trying to find healthy but quick and simple recipes and this fit the bill! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Love to hear that! Thank you!
This recipes is very flavorful and best of all quick and easy! Perfect for a week night meal.
I used ground beef and it was amazing! Served over organic jasmine rice. Yum.
Great tasting dish that will please the whole family! My kid who doesn’t like veggies even liked it! Christina is the queen of one skillet meals!
My husband and I are trying to get into eating more ground turkey instead of beef and this meal was a great introduction! Ours was served over pasta and will definitely be included in the rotation.
I didn’t have spinach so I added shredded lettuce plus cheese at the end. Very yummy!
This is delicious! I made some substitutions because of what I had on hand. I used yellow squash instead of zucchini, I used ketchup instead of tomato paste and water. I added mushrooms because I had peppers, onions and mushrooms already sautéed for omelets in the fridge. It turned out perfectly!
Love this recipe! So easy to make with tasty simple ingredients! As a single person, how long does this keep in the fridge? 3-4 days? I can’t eat the whole recipe at once and would love to store it for leftovers. Or should it be frozen for best freshness?
Another great skillet meal. Made for the first time. So much flavor. I love zucchini so this will be added to my meal rotation for sure.
Thank you! Happy to hear it!
Is that 272 calories for the entire dish or per serving? Ty in advance
Nutrition info is always per serving!
Delicious, and the toddler approved too!
Great recipe! I put it over spaghetti squash
Honestly I was really skeptical that this would be good lol but it turned out amazing and is becoming a staple for us!!! So glad I tried it!
Prepared this dish today. It was very tasty. I did nit add my zucchini until the end before the ground Turkey to keep it from being too soft. I also added Hunt’s fire roasted diced garlic tomatoes and about a 1/2 cup of organic olive oil basil, garlic spaghetti sauce. I paired with steamed rice. Veggie were asparagus and steamed green beans. Delicious
It was delicious! I used ground turkey and cooked it with some chicken broth….also added in diced tomatoes and topped it with mozzarella cheese!! That was the kicker!
Very good and flavorful!
SO simple , quick, nutritious and it tastes delicious!
I often find ground turkey dishes bland but you definitely can’t say that about this one. The veggies ratios were a good balance and the spices were quite bold but not spicy hot. I did only use a half teaspoon versus half tablespoon of onion powder. That would have been way overpowering. I’m on Whole30 and this will be in my rotation. Easy to serve with rice for the rest of the family too.
I’ve made this a few times now and we love it. I add a pack of cherry tomatoes and some mushrooms. So yummy!
LOVED this. Still learning how to cook so it was the perfect easy, great-tasting dish. I think I’ll be adding red pepper flakes or some other spicy pepper next time for some kick, but other than that it was cheap, easy, and really good!
This was delicious! I forgot to snap a pic but I will next time I make this which will be soon! Super easy to throw together. Got a little kick too! nutritious and delicious. My favorite thing!
I made this tonight, but I did cut the salt in half, because that’s almost a full days worth of sodium! It was very easy! I had to use frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed a bit. I put it over riced cauliflower to keep it low-carb. I loved it, and my picky husband and daughter said they would eat it again 😁 That’s a win for me!!
The seasoning on the turkey alone was phenomenal! I was out of fresh garlic and used 1 tsp of granulated instead and everything was superb!! This will definitely make it into my rotation! We inhaled it straight up, but next time we think we will try it over cauliflower rice. Yum!
Great dish…..simple and quick with lots of flavor. Easy to customize with different veggies. This one is in my file of favorites to go to.
I made this recipe because I am in a weight loss program and all of the ingredients fit what I could use it was really good. I just wish I could have added mushrooms and just a little bit of Parmesan cheese overall I will make this again!
Super easy! Was alittle confused on the chili powder it wasn’t on the recipe list but in the directions. I added some cauliflower chopped fine to mine since I needed to use it. Yummm! Good quick skillet meal!
Super easy and delicious! I served it over jasmine microwave ready rice. Reminded me of the flavor of the best stuffed peppers I’ve ever had. This will be on our regular rotation. Especially as the weather gets cooler. It’s a great comfort meal. Hearty, but not heavy.
Easy and delicious! Thank you!
We had this for dinner tonight. A perfect meal for a cold rainy night. We used beef since that’s what we had. I told my husband it would be fantastic topped on a baked sweet or regular potato too.
This is one of our favorites! My husband is definitely a better cook than me but once he tried this, he said it was his favorite meals I’ve ever made him!! So good!
3rd time making this so this time I added rice and instead of water and tomato paste, I added 2 c tomato sauce (hunts). Delicious and heartier
Thank you for sharing this easy skillet dinner. It came together so fast and it was delicious. I used kale instead of spinach because that’s what we had on hand. Will be adding this one into our rotation. Looking forward to exploring more of your recipes. Thank you!
I tried this last night and it was so yummy. My husband loved it so much that I’m going to make it again tonight. I’m going to double the recipe this time so that we will have leftovers. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
I found this recipe while on my first round of Whole30 and were over 3 years since and it has become such a staple in my house- I make it so often I almost have the seasoning measurements down by memory. This recipe is amazing! Its such a great blend of protein, veggies and flavor. Its great to get a break from ground beef also, which we’ve tried in place once and was requested that I stick to the turkey. I usually have to double the recipe too. My husband is not a big fan of left overs, but when this is in the fridge the next day – he eats it up! Amazing 🙂
I count this as a big win if a non-leftover lover will enjoy it as leftovers! Love to hear that!!! Thanks, Julia!
This is a great and easy meal. A nice and really healthy chili vibe honestly! Have made it 4 times at this point!
Made this tonight and added mushrooms! It was so good! I think it is going to taste even better tomorrow! I love that it is full of veggies and good stuff!
Absolutely loved this and even looked forward to the leftovers! I served this with rice and it was perfect. I will definitely be making this one regularly.
I love to hear that people enjoy a recipe as leftovers too! Thanks, Allison!
What a great recipe this is! I made this last week for my husband and me, and he loved it so much that I’m making it again this week. Very flavorful, healthy, and simple!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment/rating!
I added quinoa and doubled the meat. This exceeded expectations. I can’t wait to make it again.
So happy adding the quinoa worked in there!
My go-to weeknight recipe! So flavorful. Serve it over rice for my kiddos!
Love that! Thanks for commenting, Emily!
This recipe was quick and tasty also healthy. Love it.
So happy you enjoyed it, Barbara!
This was sooo delicious!! 100% recommend for a really easy, flavorful, light, and healthy meal!
Love that, Carlee! Thank you!!
Loved this! So much flavor, healthy ingredients and EASY to make. Definitely will include this in our supper rotation!
I’m so happy to hear that, Carolyn! Thanks for the comment!
We’ll that was easy and delicious! I served it over rice. Will make it again!! Thanks!
Happy to hear that, Jennifer! Thank you!
Love this meal!!
Thanks so much!
That was awesome hubby even loved it ,lots of flavor will make again.I just got put on a no sugar and dairy and coconut oil diet so that was great Thankyou. Sue McMurtrie
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Sue!
I made this over the weekend & ate the leftovers today. It’s absolutely delicious! Even my picky husband enjoyed it….once he picked out the zucchini (extra for me)! i did only put 1 zucchini in it knowing this would happen. It was still plenty even for a zucc lover like me.
This was so easy and very tasty. Loved it and so did my husband!
This is the second time I am posting here and I do not know why my message does not show up.
I made this last night and really enjoyed it. I am just curious as to what the serving size is as I track macros.
Thank you.
Very good feeling whole family liked it
We really love this recipe. It’s a nice healthy option. I tweak it a tiny bit by using chipotle chili powder. It has a real nice flavor.
Very good lots of Flavor
So easy to make
I’m definitely making this again
Just made this tonight for dinner and my ENTIRE family loved it, including my husband. We have 4 boys and one of them is very particular about what he eats. He asked for seconds, so I know this recipe is the real deal. I also added broccoli and carrots. Definitely a keeper! Thank you!
Loved it!
Absolutely loved! It was a big hit for the whole family!! I will definitely be adding to rotation! ❤️❤️❤️ I did add yellow squash because our garden is coming in and we have an abundance.
If you’re reading comments to see if you should try it… Do it! You will not regret it!!
This was excellent, easy to make and super healthy. The whole family loved it. Thx for sharing
This was absolute perfection! Thank you!
This was really tasty and well seasoned! I added some cooked quinoa to the skillet at the end to bulk it up a bit. Would definitely make again. 👌🏻
Can this be frozen after preparing
Yes, absolutely. You can reheat it in a skillet or microwave after thawing.
This was really good! VERY flavorful! I might serve it on top of quinoa next time, but for tonight it was excellent. I’m always looking for ways to use up that summer zucchini from the garden — this one is a keeper. Already shared it with a friend, too. Thanks for a great recipe!
Quinoa would be excellent with it! Thanks, Jen!
This recipe was VERY good and so satisfying!
It’s so tasty you just want to make it again, which is what I’m going to do since I have all the ingredients on hand!
Many thanks for this yummy dish❣️
Yay! Thank you for the nice comment, Donna! So happy you enjoyed this recipe!
We loved this dish! We don’t love ground turkey but the spices were spot on! No spinach used Swiss chard…
As a matter of fact I’m going to para cook a triple batch and pressure can it!!!
Love to hear that! I’m super picky about ground turkey seasonings so it thrills me that this one won you over when you don’t usually like ground turkey!
This is a fantastic yummy easy quick dinner-will definitely be one of my go to dinners. Keep up the wonderful creating!
Yay! Thank you so much, Michele! So happy you enjoyed it!
So the recipe is a bit confusing because it says to add the spices to the turkey and then in the next step it says to add the spices to the zucchini, which is correct?
Hi, Connie! They’re both correct. There are seasonings listed with the turkey in the ingredient list and additional seasonings listed with the zucchini. I hope that helps!
Excellent! Delicious! Spices were just right for us! Thanks soo much for a tasty and easy recipe.
Thank you so much, Donna! Happy you enjoyed this!
Absolutely delicious!
Made this tonight, recipe is total win & a keeper! My husband is currently eating it out of the pan with Siete chips. Thank you!
This is delicious. I put mine over rice and drizzled some lemon herb aioli on top😋. My one year old loved it too. I’ll definitely be making it again.
I love all the spices and how healthy this recipe is! I love ground turkey, zucchini, and spinach. Easy to make and I had all the spices on hand.
I followed the recipe exactly and the nuts were burnt to a crisp.
Hi, there are no nuts in this recipe. 😉
Amazing!!! Very quick and easy and full of flavor. Will be making again!!!
This dish is one of my favorites! It has so much flavor and it’s easy to throw together. It’s great for leftovers at lunch the next day. I’ve probably made it once a week since I found this recipe. Love it!!
Love this, Missy! So happy you’ve made this so often!
Not only was this recipe easy to throw together and flavorful, it’s also low calorie, pretty and colorful! I will definitely be making this recipe again!
what an easy meal and very tasty. made it for a keto friend with things I had on hand. we all loved it.
Perfect! So happy you enjoyed it!
Pretty tasty recipe!
We love this recipe. Quick and easy weeknight dinner. We also like to add quinoa to it too.
Quinoa sounds perfect!
I used 99% fat free turkey. I was honestly shocked that something so healthy was so delicious! The only things I changed were I omitted the spinach (forgot to buy it), used red pepper flakes instead of chili powder (didn’t have) and measured all the seasonings with my heart.
Love “measured all the seasonings with my heart” LOL. So happy you enjoyed, Caitlyn! Thank you!
I made this without red peppers and used half the amount of oil. I’m on a low fat diet and this actually tasted good.
Delicious! I ate by itself the first night then used in tacos the next.
Thank you, Zoe! I love how easy it is to repurpose this dish!!
I am making this for the 4th time! I have used a different protein every time. Plus I added a bell pepper and omitted mushrooms once and it was still outstanding!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying this with different proteins! Thank you for the kind comment!
This recipe is awesome and has been a long time favorite of mine! And if anyone has extra broth, it definitely gives it a bit more flavor compared to the water
I just finished making this dish about 5 minutes ago…. it is sooooo flavorful and good! You can’t mess this up, it’s so easy!This dish will be in my rotation forever.
That’s great to hear! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!
Added a good bit extra of all the spices, but turned out great! Would make again.
This was awesome. I served it on a bed of Parmesan angel hair pasta, added about 3/4 cup chopped tomatoes and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes with the spinach and topped it off with fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Wonderful, I will make this one again.
Really yummy, whole family enjoyed! Cooked exactly as directed 🙂
DELISH! This recipe is a keeper! I added Diced Avocado and served over Spinach and lettuce added some grated Cheese on top….OMG! so GOOD! Filling and healthy. 🙂
Used eggplant instead of zucchini, and added a cup of rice and an extra cup of water at the end. It was delicious and I will be making it again.
This was delicious! A definite keeper! I did not use bell pepper because they don’t agree with me. I added asparagus when I did the veggies and then added in frozen petite peas when I added the turkey back in. I also used 1 1/2 lbs of ground turkey so I added 3/4 c of water and a little more tomato paste to make more sauce. I also added some garlic salt. Served over jasmine rice and grated some pecorino Romano over top! My daughter took one bite and said “Yummmm”! Thank you for a great recipe!
This turned out to be a fantastic yet simple meal. The whole family enjoyed it. I followed the recipe exactly, except I didn’t have spinach. It was still great! My husband and I had it with cauliflower rice, and my kids had jasmine rice. I will definitely make this again!
Really good. Even my picky kids liked it.
Love this reciepe!! It’s my favorite go to, when I don’t know what to make for dinner. It’s quick, easy ,good and healthy!!
Thank you for such great feedback, Rebecca!
Very easy, tasty. My husband even liked it. I’ll make this again for sure.
This is great to hear, Cheryl! Thank you!
This looks DELICIOUS and right up my meal prep alley that also easily falls within my macros (thank you for including nutritional info)!
Question: I’d like to prep and freeze this for quick meal prep when time is low. Any advice/tips to freeze? I searched the comments to see if this may have been asked&answered, but couldn’t find anything. Appreciate your feedback and sharing such delicious meals with us!
Love from Oakland,
J
Hi! You can definitely freeze this one in any freezer safe container and the ingredients can be stored together with no problem. The zucchini will be extra soft upon reheating but if that doesn’t bother you (it doesn’t bother me at all) then definitely go for it!
turkey and usually use recipes for “sparks” and ended up with a lot more veggies, so I needed more meat and added a pound of ground sausage since I had double the veggies (my garden was very abundant this year). I also added mushrooms and a big chopped tomato. My husband also needs some type of carb in his meals (type 1) so I added 1 cup of instant rice quinoa wild rice. It turned out wonderfully. Thank you for the spark!
This was delicious. I used hot Mexican chili powder and put in chick peas for protein. I didn’t have oregano and I used Italian seasoning instead. My family loved it. I will put in jalapeños next time for added heat. Thank you for this delicious recipe.
Ooo the chickpeas sound like such a fun addition! Thanks, Heather!
Looking forward to trying this tonight! Any thoughts on adding a little goat cheese on top?
I vote goat cheese always LOL