This Turkey Taco Quinoa Skillet is perfectly spicy, full of protein and a cheese lovers dream! The best part? It’s made in one skillet and takes only 30 minutes!
Y’all. I’m all up in my feels regarding this Turkey Taco Quinoa Skillet! I swear, it’s one of the favorite things I’ve ever made.
Another thing I’m all about lately? Especially this Fall? One skillet meals! This Fall I am simply all about delicious, comfort food meals that can be done in ONE SKILLET. Less mess, less dishes. More time to spend with family and more time to eat dessert. Right?!
I like how the dish is subtly spicy. With how much time it has to simmer, the flavors meld together like nothing you’ve ever had. The black beans and the corn form an amazing alliance to add both juiciness and wonderful texture to the dish. I love how the onion and bell pepper get slightly softer in the skillet but still retain a subtle crunch. The quinoa becomes creamy and delicious, but still remains perfectly cooked. The ground turkey is a wonderful protein for this meal – it’s light, it’s spicy thanks to the taco seasoning and it’s just plain delicious. Lastly, the cheese melted is basically the cherry on top. It takes this super healthy dish and adds just a dash of indulgence.
You literally pour everything into a large cast iron skillet and let it simmer. Just plop a lid on top and go finish that episode of The X-Files episode you’re watching (and yes my husband are just now watching The X-Files and it’s amazing).
Ingredients You Need for Turkey Taco Quinoa Skillet:
- ground turkey
- onion and bell pepper (for those crunch vibes)
- corn
- black beans
- quinoa
- water
- cheese
- taco seasoning (homemade or store bought)
- cilantro + jalapeno for garnish!
That’s it! I don’t know about you, but I’m 100% about 7 ingredient one skillet meals that take 30 minutes.
How to Make Turkey Taco Quinoa Skillet:
Begin by preheating your skillet and adding a splash of olive oil. Next, chop up the onion and bell pepper. Add the onion to the skillet. Add a pinch of salt and let it cook for 1-2 minutes. To the skillet, add the ground turkey. Add about 2 tbsp of store-bought or homemade taco seasoning and mix to combine. Let cook until fully done!
Once it’s done cooking, add in the drained cans of black beans and corn. Also add the quinoa. Mix together. Add in 1/2-3/4 cup of water. Mix everything to combine. Let it come to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer. Place a lid on it and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or until the quinoa is fluffy and cooked through.
Once the 20 minutes are up, remove the lid, taste and adjust for seasoning. Add another tbsp or so of the taco seasoning as well as extra salt if neccessary. Sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on top and replace the lid, letting the cheese melt on top for about 3-4 minutes.
Aaaaand that’s all, folks! Yup. You can garnish with jalapeno, cilantro, avocado or just dive straight in with a fork.
How to Serve Turkey Taco Quinoa Skillet:
I also love how many different ways you can serve the dish! You can eat it straight from the skillet with tortilla chips as an appetizer. You can pile it on top of a bed of greens to make a taco salad. Or, you can totally pile it into a taco shell and eat it that way!
Some variations for the dish? Add chicken instead of turkey! Or maybe double up on the beans and make it a vegetarian dish.
Bottom line, it doesn’t matter how you eat it – it’s going to be delicious! Cheers to minimal clean up, easy, delicious meals! Yay Fall comfort food!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Here are a few more you might like:
Roasted Garlic Green Goddess Tacos
One Skillet Taco Chili Mac and Cheese
Turkey Taco Quinoa Skillet
This Turkey Taco Quinoa Skillet is perfectly spicy, full of protein and a cheese lovers dream! The best part? It's made in one skillet and takes only 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb ground turkey
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 can corn (can also use fresh, about 1 cup)
- 1 can black beans
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup cheese
- 2-3 tbsp taco seasoning
- handful of cilantro (for garnish)
- 1 tsp olive oil
Instructions
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Add olive oil to to large cast iron skillet and use medium heat. Add in onion, cook for 1-2 minutes and then add in your ground turkey. Add 2 tbsp of taco seasoning and mix together to combine.
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When your turkey is done cooking, add in your bell pepper, black beans, corn and quinoa. Add in 1/2 cup of water. Add lid to the skillet, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes, checking on it occasionally to make sure it isn't burning.
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Once the 20 minutes are up, add one more tbsp of taco seasoning, mix together. Add cheese on top, put the lid back on the skillet and let the cheese melt for 2-3 minutes.
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Garnish with cilantro. Serve warm with chips, tortillas or just eat by itself. Enjoy!
Made this for dinner tonight and Holy. Cow. So fast and SO delicious! Going into our permanent dinner rotation! Thanks for this amazing recipe! ❤️
Yay! Stephanie, that makes me so happy to hear!
To clarify….is this made with cooked or uncooked quinoa? Making this for dinner tonight! 🙂
Hi Heather, sorry I’m just now seeing your comment! It is made with uncooked quinoa! It cooks in the skillet with everything else 🙂
Could I use leftover quinoa? I have some leftover from tonights dinner.
Hey Nikki! I think that would work! I would just completely skip adding the water/simmer part since the quinoa is already cooked. So basically, after cooking your turkey/veggies, stir in the quinoa. Let it cook just enough to heat it through. If it’s too dry, add just a splash of water or broth to help liven it back up! 🙂
Are the black beans drained?
Hey Stephanie! Sorry it took a couple days to get back to you. Yes, the black beans and corn are drained 🙂
I just have to say I’ve made this about 5 times now and it’s so good. We add cilantro of course and we love adding different toppings like avocado and chips to dip. My 4 year old likes a little sour cream and sliced grape tomatoes. Definitely a recipe we will keep enjoying!
Stephanie, this comment made me so happy!! Thank you so much for making the recipe..so glad to hear that you and your whole family are loving it! Definitely wanna add grape tomatoes to mine next time! 🙂
What are the calories based on? How big is a serving size?
Hi Brittany! I actually used to have a super fun nutritional label on my blog for each recipe which I have since removed. The way it works was I would put the nutritional information based on the package of the food into the nutritional info counter and it would then calculate how much of the ingredient I put in (for example, 1/2 cup rolled oats) – and the calories you see are for about 1/4 of the skillet 🙂 hope you enjoy if you make it!
This was our convo de Mayo meal this year and we loved it. Plus it is so super easy and can be altered according to what you like or have on hand (I don’t care for corn but I love avocados). I was thinking maybe next time I’d throw in a can of Rotel tomatoes, too, and cut down on the water.
Of course I meant cinco de Mayo!
🙂
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this, Linda! I love rotel so I think that would be an awesome add for flavor for this dish! Hope you had an awesome Cinco De Mayo!! 🙂
This was bomb! I don’t even like quinoa but THIS I would eat at least once a week! Not to mention it was so so easy and made in one pan. Like wow. I added half a jar of salsa to the mix and then topped it with some guacamole salsa at the end and I was in love. Delicious 😋
Thank you SO much for the kind review, Kim!! I’m so so happy you liked it! Love the added salsa as well! I’ll have to give that a try 🙂 Thanks again for making the recipe!!
I did not change the heat at all after adding quinoa and it burnt everything. Was looking forward to trying this but I think the “simmer” directions could be clearer.
Hi Deanna – I’m so so sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you 🙁 I’m going to go into the instructions and try and make them more clear…I hope you give another one of my recipes a shot. Again, so sorry! – Haylie
Great recipe! Keeper for sure. We put Romaine on top for an inverted salad
YUM! Love that idea 🙂 So glad you enjoyed, Angela!