This recipe for easy Turkey Zucchini Skillet is full of ground turkey and vegetables, all simmered together for the perfect family-friendly dinner option. This dish is quick, easy and always gets rave reviews. Are you looking for a super simple, healthy meal that can be quickly made on busy weeknights? This is it!
Okay, so I’ve been fairly addicted to “skillet” meals lately, it’s just one of the easiest ways to get good food on the table fast. This is exactly what we will be needing once the kids are back in school and after-school activities are back in effect.
This particular recipe was one of those, “hungry-for-dinner-with-no-plans-in-mind” meals. I came home on a Tuesday, opened the fridge and just pulled out what I had on hand.
I served this turkey zucchini dish over some spaghetti squash but it would also work with rice, pasta or even a side of some fresh-baked sourdough bread from your favorite bakery. Yum!
How To Make This Turkey Zucchini Skillet Dish
This one-pan meal starts with onions and garlic, which are sautéed in a large skillet. Then ground turkey is browned and mixed with the onions and garlic. Next, zucchini, oregano, salt & pepper, and tomatoes are added to the mix. Give everything a good stir and simmer for 15-30 minutes, depending on how soft you like your zucchini. Serve over a bed of spaghetti squash (or pasta, rice, cauliflower rice, etc) and top with some red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Tips For Turkey Zucchini Skillet
- As always, use this recipe as a guide and adapt it to whatever you have hanging around in your fridge. You can use broccoli florets instead of zucchini, add in sliced mushrooms and/or add in a handful of fresh baby spinach. This skillet meal is so easy to customize!
- I use lean ground turkey, but feel free to use your favorite ground meat. Bison, chicken and/or beef are all great choices.
- While I typically serve the turkey zucchini mixture over spaghetti squash, it’s great over pasta, rice, quinoa and cauliflower rice.
- You will love this dish served as-is, but it’s also delicious with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top.
I cannot get enough of this Turkey Zucchini Skillet, my family loves it and I’m sure your family will enjoy it too!
I’d love to know if you make this (or any) recipe! Tag @clean_and_delicious on Instagram and be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy, delicious recipes straight to your inbox.
More Skillet Meals You May Enjoy:
Turkey and Zucchini Skillet Recipe | Easy Weeknight Dinner Idea
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 zucchini, cut into quarters then chopped
- 2 15 ounce cans of diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- optional toppings – Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add oil. Once the olive oil is hot, stir in onions and garlic along with a pinch of salt. Let them cook for 2 minutes or until onions are fragrant and beginning to look translucent.
- Push all the veggies to one side of the pan and then using a wooden or rubber spatula, stir in ground turkey and break into small pieces. Season the turkey with salt and pepper.
- Once the turkey has lost its pink color, begin to combine the ground turkey with the onions and garlic.
- Add in zucchini, oregano, a little more salt and pepper, and tomatoes. Give it a good mix and allow everything to simmer for 15-30 minutes, depending on how soft you like your zucchini.
- Serve over a bed of spaghetti squash (or pasta, rice, cauliflower rice, etc) and top with some red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
Comments
Krista says
Hey Dani-
Thanks for the inspiration! I was actually already cooking up some ground beef (with no real plan) and decided to check your site and voila – half and hour later I am eating a skillet meal over spaghetti squash!
My favourite thing about this recipe is that all the ingredients are the staples that I normally have hanging around the house. I added in some extra veggies I had and was so happy to come out with a satisfying meal after going in with no plan.
Much appreciated!
jade says
Serve with spaghetti squash looks splendid! But you know what? That would count only one dish but not a meal where I live. We need two more dishes (usually one green vegi, one egg/toufou) and soup to call it a meal. (You must have guessed where I live by now) A variety of skillet can be made out of it, such as using meat balls or chopped pork instead of turky, use cucumber instead of zuchinni, hot chili or a sprinkle of mixed nuts can be added…. thanks for the inspiration!
Dani says
Krista – Sounds like we had perfect timing;)!!
Jade – Hmmm, where do you live?? Maybe China…. I’m not sure, but would love to know!
Kaman says
Hi Dani, I tried this but since I didn’t have fresh tomatoes or zucchini on hand, I used diced canned tomatoes and red skin potatoes and celery instead. It was still really yummy though! Super fast and easy!
Roni says
You are right, my kind of meal! :~)
jade says
Hi, Dani, you guessed near-I live in Taiwan. It’s as hot as SoCal this October. The temperature’s been above 80’s for two weeks. I had cold noodles with sesame sauce yesterday. Too hot to have anything else.
Brandi says
AWESOME !!!!!!!♂️
Dani says
So glad you enjoyed it Brandi!
Stacey says
Awesome! I topped rice noodles with it. I have to say I have made 6 of your dishes and you are 6 for 6! My picky 4yo has eaten every one of them! Thank you so much for your videos.
Dani says
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that Stacey. Thanks for letting me know!
Jameson says
Dani
would it be ok to cook the turkey separately to get rid of all the juice?
Dani says
Kaman – Glad you liked it!!
Roni – I thought it might be;).
Jade – Wow, Tawain!! How cool is the internet?!
Jameson – Yes, you could definitely do the turkey in a different pan, but let me first say that the extra lean turkey is so lean that it doesn’t let off to much liquid and practically no fat.
GIGI says
HOW FUNNY – I just check an e-mail from a while ago… and it was this recipe… and oddly enough – this is exactly what I am having for dinner – even before watching the recipe! We are just on the same page!
Shawna says
This is an awesome recipe. I tried spaghetti squash for the first time ever with this recipe and loved it! I made extra and leftovers are great mixed in with scrambled eggs the next day.
Megan says
Maybe I’m missing something, but how in the heck are there 70 grams of carbs in this recipe, much less half of it?
Dani says
That was a misprint! thanks for pointing it out… I just updated the stats! You’ll notice that the carbs are waaaayyy less;)
Cathy says
This was fabulous. I also added some green pepper strips and rinsed garbanzo beans and a handful of quina since I had extra. Sooooooo good! Froze the leftovers!
Jennifer says
Made this tonight for dinner! It was absolutely delicious!! I did add spinach and some extra garlic. I can’t wait to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
Dani says
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it.
James says
Made this for dinner tonight. It was excellent! Thanks, Dani.
Dani says
So glad you enjoyed it James!!
Elena says
This turned out to be scrumptious meal! I accidentally grabbed petite diced tomatoes instead of regular diced tomatoes but it still turned out well. I will definitely be making this again in the future.
Dani says
So glad you enjoyed it Elena!
Julie wood says
It was great. It made my crazy day easy. Especially, with two grown children.
Dani says
Yay!! Mission accomplished. SO glad you all enjoyed this.
Cheryl says
Made this for dinner tonight and it was so good and full of flavor. I used chayote squash instead of zucchini and served it over spaghetti squash. So good!!!!
Janet Wilson says
Very good, I added Cumin and cayenne pepper and will make this dish again.
Dani says
Sounds delicious!
Linda says
Made this for dinner tonight. SOOOOO yummy! I halved the recipe because it was just for my husband and I. I added a little marinara and parmesan to the mixture while simmering just for a little extra flavor. Then mixed in about a cup of cooked Barilla whole grain penne pasta before serving and topped with fresh grated Parmesan. Thank you so much for this recipe. Will definitely make again!! Love your recipes and videos!!
Dani says
So glad you enjoyed this Linda! I love all the tweaks you made, sounds delicious!
Nickie says
I tried this recipe and I love it! I served it with cauliflower rice.
Dani says
Cauliflower rice is perfect! So glad you enjoyed this one. Thanks for letting me know.
John K says
Made this tonight and LOVED it… made it with the first fresh yellow squash and zuchinni from our garden too! Will make it again when the tomatoes start coming instead of using the canned. Served over whole wheat pasta.
Dani says
So glad you enjoyed it!! Love that you used the veggies from your garden.
Luke Constantino says
It sounds very healthy, very tasty! I’m going to give this a try this evening for my family… Thank you.
Dani says
It’s really delicious and very easy to make. I hope you enjoy it!
Luke Constantino says
AWESOME ~ Okay, you got me, it was light, high protein, delicious… Thank you! It a keeper! Have any other really cool fast recipes?
Luke Constantino says
Nevermind. Saw your FB page… I feel stupid, lol! You have a new fan!
Mary says
My family and I really enjoyed this recipe. I am making it again this week.
Dani says
So glad to hear it Mary!! Enjoy.
Jenna says
I made it tonight and it went great! Quick question – when storing the left overs, are you supposed to drain the liquid? There was quite a bit in the pan. I didn’t add any additional liquid/water, but there was a lot in there.
Best,
Jenna
Dani says
It’s really up to you Jenna! The liquid comes from the zucchini (they hold a ton of liquid). I would probably just pour it off 🙂
Diana J Dunham says
Hi Dani,
How many does this serve or what is the serving size?
Dani says
Hi Diana! We enjoy this for a family of four (and often have leftovers).
Nicole says
The recipe doesn’t seem to have how to cook it just the ingredients. Am I missing something?
Dani says
Sorry for the confusion Nicole! I just fixed that 🙂
Eunice Stokes says
No oregano in the Ingredients section but you say “add oregano” – How much oregano?
Dani says
Sorry about that Eunice! I would add a tsp, but you can do it to taste.
Stephanie says
Made this tonight for dinner and my whole family loved it! I can see this being very versatile, that could be served over almost anything just not spaghetti squash. Definitely taking the leftovers for lunch!
Dani says
Sounds wonderful, Stephanie! So good to hear that the whole family enjoyed it!
Karentheresa Morrow says
Going off the delicious recipe and these reviews, I’m making this tonight! I have all these ingredients and was searching for a meal for them. Thanks in advance!!
Erica says
Prematurely leaving a 5 star rating. It’s cooking now and smells FANTASTIC!!!
Dani says
Yay!! I hope you enjoyed it Erica. Thank you for taking the time to rate and review:)
Irene says
I tried it just like the recipe said and it was delicious. Was wondering if you can use chicken in place of ground turkey?
Dani says
That would totally work!
Joan A. says
So you add oregano AND Italian seasoning?
Dani says
I do 🙂
Sherri says
Dani, found your recipe a few weeks ago and made it tonight with our fresh zucchini. It was fabulous, my hubbie did not even know it was turkey & not hamburger! Win Win for me! I did add more fresh grated garlic & fresh basil from the garden. When mixing it all together, I opted to hold the zucchini back and let the turkey, tomato’s & herbs simmer together to evaporate some of the juice from the tomato’s. Once water it was all gone and I had a thicker sauce, I added the zucchini knowing it would thin the sauce some. This worked perfect! I top with Parmesan Reggiano big flakes & a dusting of red pepper flakes! This will be used weekly until zucchini plants are no longer producing! Thank you for the quick, easy, nutritious & healthy meal!! I love your recipes, big fan here 🙂
Lorelle says
This was absolutely delicious! I didn’t have enough zucchini so I added some yellow bell pepper but otherwise followed the recipe. So easily and everyone loved it!