Full of flavor and packed with veggies like kale, jalapeno, onions and peppers, this Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep is a quick one-pan make-ahead lunch option. Portion with your favorite rice for a delicious filling meal!
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I just made this today as prep for my own surgery coming up next week. I subbed the kale with spinach I had on hand. I had one part for myself as lunch. Delicious!
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What ingredients are in this Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep?
This meal prep meal is full of deliciously clean ingredients and is paleo, dairy-free, and gluten-free friendly. Here are the ingredients in these Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep bowls.
- ground turkey – I love using ground turkey for meal prep! Keep ground turkey from getting dry while reheating by adding a sauce or making it into a stir fry.
- bell peppers – Red and yellow bell peppers add a ton of color and a little bit of sweetness to this dish! Okay, at least compared to the jalapenos.
- onion & garlic – Aromatics, flavor enhancers, the best ingredients in my opinion.
- jalapenos – Cooking the jalapenos helps get rid of the extra heat!
- cumin – We want some flavor that isn’t just spicy heat to go with the chipotle vibes.
- salsa – I prefer to use a very mild, thin salsa here, such as Pace. The tomatoes and liquid from the salsa add extra texture, flavor, and keep the ground meat from drying out. Feel free to use your favorite salsa here.
- chipotle hot sauce – I prefer Siete Chipotle Hot Sauce (affiliate link – I get it at Whole Foods), but Cholula or other brands would work too. You can also use leftover chipotle sauce from a can of chipotle peppers if you have it on hand.
- rice – This time, I used plain white rice cooked in chicken broth, but you can use any rice you’d like, including cauli rice if that’s your thing.
How do you make the Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep?
If you’re cooking rice to go with this meal prep, get that going first. You can use your favorite method – I like to cook my rice in the Instant Pot.
Generally, when cooking four portions for meal prep, I cook about 1 1/2 cups of dry white rice in chicken broth, and then split it between the four meals.
To start the ground turkey skillet, get the ground turkey going in a Dutch oven or a skillet at least 12 inches. A normal 10-inch skillet with low sides will just barely contain this skillet dinner.
Brown the meat with some salt, and use a spatula or wooden spoon to break up the meat as it cooks. Once the meat is just barely cooked through, add all the veggies except kale, as well as the cumin, salsa and hot sauce.
Stir and cook for 7-8 more minutes until all the veggies are softened and it’s looking delicious and bubbly.
Finally, add the chopped kale and stir for about 1 minute, until the kale is wilted and bright green. Remove the pan from heat and you’re done! Serve with rice. It’s that simple.
This meal is pretty hard to mess up. You can do it!
Is this Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet spicy?
If I had to pick yes or no, I’d have to say, yes, this is a slightly spicy dish. Chipotle is a smoked jalapeno pepper, so it makes sense. But there are ways to change this!
Most of the spice will depend on your chosen hot sauce. Reduce the heat by picking a milder hot sauce, or just using less hot sauce in general.
For a less spicy dish, use less hot sauce, about 2 tablespoons. For more heat, use 3-4 tablespoons.
You can also use less jalapeno peppers, though the cooking process does calm down a lot of that heat anyway. Overall, when you pair with rice, add some guacamole and mild pico, this dish is just the right amount spicy!
How do you meal prep this meal?
Add about 3/4 cup cooked rice to each meal prep container. Portion the ground turkey veggie mixture evenly between the 4 meal prep containers. Put the lids on and place the meals in the refrigerator or freezer.
Enjoy meals from the refrigerator within 4 days, and meals from the freezer within 3 months.
Where do you get those meal prep containers?
It’s so important to have dependable containers for your meal prepped meals (see ALL my recommendations here!). Airtight, glass, freezer safe – those are some of my requirements.
For this meal, I’ve used my 2 Compartment Glass Meal Prep Containers made by Prep Naturals. I get these on Amazon.
This is probably the most common question I receive. These style containers are essential if you want to keep food separated.
Store this meal prep meal in airtight containers with lids in the refrigerator for up to 4 days for best quality. Add toppings like guacamole after reheating.
Yes! You can freeze these meals in freezer safe containers. Remove from the freezer the night before eating and then reheat normally, or defrost slowly in the microwave before eating.
Loosely cover the meal with the lid and microwave on High for 2 minutes, or until it’s hot and steamy. This meal would also work well reheated in a HotLogic Mini Portable Oven – see my full review here!
Add any extras like guacamole and pico de gallo after reheating.
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Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep
Full of flavor and packed with veggies like kale, jalapeno, onions and peppers, this Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep is a quick one-pan make-ahead lunch option. Portion with your favorite rice for a delicious filling meal!
- Total Time30 minutes
- Yield4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups uncooked rice of choice + cooking liquid
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 pound (16 ounces) lean ground turkey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 red bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, diced
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 2 jalapenos, seeds and stem removed, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 2/3 cup mild salsa
- 3 tablespoons chipotle pepper hot sauce
- 2 cups kale leaves, roughly chopped and stalks removed, loosely packed
- serve with cilantro and guacamole
Instructions
- Cook the rice: If you’re prepping this meal with rice (1 1/4 cups dry), start that first following box directions or your preferred method.
- Cook the meat: In a Dutch Oven or 12 inch skillet, heat oil (1 tablespoon) over medium heat. When hot, add ground turkey (1 pound) and salt (1/2 teaspoon). Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Cook the meat for about 5-6 minutes or until just barely cooked through, stirring occasionally.
- Cook the veggies: Next, add bell peppers (1 red 1 yellow, diced), onion (1/2 large, diced), jalapeno (2, diced), garlic (2 cloves, minced), cumin powder (2 teaspoons), salsa (2/3 cup) and chipotle sauce (3 tablespoons) to the pan. Cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and the liquid has reduced. Finally, add kale leaves (2 cups, roughly chopped) and stir until bright green and slightly wilted, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat.
- Meal prep it: Add about 3/4 cup cooked rice to each meal prep container. Portion the ground turkey veggie mixture evenly between 4 meal prep containers. Garnish with cilantro and serve with guacamole if you wish. Store in an airtight container for up to four days in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Equipment
2 Compartment Glass Meal Prep Containers
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Greener Chef XL Bamboo Cutting Board
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Notes
Chipotle pepper hot sauce: I like Siete Chipotle Hot Sauce (affiliate link – I get it at Whole Foods), but Cholula or other brands would work too. You can also use leftover chipotle sauce from a can of chipotle peppers if you have it on hand (use 2 TB for mild, 3-4 TB for more spicy).
Rice: Serve with your favorite rice. Nutrition information estimated with My Fitness Pal using jasmine rice. Recipe video added 5/13/2022.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Lunches
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican-Inspired
Nutrition
- Serving Size: about 2 cups
- Calories: 480
- Fat: 13g
- Carbohydrates: 55g
- Protein: 27g
Did You Make This?
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Quick and tasty, easy to add extra veggies