Ground turkey is almost always in my weeknight dinner rotation and I’m constantly trying to think of ways to make it tasty and new. This time I’m adding a pop of green color with a little fresh broccoli. I’ll mix it up with some handy pantry spices to really kick up the flavor in this ground turkey and broccoli mix over steamed rice.
Wondering what to make with ground turkey and rice?
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Ground turkey and broccoli go together like peas in a pod and nothing is easier than a simple ground turkey recipe that checks all the boxes on your weeknight dinner list: healthy? Check! Veggies? Check! Meat? Rice? Check! Flavorful? Check, for sure!
1. Prepare Fresh Broccoli For Ground Turkey
IF Using Fresh Broccoli…
You can pretty easily steam broccoli florets to your desired or preferred texture. I always drop them into a pot of boiling water for 2 – 5 minutes (depending on their size). They should be bright green and still slightly little firm inside with a little bit of bite to them. Remove the broccoli when the cook time is up and dip then in an ice bath to lock in flavor and color.
Use Your Favorite Variety of Broccoli
Use your favorite kind of broccoli or even broccoli rabe or broccolini. This simple bag of fresh broccoli florets is my go-to for cooking up this ground turkey recipe on the fly with fresh healthy broccoli.
If Using Frozen Broccoli…
Then prepare your pack of frozen broccoli in the microwave or stovetop following package directions about 10 or 15 minutes before the turkey meat is finished cooking. Toss it in at the very end and voila! You’re set. One 10 to 12 oz bag of broccoli florets will usually cut it.
Shocking Fresh Broccoli For Color and Crunch
When the cook time on the fresh broccoli is up, remove the florets from the pot and pour the florets directly into a bowl with a little ice bath. It will immediately stop the cooking process and lock in that gorgeous bright green color and texture. Let the broccoli rest in a strainer to release any excess liquid. Set aside.
Related: Easy Cashew Pesto Pasta
If you’re looking for a handy dandy strainer, this cool silicone collapsing strainer is a favorite useful kitchen tool. It’s handy for easily washing and straining fresh green veggies like we’ll do in this recipe.
2. Dice Onion, Bell Pepper, Garlic & Tomato
Dice a small onion and a colorful bell pepper along with a nice vine-ripe tomato. This gives the ground turkey so much flavor and breathes total life into it.
Help it out! Give it some flavor…
If you’ve ever dealt with ground turkey, you catch on pretty quick that it is quite bland on its own. You have to roll up your sleeves and help it out a bit. This is why garlic helps too! It brings in aromatics and lots of flavor.
3. Heat A Skillet and Add Ingredients & Ground Turkey
In a pan on medium heat, add olive oil and heat it through until it ripples and becomes glossy. Then toss in onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Stir these through long enough to sweat the onions and soften the pepper. When the veggies sweat and the garlic is fragrant, grab the ground turkey meat.
4. Brown The Ground Turkey Meat
Add in ground turkey meat and begin to brown it breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Add diced tomato and stir through to combine. If you don’t add a fresh diced tomato, it’s all good. Toss in a can of diced tomatoes here. Adjust for seasonings later on to your liking.
5. Kick It Up With Flavor!
Add pinches of coarse sea salt, fresh ground pepper, paprika, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder. (If you want to give it a spicy kick, add a pinch of chili powder instead of paprika.)
Drizzle in soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce. I highly recommend Kikkoman reduced sodium soy sauce with the green cap. It’s perfect for adding big flavors in little time for easy dinner recipes like this one.
This same soy sauce along with dashes of Lea & Perrins Original Worcestershire are what I use when I make this dish for my family. Comes out tasty every time!
Finish off by adding in a splash of dry white wine or dry red wine and stir to combine. Don’t hold back now! This is your chance to make bland ground turkey taste GOOD!
6. Cook It Low & Slow
Once everything is in the pan, wait for it to come to a light simmer. Cover with a lid and bring the heat down to low and let it sit for 35 to 45 minutes. Honestly, I always do the 45 minute simmer on this and that’s what gives the turkey a great taste and pushes the flavors to develop and blossom even more.
7. Stir In Cooked Broccoli and Serve With Rice
When the cook time is up, add the broccoli. Remove the lid and add the prepared broccoli and stir it in with the ground turkey.
The broccoli will continue to heat through, soak up the juices from the meat, and grab all that flavor from the pot.
Finish off by giving everything one last drizzle of fruity olive oil over the top and stir to combine.
Serve your ground turkey with broccoli over steamed rice! Here are some tips for preparing steamed rice and, if you fancy, precise instructions on how to make fresh instant pot rice.
I love to finish mine off with another splash of soy and a hit of Sriracha sauce for some spice… That hit of chili spice goes so good with ground turkey broccoli!
This is truly a go-to and one of my favorite simple ground turkey recipes to make with pantry ingredients for healthy weeknight eats done easy.
Can I use Other Meats/Substitutions?
Be my guest. I’m all about making the most of what you got! You can make this with ground beef or ground chicken. Remember to drain any excess fat from the pan after browning the meat (if it has higher fat contents like 15% or 20%).
Turkey is naturally pretty lean so this step is not necessary. As with any meat, remember to give it a little splash of liquid (red wine/stock) and finish the cooking process on low so it doesn’t dry out and still develops beautiful flavors.
Serve this easy ground turkey with rice recipe any time you’re looking for a simple and delicious way to make ground turkey actually taste good! Plus it’s a nice choice if you’re looking for a healthy rice and ground turkey recipe.
You can never go wrong with simple green veggies and healthy lean meat like this for a tasty and healthy dinner recipe that will win enough times to keep it on repeat.
If you need, here are a couple more tips on shocking fresh veggies! I hope I’ve helped you put the fun and flavor back into that plain old ground turkey so you can prepare it more often and include as many healthy dinner recipes in your life as possible.
If you’re looking for another healthy ground turkey recipe, this delicious golden mushroom ground turkey with smashed potatoes is another easy favorite.
Ground Turkey With Broccoli and Rice
Ingredients
- 1½ lb Ground Turkey
- 1 head Broccoli - Cut into florets and steamed
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil - extra virgin
- 1 medium Onion - diced
- 1 medium Bell Pepper - diced (red, yellow or orange)
- 1 large Tomato - vine ripe – diced (if you don't have fresh tomato, use a can of diced tomatoes)
- 2 cloves Garlic - minced
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce - reduced sodium, if available
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/3 cup Chicken Stock - or Vegetable stock
- 1/4 cup White wine - dry / or dry red wine
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- Pinches Coarse Salt - season to taste
- Pinches Cracked Pepper - season to taste
- 2 Cups Rice - Cooked/Prepared – I usually use Calrose rice which is a medium grain variety rice and steam on stovetop.
Instructions
- Prepare broccoli by cutting it into florets and boiling/steaming until bright green and slightly firm inside.
- Heat olive oil in a wide saute pan over medium-high heat until it turns glossy and shimmery.
- Toss in diced bell pepper and onion. Cook long enough to sweat the onions and soften diced pepper.
- Once onions become translucent, toss in minced garlic and stir in. Stir to combine.
- Add in ground turkey, breaking it up with the side of a wooden spoon until browned through.
- Add in diced ripe tomato or canned diced tomato (with the juices drained out) and dashes of paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder and pinches of salt and ground pepper to taste. Stir to combine.
- Add in splash of dry white wine, soy sauce and Worcestershire. Stir through to combine.
- Bring everything to a light simmer and cover with tight-fitting lid. Simmer on low for 35 to 45 minutes.
- Add cooked broccoli florets to the pan with the ground turkey mixture. Give everything one more drizzle of olive oil and stir everything together. Serve hot over steamed rice.
Notes
Nutrition
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