Make a healthy and filling dinner with these tasty recipes featuring ground turkey. Ground turkey transforms into burgers, soups and more to create a diabetes-friendly dinner that’s low in saturated fat, sodium, carbs and calories. Recipes like Turkey Chili and our Air-Fryer Turkey & Mushroom Gyoza are so flavorful and delicious, they’ll make eating for healthy blood sugar levels a breeze.
Turkey Chili
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
We skip browning the turkey for two reasons—it helps save time, and the lean turkey stays tender as it gently simmers in the chili. Poblano peppers and chipotles in adobo add a nice spice and smokiness to the dish. Top with your favorite garnishes, like shredded cheese, yogurt, avocado or lime wedges.
Air-Fryer Turkey & Mushroom Gyoza
These gyoza are packed with ground turkey, mushrooms and scallions. A chile-garlic sauce adds mild heat for a flavorful dipping sauce. These gyoza can be frozen for up to three months, so keep a batch in the freezer and pull them out when you need an appetizer for a party.
California Turkey Burgers & Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Inspired by an option at the West Coast chain In-N-Out Burger, this turkey burger recipe keeps the carbs in check with a lettuce wrap instead of a bun. The side of sweet potato fries bakes while you prep the burgers, so this entire healthy dinner is ready in under 30 minutes.
Turkey, Pork & Chinese Chive Dumplings
Christine Ma
Dumplings have become as common a food as any beloved traditional Chinese dish. Serve with Shanxi mature vinegar—or gyoza, teriyaki or soy sauce—for dipping. Add some chile crisp for a little heat, if you like.
Pita Panzanella Salad with Meatballs
This Mediterranean-inspired salad combines the flavors of Greece with the format of a traditional Tuscan bread salad for a refreshing, yet hearty meal.
Mushroom-Swiss Turkey Burgers
In this gluten-free turkey burger recipe, lean ground turkey stands in for ground beef, and portobello mushrooms produce a juicy, flavorful alternative to the traditional bun. Melted Swiss cheese, sliced tomato and arugula top off this delicious low-carb dinner!
Turkey & Sweet Potato Chili
Ali Redmond
This healthy turkey chili has a nice balance of flavors, thanks to sweet potatoes and smoky chipotle chiles. We like to garnish it with creamy avocado, but melted cheese, chopped scallion and a dollop of sour cream will work well too.
Hearty Chickpea & Spinach Stew
Photographer: Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen
This satisfying stew comes together in a snap. Mashed chickpeas add body to the broth, and tomato paste adds a savory note without adding too much sodium in this healthy recipe for weight loss.
Turkey Enchilada Poblano Peppers
In this healthy take on turkey enchiladas, we stuff everything into a roasted poblano pepper shell rather than tortillas to pack an extra serving of veggies into this meal. If you can’t find poblano peppers, you can substitute green bell peppers instead.
White Turkey Chili
This white turkey chili is gorgeous, with flecks of green from zucchini, oregano and green chiles. To keep the saturated fat low, we use 1 pound of ground turkey and add whole-grain bulgur to boost the volume and fiber.
Five-Spice Turkey & Lettuce Wraps
These lettuce wraps come together fast for a healthy dinner, or try them as a fun appetizer for entertaining. Adding instant brown rice to the filling increases the fiber, making them more satisfying. Serve with chile-garlic sauce and rice vinegar for extra zip.
Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Lean ground turkey makes a moist, low-fat substitute for the ground beef that’s usually found in stuffed pepper filling. To add a nutty flavor and boost the nutrition even further, we call for cooked brown rice, but this recipe will also work with white rice.
Easy Turkey Meatballs
These easy turkey meatballs can be enjoyed warm or cold, making them perfect for make-ahead lunches. Pack them along with a dipping sauce, slice them up for a sandwich filling or crumble them up as a topper for salad or tacos.
Turkey & Bean Burritos
These tasty turkey-and-bean burritos are the perfect choice for a quick dinner or lunch. Shredded lettuce and Cheddar cheese are wrapped up in warm whole-wheat tortillas with cooked turkey, salsa and beans.
Italian-Style Turkey & Penne Skillet
This delicious one-skillet pasta meal-for-two is ready in just 35 minutes! Turkey—seasoned with a spicy Italian-seasoning blend—is served with tomato sauce and wilted spinach over multigrain pasta.
