Ground Turkey Bowls

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These Ground Turkey Bowls are an explosion of flavor and texture! The sweet and spicy veggie and ground turkey blend is perfect over a bed of steamed rice. And if you're feeling extra, whip together the best spicy mayo sauce for the perfect finishing touch!

This dish is a bit spicy, but there is a good amount of sweetness to balance out the spice so it's not too overpowering. That said, if you are sensitive to spice, see Note 5.

Course Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine Healthy

Keyword ground turkey bowl, ground turkey bowls

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 260kcal

Cost $8.95

Ingredients

Ground Turkey

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (or vegetable oil)
2 cups diced mushrooms (Note 1)
1 bunch green onions separated
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1-1/2 tablespoons each: minced ginger, minced garlic
1 lb. lean (93/7) ground turkey
2 cups matchstick/shredded carrots
1 bag (10 oz.) shredded cabbage (Note 2)
Serve over: cooked rice (Note 3)
Optional: lime wedges, cilantro

Stir-Fry Sauce

2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon regular soy sauce (not lite)
3 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup good-quality hoisin sauce (Note 4)
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce, separated (Note 5)

Creamy Sauce (Optional)

1/2 cup mayo (Note 6)
2 juicy limes

US - Metric

Instructions

OPTIONAL CREAMY SAUCE: If making the creamy sauce, start it now, so the flavors have a chance to meld.. Combine 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 teaspoon lime zest, 3 tablespoons lime juice, and 2 teaspoons (up to 3 teaspoons) chili-garlic sauce. Season with a tiny pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth, cover, and chill in the fridge until ready to use. (The sauce may make more than what you need for this recipe, but better more than less! Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week.)
VEGGIE PREP: Wash, dry, and dice mushrooms into small pieces. Thinly slice green onions and separate the white parts from the greens. Dice the red pepper. Mince ginger and garlic.
GROUND TURKEY: Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add in the diced mushrooms, diced red pepper, and white parts of the green onions. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms soften, 3-4 minutes. Press to the edges of the pan and add turkey to the center of the pan. Cook, breaking up as you cook, until mostly cooked through, 3-5 minutes. At this point, add in the ginger and garlic and continue to cook and break up turkey until it's no longer pink, about 2-3 minutes.
STIR-FRY SAUCE: While the turkey is cooking, whisk together 2 tsp. cornstarch and 1 tbsp. soy sauce in a medium-sized bowl. Once smooth, add in 3 tbsp. chicken broth, 1/4 cup hoisin sauce, and 2 tablespoons chili-garlic sauce. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
FINISH MEAT: Back to the turkey: add in the cabbage and matchstick carrots. Stir for 1 minute and then add in the sauce. Cook and stir until the sauce is thickened and glossy and veggies are tender, about 2-3 more minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the tops of the green onions.
SERVE: Serve over white rice drizzled with lots of sauce! Garnish plates with lime wedges and cilantro if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

Note 1: Mushrooms: Pretty much any mushrooms will work, and we usually use baby bella or crimini. Two cups is about 5-6 ounces of mushrooms.

Note 2: Cabbage: Instead of shredding an entire cabbage, use a bag of already shredded cabbage -- it's easy and it cooks down so quickly! (The only ingredient on the package should be green cabbage -- avoid the veggie blends)

Note 3: Rice: Here's our favorite quick way to cook rice: (This only works for basmati rice!)

Fill a large pot with water and set it to boil.
Once the water is at a rolling boil, salt the water and add in rice.
Cook without reducing the heat, for 6 minutes (taste test to ensure it is tender) and then drain and fluff with a fork. Easy!

Note 4: Hoisin sauce: We recommend Lee Kum Kee's® sauce for this recipe. Hoisin sauce can vary a lot from brand to brand so if there is a brand you know you love, feel free to use that; otherwise, grab Lee Kum Kee's for great results.

Note 5: Chili-garlic sauce: This is spicy and adds heat plus flavor to this dish! Without this ingredient, the flavor will be lacking, but if you're overly sensitive to spice, you can slightly reduce it. If you don't have access to this sauce, we did test this recipe with Sriracha sauce; while not the same, it worked. (we liked 1 tablespoon of Sriracha best in the pork mixture and 1 tablespoon in the sauce--2 Tbs was too hot!)

Note 6: Mayo: Use a good (not sweet) mayonnaise like Hellman's/Best Foods®. If you don't want to add the spicy mayo sauce, drizzle lots of fresh lime instead on top of the turkey mixture. The lime will add much-needed acidity and freshness! If you'd like a spicier sauce, add more chili-garlic sauce.

Nutrition information is for the meat and veggie mix, not the sauce.

Nutrition