Slow cooker turkey tacos made with ground turkey are a must-try dish. Delicious, tender, and juicy ground turkey slow cooked together with all the traditional, mouth-watering flavors of yummy tacos. The perfect healthy treat!
Do you love tacos? We do! Any shape or form of taco night always seems to be struggle-free in my house. We have turned taco Tuesday into taco-everyday!
This crock pot recipe is a great way to put a different protein on the table without arguments. Ground turkey is lighter and healthier than ground red meat. PLUS, by using lean turkey meat, you won't need to brown it first (like you do with ground beef)! A winner among dinner recipes for sure.
Ground turkey crockpot taco filling will quickly become one of your favorite slow cooker recipes. So many different, easy dinners can be made from this simple recipe. It is great in everything from lettuce wraps to taco bowls.
📝Shopping list
Jump to recipe card for exact details
To make this amazing ground turkey taco meat, you will need:
- Lean ground turkey
- Salsa - prepared or homemade
- Taco seasoning - you can use your own taco seasoning (recipe below) or store bought
- Tomato paste
- Garlic salt
🥣How to make slow cooker turkey taco meat
As mentioned, one of my favorite things about ground turkey tacos is that you don't have to cook anything in advance. Ground beef tacos require cooking the meat first. A step I always wish I could skip!
Start your crockpot turkey tacos by spraying your slow cooker with a non-stick cooking spray. Next, add in your ground beef and all remaining ingredients. Stir, cover, and cook. That's it!
🍽Serving suggestions
There are many mouth-watering ways to serve this delicious turkey tacos recipe! Stuffing traditional soft or crunchy taco shells is always a favorite place to start.
Wrapping your meat mixture up in corn tortillas is also delicious. Especially when you include some beans, cheese, veggies, and a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream.
However, don't feel like you need to limit yourself to just these traditional taco options. This lean meat dish is wonderful wrapped up in a large romaine lettuce leaf. This makes for an awesome light dinner that also happens to be gluten free.
You can also serve it in a large bowl on top of salad. Add some pinto beans, pico de Gallo, sliced black olives, and bell pepper for a complete one-bowl taco salad meal.
Are you a fan of nachos (uh - who isn't??)? This is one of our favorite recipes to add to a loaded nacho plate. Just slip some on top of tortilla chips with a bunch of fixins. And WHAM - a new favorite the whole family will love!
Some additional ideas for taco toppings include:
- sour cream
- shredded cheddar cheese
- shredded lettuce
- diced tomatoes
- black beans
- chopped chipotle peppers
- green chiles
- hot sauce
I always serve this taco recipe with some lime wedges so we can squeeze fresh lime juice on top.
Storing leftovers
Leftovers of your ground turkey tacos can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. An airtight container or freezer-safe bag will work best. This will keep your leftovers fresh for 3-4 day when refrigerated and 3-4 months in the freezer.
😉Hints & hacks
- Freezing leftovers in meal-sized portions makes for easy reheat-and-eat weeknight meals
- I always recommend the use of a slow cooker liner. Of course, this is an optional step. I like to purchase my liners in bulk for a less expensive per-piece price.
- In the market for a new slow cooker? I love mine!
- This recipe is for mild tacos. Turn up the heat by adding hot chili peppers into the slow cooker along with the listed ingredients.
- Prefer your tacos shredded rather than ground? Try shredded chicken tacos or shredded beef tacos
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Slow Cooker Turkey Tacos (Ground Turkey)
Equipment
- 3.5 quart slow cooker or larger
Ingredients
- 2 lbs lean ground turkey
- 1 cup salsa
- ⅓ cup taco seasoning recipe below
- ⅓ cup tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- add raw ground turkey to slow cooker and use a spoon to break it up2 lbs lean ground turkey
- add remaining ingredients to slow cooker1 cup salsa, ⅓ cup taco seasoning, ⅓ cup tomato paste, 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- stir to combine
- cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours
- enjoy
Notes
- 4 tablespoon chili powder
- 1.5 tablespoon cumin
- 1.5 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
Nutrition
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Do you love this recipe? We would love to hear from you in the comments section below!
M says
Only making this for 2 people, how would I cut this recipe in half using only 1 lb of ground turkey??
The Lazy Slow Cooker says
Yes, I would suggest cutting all of the ingredients in half. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Susan
Megan says
I'm obsessed with the turkey recipe - I love the smell while it's cooking and am happy to eat it each week. Soo tasty!
However, I tried making the seasoning mix using your recipe and it was way too spicy. 4 tablespoons of chili powder doesn't seem like the right amount.
The Lazy Slow Cooker says
Hi Megan,
Thanks for checking in on this. You are right! The taco seasoning recipe at the bottom of the recipe with 4 tablespoons chili powder would make this super spicy. I don't use all of the homemade taco seasoning for this recipe. Just 1/3 cup (and you can use even less if you want it milder).
The taco seasoning recipe shown makes more than you would need for just this recipe. (I actually like to double that taco seasoning recipe and store it in my pantry so that I always have it on hand for easy toss and go meals).
Thank you for pointing out that this is confusing! I am going to update the recipe now to state that the taco seasoning makes more than is needed for just this turkey taco recipe.
So glad to hear that you like the recipe and I agree - it smells AMAZING when it is cooking!!!
Susan