This quick, one-pot Ground Turkey Skillet with zucchini, corn, tomatoes, and black beans is great for weeknight dinner or meal prep!
Ground Turkey Skillet
I just love an easy weeknight recipe you can whip up all in one skillet. This dish has all the flavors of summer with fresh zucchini, corn, and tomato. It’s a full meal in one – although if you wish, you can serve it with a grain. This ground turkey skillet is inspired by my Santa Fe Stuffed Zucchini but simplified and cooked in under 20 minutes. More of my favorite skillet recipes to try are this Beef Picadillo Recipe and this Cheesy Rotisserie Chicken Enchilada Skillet. And see all my ground turkey recipes for more ideas.
How to Make Ground Turkey Skillet
This healthy ground turkey skillet cooks pretty fast. First, brown the turkey and season with salt and cumin. After about five minutes, push the meat to one side, add the onion and tomato paste, and cook for a minute.
Next, add the black beans, corn, tomato, jalapeño, corn, and ¼ cup water. Then add the zucchini and remaining salt and cumin. Cover the skillet and cook on low for four to five minutes.
How to Meal Prep
This easy turkey skillet dinner is perfect for meal prep. The leftovers reheat really well, and they should last in the fridge for up to 4 days. Just store in individual containers and microwave until warm.
Variations:
- Switch the ground turkey for ground chicken or sirloin.
- Swap zucchini for yellow squash.
- Use canned diced tomatoes if you don’t have fresh or sub in cherry tomatoes.
- To make this skillet low-carb, omit the black beans and corn and replace with spinach and red bell pepper.
- To make this skillet spicy, keep the ribs and seeds in the jalapeño. You could also top it with hot sauce before eating.
- Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.
- Serve with avocado on top.
- If you want to bulk up this meal, serve it with brown rice or quinoa. For a lower-carb option, use cauliflower rice or spaghetti squash.
More Ground Turkey Recipes You’ll Love:
- Turkey Picadillo
- Turkey Enchilada Stuffed Poblano Rellenos
- Low-Carb Turkey Taco Stuffed Avocados
- Easy Healthy Turkey Chorizo
- Mini Bell Pepper Loaded Turkey “Nachos”
Ground Turkey Skillet with Zucchini, Corn, Black Beans and Tomato
Equipment
Ingredients
- 14 ounces from 2 medium or 1 large zucchini, quartered and sliced 3/4 inch
- 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3/4 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained
- 3/4 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
- 1 large diced tomato
- 1 jalapeño, diced
- 1 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
- 1 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup water
- lime wedges, optional
Instructions
- Spray a large skillet over high heat with oil and brown the turkey, season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon cumin.
- Cook breaking the meat up until the turkey is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Push the meat to the side, add the onion and tomato paste and cook 1 minute.
- Add the black beans, corn, tomato, jalapeño pepper, garlic, cilantro and stir with 1/4 cup water.
- Add the zucchini remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and cumin.
- Mix and cover, cook low 4 to 5 minutes or until the zucchini is tender crisp.
- Serve with lime wedges and more cilantro if desired.
This is such a great recipe to make for a family dinner or a few lunches! Gets your veggies in and I alter it slightly with red pepper and spinach in place of corns and beans.
This recipe is so easy and delicious.
I added a few more items. I can’t do jalapeños so I substituted canned green chilis, chili pepper and adobo.
Filling and easy to make. Can’t go wrong with southwestern dishes with lots of flavor.
Nice and easy to make, generally pretty tasty although I wish it had more flavour.
I love this type of recipe! We had it tonight and it was pretty tasty. I did add some extra seasoning– taco seasoning, chili powder, and pepper as I was serving only adults. My hubby can’t stand cilantro so I have to add alternative seasonings. Tonight, I went with the corn, black beans, and zucchini which was perfect to add flavor, fiber, and texture, but I can see adding green or red pepper and whatever veggie I might have in the fridge, plus a handful of grated cheese on top next time. The lime added a nice burst of flavor. Thanks for a great recipe!
We make tacos out of this….fill the taco shells with the prepared ingredients and top with cheese. Pop it in the oven for about 7 minutes. Also, instead of chopped tomatoes and paste, we add taco seasoning and salsa. So good!
Love this recipe! So easy! I make it even easier by subbing the tomato and jalapeno for a can of Rotel!!! I always have them in my pantry and it makes this even easier!
Super easy, quick delicious meal! The teens in my household will make a burrito the next time I make this!
This was delicious. I made a few substitutions to keep carbs lower. I used yellow squash instead of a tomato; spinach and red pepper instead of the black beans and corn. I also added an extra table spoon of tomato paste My daughter normally won’t eat these vegetables and devoured it. Thank you for this recipe. I will definitely make it again.
Made this recipe when family visited. It served 4 with enough left over for another meal. All enjoyed it. It was a good alternative for a pound of turkey I found in my freezer.
Made exactly as written, and it was delicious! I had to put it away to stop myself from eating thirds lol. I did sprinkle a little shredded cheddar on top. Really hit the spot for healthy comfort food.
Very easy, healthy high protein meal that comes together quickly. I made it as is, which is delicious but you can definitely add more garlic or spices to your taste. Would be awesome over Skinnytaste cilantro lime rice or even as a topping for nachos! Very customizable recipe.
I have made this for dinner (with rave reviews) and for lunch meal prep! A great way to use some fresh garden zucchini. I really like the ease of putting it together.
Quick, easy & tasty! We’ll definitely make this recipe again! Next time, I won’t forget to buy a jalapeño or 2 though.
Never thought I’d get hubby to eat Turkey, but he even asked for seconds. Definitely a winner! Only change I made was the addition of a few extra cloves of garlic. What can I say, we love fresh garlic. Thank you Gina for another winning recipe!😊💖
I omitted the beans, my husband doesn’t like beans, but stayed true to the rest of the recipe. Easy, healthy, and filling. I’ll be adding this to our weekly rotation.
Had to use up a ground turkey, so I was looking for something different to try. I made this and my family absolutely LOVED it. We liked it so much, I made another batch the next night so we could have something quick throughout the week. The second time I made it a bit spicier by adding another jalapeno. We will probably try it over rice and/or pasta as well.
Favorite of me and my husband! Love mixing it up with different veggie combos.
Soo delish! Topped with a little cheddar and Avocado. Served with tostada chips. My 9 year old asked if I could make this every week and hubby thought it was very good.
This is delicious, quick and healthy! It improves in the refrigerator, as many leftovers do. I sprinkled some Tajin seasoning on it, as someone suggested, and it was the perfect enhancement. I will definitely make this again! Thanks, Gina!
I love this dish! Over the rice, it reminds me of a casserole in my bowl which I miss very much on a diet:)
I used canned, fire roasted tomatoes, added feta cheese at the end and served with Trader Joes corn chips.
I didn’t have fresh tomatoes so I used a can of Rotel. Delicious and going in the rotation!
Can this be made and frozen for alter use?
Delicious and changeable based on taste, prefernces, and ingredients on hand.
Delicious and easy! I fixed for my dinner tonight. My only change was to use 4 Compari tomatoes instead of a large tomato. I think next time I will use a whole can of black beans instead of 3/4 cup.
I loved how easy to put together this dish was. I love all the fresh food flavors that come together and complement each other. I may make some rice on the side for the teen boys in the house and to make the dish a bit bigger. The amount of food was a great proportion for us(a mom, dad, and two teen boys).
Yummy! Next time I’ll add a little more corn for added sweetness and try it with the avocado. Nice and filling and very easy.
Really very tasty. I’ll be making it again.
If I use 99% fat free ground turkey this recipe would be 0 WW points, correct?
Quick, easy and tasty!
Absolutely fabulous! I use a can of black beans (drained), a cup of corn, and a lot of cilantro (I never measure, just dump a bunch in). If I dont have a fresh tomato, I just use a can of diced tomatoes, drained. I use shallot so I dont have to cut into an onion, and I leave out the jalapeños because I have kids who aren’t into spice. I serve it on shredded lettuce with crumbled tortilla chips and shredded cheese. Omg phenomenal!! We make this probably every 2 weeks. Kids love it. Thank you!
Amazing! I make this weekly!
I made this tonight and quite liked it as did my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. I might have used too much yellow squash (substitute for zucchini since I had it growing in my garden and also used home-grown jalapeño and tomato) but it was tasty and healthy which is a win-win! I would make it again although my husband was so-so on it.
Thanks for recipe! I used what I had on hand. So it was fresh tomatoes, 8 oz .tomato sauce (not paste), pinto beans, corn, spinach, red pepper, dried cilantro (not fresh) and jalapeno. Worked out great. Easy dinner that is healthy.
I love this recipe and it’s versions. When I replace the beans and corn with spinach and red we easily get our veggies into our diet!
This recipe is excellent. All the garden-fresh produce!! I will probably cut the zucchini a little thinner next time I make it, but I will definitely make it again!
So tasty!
I used more cilantro and fresh corn and zucchini
This is on constant rotation at our house. Thanks for another wonderful recipe Gina
This is another family winner! You’ve done it again…Absolutely delicious!!
Thank you!
used ketcup inplace of paste, It was so good and filling, And this moring no weight gain thank you very much
Love this recipe, just made the version with red pepper and spinach and it’s delicious!
My boyfriend and I absolutely loved this recipe. This was easy to make and the four balanced services are perfect for dinner and next day leftovers for work. I used corn kernels fresh from the cob and upped the fresh cilantro and lime juice/zest for a flavor kick and what a payoff. We are certainly adding this to our rotation!
I bought a 10 pound package of ground turkey, so I was looking for ways to use it. This recipe satisfied my craving for Mexican flavors. It is not too spicy, so it would make a great family meal. Big praise for a flavorful one pot meal.
Easy to make and absolutely delicious! We served it with cilantro lime rice.
So yummy! Made it vegetarian for my husband and regular for me.
Just one note…it doesn’t say when to add meat back in, so I did it at the very end.
Just push the meat to one side of the pan, no need to remove 🙂
This is DELICIOUS & HEALTHY. I found it to be a lot of steps… but worth it. Thank you, so glad I tried it. Super TASTY!!! I forgot to add the tomato 🙁 If you want more spice up the jalapeño or include seeds, I didn’t really get heat from 1 jalapeño. YUMMY
So easy to make and a family favorite!
I love that you included the measurement of the ingredients in the ‘method’ section. Helped me not having to scroll up the page!
Amazing! My family loved it! I doubled the recipe with all ingredients as outlined for the recipe (except salt), and Added Tajin and Onion Powder, Chili Powder, Extra Cumin, Extra Garlic to taste. Will def. make again!
Super easy to make and very flavorful, I highly recommend this dish.
Fantasticulous!! This was absolutely delish! Switched out salt for fish sauce (trust me!) and increased the corn, black beans and cilantro to a cup apiece. I was planning to have leftovers for lunch, but it all got et. :o)
Loved this! Perfect after the pool summer meal. Easy, flavorful. Served over brown rice. Left seeds and ribs in jalapeño. Will make again. I think I added a bit more cumin than the recipe called for. Lime on top with extra cilantro was perfect!
I’ve made this dish several times. It’s good but I added spinach and more cumin, onions, garlic and cilantro as well as low sodium tajin to give it more flavor. I also used no salt added petite diced tomatoes, low sodium black beans & no salt added tomato paste. I also used beef bone broth instead of water. I serve it over rice or quinoa.
It was good, however, I’m not much of a cumin fan. It was a bit too much. Is there another spice that could be used as a substitute?
Delicious! Paired it with low carb tortillas and a sprinkle of mozzarella.
I make this all the time. I like it on sweet potatoes or over salad greens.
Ohhh now that’s an idea.. over sweet potato or greens.. just bought both.. will try that. But I have to say it’s really good as is as well
Love it!! So healthy, quick, and tasty.
Made this tonight for dinner. My husband isn’t a big fan of ground turkey, but he loved this recipe. I agree! Yummy and easy to make! Plus…healthy! Next time I will serve it over rice.
Delicious, fast, fresh and filling!
I just tried it for the 1st time and really enjoyed it. I’ve change my way of eating to more healthy dishes and this was easy and good. I will have this next week’s lunches too. I will make it again.
Love this one!! Great for meal prep!
Weekly family favorite.
A new one for our meal rotation! Added a bit of cheese and served over rice. We loved it!
Served over rice with a little bit of cheese added. So good! Adding to the meal rotation.
I’ve made this recipe 3 times now and I’m still not tired of it. I like to meal prep it and serve it over baked sweet potatoes.
I love this recipe and have made it many times. I do increase garlic and cumin and add chili powder and lime juice at the end. This is great for meal prep lunches with brown rice/cauliflower rice. I look forward to lunch when I know I have this eating in the fridge!
Loved it! We had it on top of rice. Extra cumin and added chili powder and cayenne.
Made this recipe this week. My husband & I absolutely love it! Had it for dinner over rice for my husband & cauliflower rice for me..then had just as is for lunches. I make it regularly. Thanks for the great recipes, Gina!
Loved it!! I didn’t have tomato paste so I used rotelles tomatoes with chiles, 3 garlic cloves, spinach, frozen corn, cherry tomatoes, chopped jalapeños, and onion. It was delicious!!
This recipe is so tasty! I’m surprised that others have said that it’s bland. This is the third time I’ve made it and I used Rotel instead of tomatoes, jalapeño and water. We also added a bit of shredded cheese individually. ❤️
Pandas too hot so ended up burning the meat but even with burnt meat,it was still good.
One of my favorites.I like it a bit spicier than my hubs does, so I sprinkle on Tajin. Yummy!
Put on our rotation
I usually prep the veggies all together in the morning to cut down time at dinner. It’s such an easy recipe and so tasty!
I love how this recipe can swap out ingredients making it easier to use what you already have, but I thought the seasoning was very bland.
Kind of bland. Good enough to eat, but not good enough to make again. Fresh lime and cilantro helped some, but the dish could use more spices. (Disappointing, since I regularly use Gina’s recipes and find the seasonings to be spot on.)
I googled ground turkey and zucchini and this recipe was top of the list. I didn’t have tomato paste, a lime, or cilantro (lime and cilantro would have taken it over the top!), and added sweet bell pepper and served it on a bed of fresh spinach and sprinkled pepper jack cheese on top. I also used a heavy hand with cumin and added onion powder and a little salt. It was delicious and made enough for four good-sized meals. I’ve already packed office lunches with this for tomorrow.
I used 98% fat free chicken making this a ZERO point dinner! We all loved it!!
This recipe comes together quickly and is delicious. I doubled the cumin and added a bit of paprika. It’s great for meal prep too.
I subbed a can of rotel for tomatoes and jalapeños, added pkg frozen southwest cauliflower rice, and some cooked brown rice. It is SO good. With all my additions it made a HUGE amount for meal prepping!
Vegetarian Alternative:
I’ve made this with the ground turkey and really enjoyed it but my daughter has since become a vegetarian. I made it tonight with Beyond Beef and all the picky eaters in my family approved! The only other adjustment I made was adding a little extra tomato paste and water.
Easy and quick to make. Serve in lettuce cups if you like. Yum
It took a bit longer to make than expected. But a great idea is adding sour cream on top, or some tortilla chips
Another favorite at my house. I served it w/yellow rice, avocado and lime and the family thought it was delicious. I served it with cauliflower rice for myself to avoid the carbs and it was also very good and filling.
Trying to eat healthier and this was the perfect meal prep!!! Tastes so yummy!!
Loved it! I used canned Mexican corn and canned fire roasted tomatoes. I used left overs into burrito bowls and took it to work!
So. Freakin. Good. 100% going in the regular rotation. Easy. Flavorful. Delicious. And makes awesome meal prep.
I used a can of tomatoes & chilis (per another reviewer’s suggestion). Other than that, followed recipe exactly. Winner.
Very healthy and delicious. Sometimes I eat the leftovers in a tortilla shell.
Would this taste the same with ground chicken?
Excellent, everyone loved it.
Delicious and super simple to prepare!! Gina is one of my all time favorite chefs😉
This continues to be one of our favorite meals! It’s so quick and so delicious.I’ve been adding a can of tomatoes with green chilies( discovered when I didn’t have jalapeños) and that makes it even easier!
Omitted the salt and rinsed my beans for less sodium- still amazing! Paired it with rice made a delicious dinner!!!
I made this today. It was quick, easy and really tasty😋 I’m always thrilled to find healthy recipes❤ This is definitely a meal we’ll have often!!!
Very good! I omitted the jalapeño pepper because I can’t tolerate spicy. I added in a red pepper to get in more veggies. Definitely will be making again! Thank you Gina! I love your recipes because they never taste “healthy” and it’s real food anyone can find and make!
So delicious. I omitted beans and used red bell peppers. It was so yummy
Quick…Easy…. and so good!!
Made it! Had to to leave 🍅 out due to daughter. It’s a bit spicy but sooo good!
My husband and I loved this. Full of flavor. We will make this again.
With 99% turkey would be zero pts .
Delicious, easy, and healthy. What more could you want?
Very high in sodium what can make this less sodium?
Don’t use any salt. Try Ms. Dash or other non-sodium additives (check labels on your products).
You could reduce the amount of salt and probably sub a Mexican themed Ms. Dash instead. I’d also suggest using the ‘no salt added’ canned beans, corn and tomatoes.
Rinse beans save about 1/3 of sodium,
Low sodium ketchup instead of tomato paste, and fresh or fresh frozen corn and black beans instead of canned would help a lot with lowering sodium.
I cook from scratch every night so I’m experienced. This recipe was bland.
This recipe is simple and delicious. I’ll be making it with all your suggested variations. Thank you for sharing it!
This recipe is so simple, and so delicious! I’ll be using it often with all your suggested variations. Thank you so much for sharing it!
This is a staple in our house! It’s quick, easy, nutritious and low-carb for mama. My kids haven’t taken to it yet, but that’s okay ~ more for my husband and me! =)
This was AMAZING and so easy for a weeknight meal. I used adobo instead of cumin and red pepper flakes instead of the jalapeño and it was flavorful and delicious. I’ll definitely be making this again!
I made it just as written. It was good. We liked it…but felt it was a little lacking in flavor. Maybe just more salt? Also, should have served with sliced avocado as others suggested.
I never review recipes, but this one was such a win for dinner! My toddler is obsessed!! and so is the whole fam! 🤩
Delish!! Will definitely make this again!!
Delicious! I made a couple minor adjustments (1/2 the black beans, added carrots for bulk) to suit my family’s tastes but, otherwise kept to the recipe. Will definitely make this again!
Love this and we cook it often. A winner!!!
scrumptious! i added some adobo and curry powder to the turkey, and i tossed in some cooked rice at the end. i also added some sliced avocado on top! we put our leftovers in burrito wraps. great recipe – will probably become a staple dinner in our house! thank you!
So good looking love it
I made this yesterday with a few changes based on what we had (no jalapeños, fresh cilantro, or tomato paste, but I threw in a couple Tbsp of spicy pineapple bbq sauce instead). It was a hit. Even the kids loved it, and that’s very uncommon with a gluten free dairy free meal.
This dish was SO good that I’ve not only saved it in my google search, but I’ve made it twice in less than 3 weeks. This will definitely be added to my cooking rotation!!!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Ground turkey was sold out at the store so I used lean ground beef. Also skipped cilantro and added ancho chili powder and tony c’s. Added a tiny bit of shredded cheese on top. Turned out amazing! Great recipe. Even ate some with scrambled eggs for breakfast this morning 🙂
Great!!
Absolutely delicious! Will definitely make it again. Big hit with everyone.
Instead of yellow squash or zucchini, I used butternut squash to make it a little more “Fall”-ish. Delicious!
So tasty & easy! On rotation at our house!
Perfect!
This recipe is easy and very tasty, hubby approved
I am on an anti-inflammatory diet right now and can only eat certain foods, so I was so excited to see this recipe. I can eat all of these ingredients except the corn, and I have to say, this was delicious! I’m sure corn would add another depth of flavor, but even without it, delicious! I made a huge batch so I can take some to work every day for lunch.
I make this all the time, one of my favorite meals
I absolutely love this I have made this several times..
Oh my goodness so delicious! I am super picky adult eater but wanting to try new healthier dishes. Hubby and I loved this. Made some tweaks and mistakes but it is so packed with flavor you’d never know. So glad I stumbled upon this recipe. Ground turkey tacos we’re getting just boring!
Made this tonight with Mexican zucchini, added 1/2 can of the small tomato paste, a can of spicy black beans, a can of sweet corn, a can of diced tomatoes, some onion and garlic powders as well as diced onion and minced garlic. Added cilantro and avocado. Very healthy and tasty. Even my red meat and potatoes husband like it and got seconds. Will make again.
This recipe is just too good.
It’s not only delicious, when I totaled out the health information, it’s the closest thing to a multi-vitamin out of all my rotating recipes. It’s unbelievably healthy, filling, and I’m still shocked by how low it is in calories. One of my favorites!
Love this Recipe I made a little change to it, instead of water I added Chicken broth turned out yummy. One of my favorite Recipes.
I’ve made it several times and it is seriously so good for how simple (and healthy!) it is. My husband, who would eat out every day if I let him, was shocked at how tasty it was the first time I made it. Plus, for meal prepping, the leftovers are great!
Served this for dinner tonight. I accidentally opened a can of chick peas instead of black beans but no problem because it was a huge hit. My 8 yo granddaughter inhaled it and went back for seconds. Very tasty and chock full of veggies.
Could you make this into a soup? How would recommend doing so?