I seriously never get tired of super easy stir-fry dinners! I mean, what’s not to love? With only a few ingredients, you can work in a TON of vegetables, and they’re super fast! Using ground meat makes them even easier because there’s no cutting or slicing raw meat (not a fan of this task). This Ground Turkey Stir Fry is especially great because it’s so versatile. Use whatever vegetables you have on hand, make it spicy or mild, and serve it with rice, noodles, or with shredded cabbage for a low-carb option. Scroll down for more deets on those options!
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
This Ground Turkey Stir Fry is another meal inspired by those “macro-friendly” meal delivery services that deliver individual, ready-to-reheat meals to your door. While those services are super convenient, they’re also super expensive and I know I can make similar meals at home for a fraction of the price. :) You can easily adjust the macros in this meal by increasing, decreasing, or eliminating any of these elements: turkey, vegetables, rice, or nuts. Unfortunately, I don’t have the specific macronutrient information for this meal, and you can read why in my FAQs.
Customize your Ground Turkey Stir Fry
- Reduce the recipe cost by increasing the vegetables and decreasing the amount of ground turkey
- Use ground beef, pork, chicken, or crumbled tofu or tempeh in place of the ground turkey
- Other vegetable options: mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, bean sprouts, snap peas, green beans, water chestnuts
- Top with cashews or sesame seeds in place of the peanuts
- Make it spicy by stirring a tablespoon (or TWO 🔥) of sriracha or chili garlic sauce into the stir-fry sauce
- Add fresh some freshly grated ginger to the stir-fry sauce for extra zing
- Add cooked noodles to the stir fry at the end instead of serving over rice
- Add a bag of coleslaw mix to the stir fry to bulk it up without adding carbs, similar to my Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry, instead of serving it with rice or noodles.
How to Store Ground Turkey Stir Fry
This recipe works great for meal prep, but I suggest only storing in the refrigerator rather than the freezer. Freezing will cause the vegetables to soften further and seep more water. This dish will stay good in the refrigerator for about four days.
Ground Turkey Stir Fry
Servings 5 (about 1 cup stir fry, 1/2 cup rice)Ingredients
Stir Fry Sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ($0.24)
- 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil ($0.16)
- 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.02)
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional) ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp water ($0.00)
Stir Fry
- 2 bell peppers ($2.00)
- 4 green onions ($0.22)
- 2 oz. spinach (two large handfuls, or 1/4 of an 8oz. bag) ($0.30)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil of choice ($0.08)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 19 oz. ground turkey* ($3.49)
For Serving
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts ($0.12)
- 2.5 cups cooked brown rice ($0.60)
Instructions
- Make the stir fry sauce by stirring together the soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, brown sugar, red pepper, and water until the sugar is dissolved. Set the sauce aside.
- Dice the bell peppers and slice the green onions.
- Heat the cooking oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the ground turkey and minced garlic. Stir and cook until the turkey is cooked through and no water is left pooling on the bottom of the skillet (8-10 minutes).
- Once the turkey is cooked and the moisture has evaporated, add the bell pepper and green onions to the skillet. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes more, then add the spinach and continue to cook just until it is about half wilted (1-2 minutes).
- Pour the stir fry sauce into the skillet. Continue to stir and cook the turkey and vegetables until everything is coated in sauce and the spinach is fully wilted (about 2 minutes more).
- Serve about 1 cup of the stir fry mixture with 1/2 cup rice and a sprinkle of chopped peanuts over top.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Pyrex Glass Meal Prep
- Stainless Steel Pots and Pans
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Video
Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Ground Turkey Stir Fry – Step by Step Photos
First, make the stir-fry sauce so it’s ready to go. Stir together 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and 1 Tbsp water. Stir until the brown sugar is dissolved. BTW, I’ve really grown to love Whole Foods’ 365 brand Shoyu soy sauce. It’s very affordable and has great *flavor*, rather than just being salty.
Next prepare the vegetables. Dice two bell peppers (I used red and yellow for more color), and slice four green onions. I am also using about 2 oz. fresh spinach (2 large handfuls or about 1/4 of an 8oz. bag). No preparation is needed for the spinach.
Add 2 Tbsp of your favorite cooking oil to a large skillet and heat over medium. Once hot, add 19oz. ground turkey and 2 minced cloves of garlic. Stir and cook until the turkey is cooked through and all of the moisture has evaporated out of the skillet. Soupy stir fry is not good. :)
Add the diced bell peppers and green onions to the skillet. Continue to stir and cook just until they begin to soften (about 2 minutes). Don’t let them cook too much because they will continue to cook over the next few minutes as more ingredients are added. Add the spinach to the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes more, or until the spinach is about half wilted, like in the photo.
Finally, pour in the stir-fry sauce. If your brown sugar wasn’t completely dissolved and some remain on the bottom of the bowl, make sure to scrape that into the skillet. Stir and cook everything for 1-2 minutes more, or until everything is coated in sauce and heated through.
And that’s it! It’s literally that easy.
Serve about 1 cup of the ground turkey stir fry with 1/2 cup cooked rice and some chopped peanuts over top. Enjoy!
Recipe turned out very dry not enough sauce was use so the flavor was very bland. Would’ve made more sense to use some spices on top of the ground turkey or in addition to the sauce. Very disappointed with this recipe.
Good flavors, but the sauce was too runny and soup-like.
Made this last night and am already looking forward to the leftovers! So simple and tasty, and you could definitely play around with the veggies if you are trying to use something you already have on hand. Made it exactly as written with only one substitution–in place of the red pepper flakes I stirred in about 1/2 tsp. chili crisp for a little extra heat. Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Kinda bland, will try to thicken up the sauce next time. Love the different colors and how healthy it is!
Found this recipe very dry and lacking depth of flavor.
Easy make which is great with time crunch days. Tasty but with a few tweaks can certainly make it you own and enhance. Great share!
Whips up quickly. Way too salty, but just need to reduce the sauce. Lacks depth, but I don’t know how to fix it. Overall enjoyable, thank you for sharing. I will keep it for the future.
This was quick, easy, and delicious!! I omitted the bell pepper because I’m not a big fan and I didn’t have peanuts, but followed everything else completely. I can’t wait to try this with the peanuts the next time I make it…perfectly balanced flavors in the sauce. So good!
Very quick and delicious! I followed the exact recipe and we all loved it! Could always change out the veggies for your faves, but we love peppers and spinach:) Thanks so much for sharing:)
Wow this was surprisingly so tasty and super simple to make!
I didn’t grow up eating ground turkey, and haven’t known what to cook with it besides tacos and chili. This stir-fry was so easy and tasted great, it’s a definite addition to my turkey recipes now! 7 yr old son and hubby loved it! Thank you for sharing a great recipe!
Everyone loved this. I didn’t want to stop eating it. A winner!
This was such a great recipe! So easy and super flavorful. Will make this a regular meal. Thanks!
Made this last night. It was so easy to make, simple and it was delish!! I Added tofu, everyone loved it!!!
Loved this recipe!!! I added pinto beans and it was delicious 🤤
Made this for the family of 5 tonight – HUGE hit. Everyone – EVERYONE had seconds. This will be on repeat for us. I added a package of bean sprouts to add bulk and veggies. The sauce did NOT have to be doubled even though I added more veggies. If you’re debating whether or not to make it – do it. It fast and delicious!
Loved it! Made as instructed but also added some sliced mushrooms. A couple people loved it even better when they added sriracha. Thanks!
so yum! loved this recipe, so easy to make and had heaps of flavour. I added extra vegetable’s but thats my personal preference.
definitely recommend. 100% worth trying
I made as is and it was super good. I made a second time and doubled the sauce, added fresh ginger and extra garlic, water chestnuts, and 2/3 of a bag of cabbage. Delish!!
This took no time at all to make. Used low sodium soy sauce. Very flavorful. Loved the many ways you can customize it.
Looks delicious! I’m planning on making this!. The total calories you listed, are they for just the ground turkey stir fry, or is it including the 1/2 cup rice? Thanks!
Yes, the nutrition information includes everything listed in the ingredients list on the recipe card, including brown rice and peanuts. You can find out how these estimates are calculated (with a widget called Spoontacular API) and read our full nutrition disclaimer here: https://vitalityholisticwellnessguide.com/nutrition-information-disclaimer/
~ Marion :)
Came together quickly and tastes wonderful!
My boyfriend and I LOVE this recipe, it is delicious and super easy to make!
This recipe turned my family from ground turkey haters to fans. I left the peanuts off for my picky eaters.
For the nutrition calories, is it also including the brown rice and peanuts or only the ground turkey recipe?
Nutrition facts include all ingredients. XOXO -Monti
I don’t have fresh ginger–would powdered ginger work in the sauce? If so, how much would be added? Thanks.
So the ginger is added to taste. The ratio for subbing fresh with ground is ¼ teaspoon ground ginger for every 1 tablespoon grated ginger. I would start with 1/8 teaspoon and go from there. XOXO -Monti
This recipe was really tasty. I made it with bok Choy, carrots, bell peppers and mushrooms, because that’s what I had. A tasty way to use up vegetables. The stuff on this website is always useful because it’s simple ingredients, usually stuff I already have. Thank you
I agree it tasted salty and lacking fullness of flavor because you are depending on a commercial soy sauce, but it is supposed to be thin and light, that’s ok. I will try reducing the amount of soy sauce next time which I think will work because you are getting a lot of moisture from the vegetables. I used one lbs. of meat not 19 ozs. Also the author does suggest using 365 soy sauce which she says has a better flavor. I was surprised to read some commentors who say they want to double the amount of sauce.
Very easy to make and very tasty. Worth trying it. Will make it again soon.
I 👏🏽 love 👏🏽 your 👏🏽 blog! Seriously—it’s what I’ve been searching for my whole life!!!! Balanced macros, low calorie, lots of veggies, cheap, AND easy??! I didn’t think it was possible. You’re truly a blessing. I’m definitely trying this one out bc ground turkey is my favorite way to cut for summer.
Thank you!! <3 <3 <3
The best thing about this recipe is that you can easily swap vegetables/greens for whatever you have on hand. If you like a lot of sauce, you’ll want to double it.
Wow! Changed to cauliflower rice to cut calories. Next time will double the sauce. Definitely making again!!!
I used green pepper, yellow onion, and a ton of bok choy. I also added ginger to the sauce. My family wolfed it down. Great recipe to pack in whatever veggies you have in the fridge.
I made this with a frozen stir fry veggie mix and it turned out SO GOOD. I was worried about not adding any salt to the meat so I sprinkled a bit in, but it didn’t need it. The sauce flavors it perfectly. And it was so easy to make! Thanks so much for this recipe!!
Love this one!! It’s always a go to for my meal preps!
Does the nutritional information account for the peanuts and rice as well?
Yes, nutritional information includes everything listed in the recipe card. :)
I just wanted to compliment you for getting right to the point with your recipes. A lot of people have long drawn out stories that have nothing to do with the recipe, and while that’s great for people interested in blog posts, sometimes it’s hard to sift through to get to the actual recipes. Your website is no-nonsense and stays on topic. The recipes are great and everything, down to the cost per serving is well-laid out and easy to follow. Just wanted to throw some kudos your way.
Thank you! That means a lot to me. :)
100% agree
Yes I agree it’s nice to read a recipe where the author doesn’t go rambling about something like having to pick up the relatives from the airport while in a rush to put a quick dinner on the table and that is how this recipe came about blah blah blah! Kudos.
One of our favorite recipes on here! Prepared this many times. We make it alongside your sesame cucumber salad for dinner guests and it’s always a hit! Also we like to cook ours in a wok and always use the grated fresh ginger recommendation.
Colorful and Flavorful!
Love this recipe! I add in cooked ramen noodles too. I learned that from one of your other recipes.
My step daughter and I are always trying your recipes and sharing links for them. Your web site is regularly referenced in both our homes.
I want to second the comment about you “getting right to the recipe and not long stories “. I know if I read your commentary before a recipe, it is relevant and to the point. Thank you for your direct writing style. It is most appreciated! 😀
Great recipe! I’ve made this twice, first time with turkey, second with ground pork. I also tossed in air fried zucchini and eggplant too and used powered onion the second time, I used whatever I had. I threw in a bundle of the glass noodles too add bulk and feed a larger group.
Loved the recipe, it was quick and easy for dinner
Making for the week! Have tried many of your recipes, and all are amazing! Hubs and I are addicted to your Honey Mustard dressing!!!
SO GOOD!! I have made this exactly as listed, and it was amazing. I also made it another time with the following variations: omitted brown sugar and substituted rice wine vinegar; I don’t like green onions, and didn’t have spinach on hand, but put in a bag of shredded coleslaw mix and it was GREAT. I love how versatile this recipe is that it can stand up to these changes and still be delicious!
This looks so delicious! I love ground turkey and am always looking for more ways to enjoy it. Such a great idea. I’ll be trying this soon!
thank you for the process!! I didn’t have a few of the ingredients so I subbed a couple. I guess I can’t really rate the recipe exactly as written since I couldn’t fully copy it. but your directions produced a colorful, flavorful, and easy dish. very quick too! thank you for saving lunch today! I was so tempted to order pizza but took a stab at this instead and it was so worth it. thank you.
This was so simple and delicious. I didn’t have sesame oil, but I threw in sesame seeds instead. I also added some celery which gave some good flavor. I’m adding the recipe to my short list! Amazing!!!
Amazing! The only change I made was adding 1/2 bag of steamed mixed veggies leftover from last night. I just didn’t want to waste them. I paired this with steamed broccoli & the sesame rice from this site for my meal prep for the rest of the week. This recipe is so very versatile with veggies! I make knock off lo Mein with ramen noodles a lot so next time I’ll pair it up with that. I’ve made 6 of your recipes in the last couple days for meal prep and here I am making a list of more. Thanks so much!!! Myself and my budget adore you 😁
DELICIOUS!!!!! ❤️ Loved it!!! Easy to make and very 😋 tasty!
Excellent recipe, my son who rarely puts a vegetable in his mouth cleaned his plate, veggies and all! I also added very thin carrot slices early in recipe as that is one vegetable he does eats.
My family loves this recipe. We have a little bit of a sweet tooth so I add more brown sugar. But it comes out perfect every time.
Oh my god this is SO good. I’ve prepared it with chicken instead of turkey, and replaced peanuts with walnuts. Delicious. I’m starting to like spinach, too. Thanks Beth for this amazing recipe!
This is such a great recipe. Beth never disappoints, I’ve been making her recipes for a long time. Some of my husband’s favorite meals are from Budgetbytes.
Thanks Lisa!
Nutrition?
We do get that request a lot, but unfortunately we don’t have a reliable source for the nutrition information. The calculators and databases that most bloggers and websites use to calculate the info can be extremely inaccurate, and for something that can so severely impact the health of people with health conditions, we just don’t feel comfortable publishing unreliable numbers. We prefer to leave it up to the reader to use the database or calculator they trust. I’m sorry and I wish accuracy were easier than shipping the food off to a lab for analysis! 😅
Easy, inexpensive and delicious, made this twice now.
Even husband likes it! Re-heats very well for lunches during the week. Used brown and wild rice with it and added a tad bit more teriyaki sauce as it didn’t seem to be enough.
Thanks Brenda! Happy to hear it!
Made this omitting sesame oil, as I didn’t have any, and brown sugar. I added half package of coleslaw mix.
Will definitely make this again. Delicious
Was secretly pleased that my family didn’t make it home for supper with me so I can take it for lunches this week.
Ha! That’s a win Patsy!
This recipe is fantastic! The whole family loves it! I was able to make my own tweaks with Bragg’s liquid and coconut aminos and other veggies. Despite using other recipes from your site I had yet to leave a comment until now! I’m just so excited about this one!
DELICIOUS—- Mine was a bit too salty but it’s probably because I use Maggi soy sauce. Next time I’ll put less. This is my new favorite blog, thank you and keep doing what you’re doing!
Thank you Becks!
Do you think frozen chopped spinach would work okay with this recipe? If not, I think I’ll just leave the spinach out when I make it later in the week. Thanks.
Yep, in a pinch I would use frozen for this. :)
This looks yummy! Can I swap the soy sauce with coconut aminos? If so, should I exclude the brown sugar?
I know a lot of people use coconut aminos as a sub for soy sauce, but unfortunately I’ve never tried it myself so I’m not sure if any other adjustments would need to be made.
Super yummy and colorful. I threw in some fresh basil and fish sauce for a slight Thai inflection. I might put a little corn starch in the sauce next time for a thicker consistency, or not. It’s a great base to play around with. Thank you for so much inspiration!
Made this recipe for tonight’s dinner. My husband and I just finished eating and I must say, it was so delicious I had to comment ASAP.
I did customize your recipe by adding cubed Zucchini, red onions, broccoli and a full tablespoon of brown sugar. Had to omit the spinach because I only had enough for my salad tomorrow.
My husband had his over jasmine rice and I had mine over raw, shredded cabbage ( so crunchy and delicious) both versions are fantastic.
Tomorrow I will try your pasta recipe and will let you know 😊
Thank you for sharing!!!
Laura
This is delicious! Will definitely be a staple in my house!
One of the best meal prep recipes on this site. Been looking for meals that could be prepped in single containers vs divided containers. Great flavor and microwaves evenly instead of being cold or hot in spots. Used the Thai Jasmine rice I had, but was still a great taste. Highly recommend, especially for beginners.
Loved this recipe!!! We added some sriracha and asparagus, and used some cauliflower rice as a side! Kept in the fridge for four days for my lunch for the week! Thank you so much, Beth!
Easy and delicious recipe! Made this to get through a busy week. Only change I made was switching up the brown rice for quinoa. Might add some sriracha to switch it up!
Thank you for your blog. Helped me get back into cooking.
This was delicious! I added 2 heads of broccoli and therefore doubled the sauce recipe. It was easy and quick and so good! Can’t wait to eat the leftovers for lunch!
I loved all the veggies, but it was kind of low on the flavor side.
Where do you shop that your items are so cheap? For example colored bell peppers are $3.99 lb, bag of spinach $3.00, green onion $.99 for 4-5, would love to find cheaper sources!! Thanks.
Aldi! It’s the best thing that has ever happened to me! :)
Made this recipe tonight and it was great! It was so simple and easy, to be honest, I wasn’t expecting that much. I didn’t have spinach so I used red and green cabbage that I had on hand. I added chili sauce, fresh garlic and cornstarch to the stir fry sauce, and made a little extra. Will definitely make again, it would be good with pretty much any combo of vegetables. Thanks for a great recipe!
So easy to make and so tasty! I added sriracha to it to add spice as you suggested, and even my veggie-hating picky 6-year-old gobbled it up and was asking for 2nds and 3rds! Thanks for the recipe!
This was excellent! Prepared as directed. Kids loved as is. Parents added sambal and Siracha for more heat. Very successful, all enjoyed and very quick to make for dinner when I walked in the door.
Loved this! Swapped with turkey for tofu and added a crown of broccoli.
My spouse and I made this tonight. EXCELLENT Friday night meal. We’re both in graduate school and have been living strictly off the recipes ideas on your website for the past 2.5 years to stay healthy on our tight budget… always get excited to try your new recipes and this one was definitely one of our favorites to date! Thanks so much for all you do!
I’ve been using Gochujang in my stir fry sauces lately. It takes a bit more effort to incorporate due to how thick the paste is but it’s super good and adds such a unique, funky flavor.
I love recipes like this that allow us to mix and match ingredients, plus using ground meat for stirfry is one of my favorite shortcuts as well. I made this last night, just swapping Gochujang in place of Sriracha in the sauce (though full disclosure I used some Sriracha anyway since I’m a heat fiend) and a couple bricks of ramen noodles instead of rice.