These Ground Turkey Bowls are an explosion of flavor and texture! The sweet and spicy blend of veggies and ground turkey 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!

We love ground turkey! Be sure to check out some of our other favorite ground turkey bowl recipes like this Turkey Taco Skillet, Asian Ground Turkey, or this simple Ground Turkey Stir Fry. This Egg Roll in a Bowl is another favorite — simply replace the pork with ground turkey!

Overhead image of the Ground Turkey Bowls

Ground Turkey Bowls

These Ground Turkey Bowls are packed with good-for-you ingredients while being insanely flavorful! These bowls are the perfect amount of spicy with some sweetness from the Hoisin sauce. And if that weren’t enough, we’ve even got a quick spicy mayo topping for the perfect creamy finish. 

We’ve loaded these bowls with tons of hidden veggies. Not only do they add nutrients, but they also help stretch out the meat further, making this dish especially budget friendly. 

Process shots-- images of the veggies being sautéed; the ground turkey being cooked; garlic and ginger being added

Ground Turkey Bowls: Ingredients

  • Ground turkey: We recommend 93/7 ground turkey. We’ve found 99/1 ground turkey to be dry and flavorless.
  • Mushrooms: The diced mushrooms add a nice texture and umami flavor. Really, any mushrooms will work fine, and we typically use baby bellas or crimini.
  • Green onions: Separate the greens from whites — whites get sautéed with the mushrooms and greens add a finishing garnish.
  • Red pepper: Any sweet bell pepper will work, even a green pepper will do!

Quick Tip

When browning the turkey, let it cook undisturbed in the skillet for a bit; we want to avoid stirring too much at the start, so it can get a nice brown crust. Browning equals flavor, so the more browning, the more flavorful the turkey will be.

Process shots of Ground Turkey Bowls-- images of the cabbage and carrots being added and cooked; the sauce being whisked together; everything being cooked together

Shortcuts

How To Make Ground Turkey Bowls (Shortcuts!)

  • Minced ginger and garlic: For a quicker prep time, use Dorot’s® crushed garlic and ginger cubes. (Check if your local store carries them; they’re typically found with frozen veggies in the grocery store.) Another option is to use refrigerated garlic paste and refrigerated minced garlic.
  • Matchstick carrots: Here’s another timesaver for these Ground Turkey Bowls — get shredded carrots from your store; this is so much faster than cutting your own matchstick carrots.
  • Shredded cabbage: Instead of shredding a whole cabbage, grab a bag of already shredded cabbage — easy and it cooks down so quickly! You’ll find it near the salad kits.  (The only ingredient on the package should be green cabbage; avoid the veggie blends.)

Process shots: the sauce being whisked together; then drizzled over the bowl

Ground Turkey Bowls Stir-Fry Sauce

The sauce that gives the turkey and all the veggies the amazing flavor is so quick and easy to make, using pantry staples!

  • Cornstarch: This thickens everything nicely, adding a rich, glossy finish to the turkey and veggies.
  • Soy sauce: We like using Kikkoman’s® regular soy sauce (not lite/low-sodium) in this sauce. 
  • Low-sodium chicken broth: It’s important to use low-sodium to control the saltiness since there is a good amount between the soy sauce and hoisin sauce.
  • Chili-garlic sauce: This balances the sweetness of the hoisin sauce and adds spice to these Ground Turkey Bowls. Without this ingredient, the flavor will be lacking, but if you’re sensitive to spice, you can slightly reduce it (noting that flavor will be affected). If you don’t have access to this sauce, we did test this recipe with sriracha sauce and while not the same, it worked. (We liked 1 tablespoon of Sriracha best.)
  • Hoisin sauce: More in the “quick tip” box below.

Quick Tip

What is Hoisin?

If you aren’t familiar with hoisin sauce, it’s a condiment made with fermented soybean paste, spices, and other ingredients — it’s sometimes called Chinese BBQ sauce. It adds an umami Asian flavor with sweet, spicy, and tangy elements. It’s very fragrant and makes a pungent sauce, the star of these Ground Turkey Bowls.

We’ve found a lot of brands to be fairly lackluster or overpowering in flavor. Our favorite and what we recommend for these bowls is Lee Kum Kee’s® sauce (not sponsored). If there is a brand you know you love, feel free to use that; otherwise, use Lee Kum Kee’s for best results.

Up-close overhead image of Ground Turkey Bowls ready to be enjoyed

Ground Turkey Bowls Serving Suggestions

  • Spicy mayo. The spicy mayo makes for a delicious finishing touch on these Ground Turkey Bowls, and it’s easy to make. We use more chili-garlic sauce, mayo, and some limes — and that’s it! If you’d prefer to not make the sauce, the bowls will still be tasty, but we’d recommend drizzling a few lime wedges on top to add a needed acidity and freshness.
  • Over rice. We love a good Ground Turkey Rice Bowl and this turkey + veggie mixture is divine over rice! Here’s our favorite quick way to cook rice: (Note: 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!

More Ground Turkey Bowl Recipes

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5 from 1 vote

Ground Turkey Bowls

By Chelsea Lords
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.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 servings

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

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!

Recipe 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

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 19.3g | Protein: 29.7g | Fat: 7.4g | Cholesterol: 67.8mg | Sodium: 755.1mg | Fiber: 4.6g | Sugar: 10g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Meet Chelsea

Hello, and welcome to Chelsea’s Messy Apron! I’m Chelsea, the recipe developer, food photographer, and writer behind the site. I’m passionate about creating simple, reliable, and delicious recipes that anyone can make.

Thanks for stopping by—I hope you find something delicious to make!

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1 Comment

  1. Eva says:

    Big fan of your blog and have made many a delicious meals from your recipes. Thank you, thank you ;-). I saw this recipe and wanted to make it for dinner. I am not big on spice of any kind, is there something not spicy or too hot we could sub out for the Chili-garlic sauce and still have it be less lacking in taste?

    Reply