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Let’s just talk about ground turkey meat, shall we? I am going to be so honest when I say that I don’t prefer it. Dry, dry, dry and oh-so bland. But people love it because it’s “lean” and it’s very much deemed healthy in the health food world. But it doesn’t have to be boring! Spice things up with these Crunchy Baked Turkey Tacos.
I am all about health foods but I will *never* sacrifice flavor when it comes to healthy eating. But I am also down for a task to make ground turkey a total rockstar and this recipe, I have done just that. The most wonderful turkey taco filling stuffed into grain-free tortillas and baked until crispy on the edges and soft in the center for the ultimate taco night!! These are a WINNER!
My entire family devoured these Crunchy Baked Turkey Tacos and I can’t wait to see you all cookin’ them up in your own kitchens.
If you like ground turkey with a Mexican-inspired flair, try these Turkey Taco Meatballs with Chipotle-Lime Aioli or Grain-Free Turkey and Black Bean Taquitos.
Ingredients
- avocado oil (you'll use about 3-4 tablespoons total)
- 1/4 cup very finely diced white onion
- 1 lb ground turkey (preferably dark meat)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 [4-ounce] can diced green chiles (I use hot, but you can opt for the mild ones if you prefer)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup chicken broth (can sub beef broth, veggie broth, or even water here also)
- 8 tortillas (I use Siete Foods grain-free tortillas and I prefer either the cassava blend or almond flour)
- 1/2 cup cashew queso (I use Siete Foods nacho flavor, you can also use shredded cheese here, if you are okay with a little dairy.)
- 1/2 cup finely shredded iceberg lettuce (about 1/4 head of lettuce), for serving
- 1 roma tomato, seeded and diced small , for serving
- 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro , for serving
- your favorite hot sauce , for serving
- 1 lime, cut into wedges , for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with 1 tablespoon of avocado oil. Add the onions, ground turkey, salt and pepper and cook, breaking up the meat with the edge of a spoon, until it is cooked through and no longer pink, about 7 minutes. You want to really break up the meat so it's super small and there are no large chunks.
- Add the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and oregano and cook, stirring until spices are fragrant and incorporated into the meat, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pour in the diced green chiles (undrained) and the tomato paste into the meat and toss until well combined with the meat.
- Pour in the broth and cook, stirring until well combined and there are no longer clumps of the tomato paste in the meat. Remove from heat, cover, and keep the meat mixture warm while you prepare the tortillas.
- In a small, separate non-stick skillet, heat 1/2 tsp of avocado oil over medium-high heat and quickly fry 1 tortilla (about 30 seconds on each side) until flexible and easy to fold. Set the tortilla on the prepared baking sheet and scoop about 2 tablespoons of the turkey mixture onto one side of the tortilla. Spread 1 tablespoon of the cashew queso across the other side of the tortilla and gently fold the tortilla in half, forming a taco. Continue frying, filling, and folding the tacos (adding more oil to the skillet as needed) until you’ve used all the filling.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the preheated oven and cook until the tacos are crispy and golden browned on the edges, about 10 minutes. (if for some reason the tops of your tortillas look dry, either brush or spray with avocado oil to ensure they will crisp up in the oven).
- Remove from oven and let cool just until you can handle the tacos. Using your hands, gently open the tacos to fill with the sliced lettuce, diced tomatoes, and chopped cilantro.
- Serve with lime wedges and your favorite hot sauce. Enjoy!
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I just found this recipe and made it tonight. I used Siete cassava flour tortillas, but they started curling up and unfolding as soon as I filled them and put them on the pan. Some of them came open in the oven. I sprayed the top with avocado oil as recommended to see if moistening them would help, but it didn’t do the trick. Any suggestions on how to keep these closed?! Thank you!!
If you have a convection oven with a strong fan, it can blow the tacos open sometimes! maybe spread a little bit of refried beans on one side to help “glue” it down!
This is our favorite taco recipe! The flavor is amazing and the turkey is very moist. The Casava Flour tortillas are better than any other. One of favorite dinner recipes.
This is a bi-weekly (if not weekly) staple!! Recently I haven’t been able to find the Siete cashew queso so I looked on their website and found out they have discontinued both of their dairy free quesos 🙁 Any suggestions for a substitution (I’ve tried regular queso before when I couldn’t find the cashew queso but it really isn’t the same)
Hi Olivia,
I am so sad they discontinued it!!! 🙁
This brand makes a cashew queso- https://credofoods.com/
I made them with homemade cashew queso using this super easy recipe I found online, and I thought it worked really well!
https://minimalistbaker.com/5-minute-vegan-cashew-queso/
Added these to my rotation and they always turn out so yummy!
This is our GO TO! I am the queen of modifying recipes and I never make any changes to this. This is now our family favorite. Thank You!
I absolutely LOVE this recipe! Everything is perfect – the Turkey mixture, Queso, and crunchy tortillas! My family loves it too. Thanks Alex!
I buy the 3lb of ground Turkey and triple this recipe. I’m going to experiment with freezing a little bit of the meat mixture to see if I can use at a later time.
Hi, Caitlyn! How many people would you say this would feed when you triple it? I’m wanting to make it for friends (4 adults), but not sure if I should double or triple it. Thank you!
-Katie