Full of flavor and packed with veggies like kale, jalapeno, onions and peppers, this Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep is a one-pan make-ahead lunch dream! Serve with rice or keep it low-carb with cauliflower rice!
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Ground turkey needs more love! It can taste good too. I’m here with evidence to prove it.
Here are some common complaints I hear about ground turkey:
- it gets too dry when reheated
- it has no flavor
- what can you make besides tacos?
- I’d rather have ground beef
Let’s fix these issues, shall we?? My solutions include: super flavorful, not dried out, delicious ground turkey with vegetables, recipes. It can be done! You just have to know what to add to make it work.
Example: My ground turkey breakfast sausage patties have unsweetened applesauce in the meat mixture to keep it extra moist. Give ground turkey a try!
What ingredients are in this Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep?
This meal prep meal is full of deliciously clean ingredients and is paleo, dairy-free, and gluten-free friendly. Here are the ingredients in these Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep bowls.
- ground turkey – I love using ground turkey for meal prep! Keep ground turkey from getting dry while reheating by adding a sauce or making it into a stir fry.
- bell peppers – Red and yellow bell peppers add a ton of color and a little bit of sweetness to this dish! Okay, at least compared to the jalapenos.
- onion & garlic – Aromatics, flavor enhancers, the best ingredients in my opinion.
- jalapenos – Cooking the jalapenos helps get rid of the extra heat!
- cumin – We want some flavor that isn’t just spicy heat to go with the chipotle vibes.
- salsa – I prefer to use a very mild, thin salsa here, such as Pace. The tomatoes and liquid from the salsa add extra texture, flavor, and keep the ground meat from drying out. Feel free to use your favorite salsa here.
- chipotle hot sauce – I prefer Siete Chipotle Hot Sauce (affiliate link – I get it at Whole Foods), but Cholula or other brands would work too. You can also use leftover chipotle sauce from a can of chipotle peppers if you have it on hand.
- rice – This time, I used plain white rice cooked in chicken broth, but you can use any rice you’d like, including cauli rice to keep it low calorie.
Is this Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet spicy?
If I had to pick yes or no, I’d have to say, yes, this is a spicy dish. Chipotle is a smoked jalapeno pepper, so it makes sense. But there are ways to change this!
Most of the spice will depend on your chosen hot sauce. Reduce the heat by picking a milder hot sauce, or just using less hot sauce in general.
You can also use less jalapeno peppers, though the cooking process does calm down a lot of that heat anyway.
Overall, when you pair with rice, add some guacamole and mild pico, this dish is just the right amount spicy!
How do you make the Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep?
First, get the ground turkey going in a large skillet. I would recommend a Dutch oven or a deep skillet at least 10 inches wide. A normal 10-inch skillet with low sides will just barely contain this skillet dinner.
Brown the meat with some salt, then add all the veggies except kale, cumin, salsa and hot sauce. Stir and cook for 7-8 more minutes until all the veggies are softened and it’s looking delicious and bubbly.
Finally, add the chopped kale and stir for about 1 minute, until the kale is wilted and bright green. Remove the pan from heat and you’re done! Serve with rice. It’s that simple.
This meal is pretty hard to mess up. You can do it!
How do you meal prep this meal?
Add about 1/2-3/4 cup cooked rice to each meal prep container. Portion the ground turkey veggie mixture evenly between the 4 meal prep containers. Put the lids on and place the meals in the refrigerator or freezer.
Enjoy meals from the refrigerator within 4 days, and meals from the freezer within 3 months.
Where do you get those meal prep containers?
It’s so important to have dependable containers for your meal prepped meals (see ALL my recommendations here!). Airtight, glass, freezer safe – those are some of my requirements.
For this meal, I’ve used my 2 Compartment Glass Meal Prep Containers (affiliate link!) made by Prep Naturals. I get these on Amazon.
This is probably the most common question I receive. These style containers are essential if you want to keep food separated.
How long does this Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep last in the fridge?
This meal is good in the fridge for up to 4 days.
How do you reheat the Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet?
Loosely cover the meal with the lid and microwave on High for 2 minutes, or until it’s hot and steamy. Add any extras like guacamole and pico de gallo after microwaving.
Can you freeze this Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep?
Yes! You can freeze these meals in freezer safe containers. Remove from the freezer the night before eating and then reheat normally, or defrost slowly in the microwave before eating.
More lunch ideas from Project Meal Plan:
- Meal Prep Ginger Ground Beef Bowls
- Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
- Ground Turkey Snap Pea Stir Fry Rice Bowls

Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Lunches
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican-Inspired
Description
Full of flavor and packed with veggies like kale, jalapeno, onions and peppers, this Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep is a one-pan make-ahead lunch dream! Serve with rice or keep it low-carb with cauliflower rice!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 pound (16 ounces) lean ground turkey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 red bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, diced
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 2 jalapenos, seeds and stem removed, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 2/3 cup mild salsa
- 3 tablespoons chipotle pepper hot sauce
- 2 cups kale leaves, roughly chopped and stalks removed, loosely packed
- 2 cups cooked white rice, for serving
Instructions
- Cook the meat: In a Dutch Oven or 12 inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. When hot, add ground turkey and salt. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to break the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Cook the meat for about 5-6 minutes or until just barely cooked through, stirring occasionally.
- Cook the veggies: Next, add bell peppers, onion, jalapeno, garlic, cumin, salsa and hot sauce to the pan. Cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and the liquid has reduced. Finally, add kale leaves and stir until bright green and slightly wilted, about 1 minute. Remove the pan from heat.
- Meal prep it: Add about 1/2 cup cooked rice to each meal prep container. Portion the ground turkey veggie mixture evenly between 4 meal prep containers. Garnish with cilantro and serve with guacamole if you wish. Store in an airtight container for up to four days in the refrigerator, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Notes
Chipotle pepper hot sauce: I prefer Siete Chipotle Hot Sauce (affiliate link – I get it at Whole Foods), but Cholula or other brands would work too. You can also use leftover chipotle sauce from a can of chipotle peppers if you have it on hand. Rice: Serve with your favorite rice. Opting for cauliflower rice would keep this meal low carb. Nutrition information estimated with My Fitness Pal using white rice.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: about 2 cups
- Calories: 355
- Fat: 11g
- Carbohydrates: 36g
- Protein: 27g
Keywords: chipotle, ground turkey, lunches, meal prep, ground turkey skillet, one pan meal, skillet meal
Thanks for checking out these Chipotle Ground Turkey Skillet Meal Prep Bowls – did you make this? Please tag me or use #projectmealplan on social media so I can see your creation!
What are your thoughts about using ground chicken instead of ground turkey? Thanks for the recipe and article though, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it!
Hi Nathan! Ground chicken would also be just as delicious in my opinion! Please let me know if you give it a try 🙂 Thanks for your question! -Danielle