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A healthy Italian-inspired turkey skillet recipe with zucchini loaded with flavor that comes together really fast. As written the healthy turkey zucchini skillet recipe is low carb, dairy free, Whole30, and keto friendly. Great for a quick dinner or for meal prep. It's a WHOLE LOTTA YUM!
Ground Turkey and Zucchini
We're obsessed with our ground turkey skillet recipe and know that you will be too! We first season the turkey as it gets cooked to pack in as much flavor as possible, and then we add in even more flavor while sauteing the veggies.
What you'll especially love about this ground turkey and zucchini recipe, is how easy it is to customize. Why not double it to make healthy freezer meals for busy weeknights?
You could literally cook this every week and change up the veggies and ground meat and no one would even know! Change it up even more by mixing in precooked quinoa or perhaps adding extra marinara sauce and serving it over rice or pasta, or even more zoodles.
If you love to eat ground turkey recipes like we do, you'll also want to try our ground turkey sweet potato skillet and turkey taco sweet potatoes.
Ingredient Notes
Just a handful of household basic ingredients is all that's needed for this simple turkey with zucchini recipe!
- ground turkey - we used the lower fat 97%/7% ground turkey, it only has 7% fat but has tons of flavor. You can use any kind of ground turkey you like, but if you use a higher fat content, you'll probably need to drain off some of the grease.
- Italian seasoning - we love to make our own homemade Italian seasoning, but of course you can use your favorite store bought brand too.
- seasonings - fine sea salt, course ground pepper, garlic powder, paprika
- extra virgin olive oil
- zucchini
- red onion - white onion, sweet, or yellow can be used also
- red bell pepper - green bell peppers, orange, or yellow will also work. You can slice the mini bell peppers into rings instead of chopping a large red pepper.
- minced garlic - from a jar or fresh minced, garlic powder can be used to taste
- tomato sauce - plain tomato sauce without sugar. You could also use leftover marinara sauce, spaghetti sauce, or use tomato paste and mix it with water until you get a sauce consistency.
- Garnishes- fresh parsley, shredded parmesan cheese would be good too
** Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact quantities **
Equipment
- Large skillet
Variations
Change up the protein source- any ground meat would taste terrific whether it's ground chicken, ground beef, chicken Italian sausage, or a plant based crumbled protein.
Try different seasonings - Don't have Italian seasoning? Just swap it for dried basil and dried oregano, or use Herbs de Provence. Instead of dried herbs you could also mix in chopped fresh herbs, store bought seasoning mix, or pesto sauce would be delicious too!
How to Make Turkey Zucchini Skillet
There are just a couple basic steps in cooking the ground turkey skillet recipe. Just cook the ground turkey, add the seasoning, saute the veggies, mix in the tomato sauce and dinner is ready!
Cook the Ground Turkey
- In a large non-stick skillet on medium-high heat, cook the ground turkey until it's cooked through. If you don't have a non-stick skillet, add nonstick cooking spray or extra oil to the pan, if needed.
- Stir in 1 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon paprika. Remove the cooked turkey meat from the pan and set it aside.
Add Veggies & Sauce
- Add the olive oil to the skillet along with the zucchini, red onion, red bell pepper, minced garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Saute the vegetables for 5-7 minutes until they're starting to soften.
- Turn the heat down to medium. Add the seasoned ground turkey and tomato sauce. Stir everything together. Cover the pan and cook for 5+ more minutes until it's all heated through. Adjust seasonings to taste such as more salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, etc.
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley before serving. Serve with cauliflower rice or cauliflower gnocchi for a low carb meal or serve with white or brown rice, quinoa, or gnocchi. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- To cut the zucchini into cubes, first cut it in half lengthwise and then cut those two halves lengthwise. You'll be left with 4 long pieces of zucchini. Cut these into ½-3/4" slices to make zucchini cubes.
- Other great mix-ins are baby spinach, slice mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes. A sprinkle of parmesan cheese adds a nice Italian touch.
- To meal prep the recipe for lunches, you can divide the mix between 4 meal prep containers and then serve it with cauliflower rice or rice.
- This is a great recipe to double, plus leftovers freeze well for up to 3 months.
- To serve this over pasta (or zoodles or pelmeni noodles for low carb), we recommend doubling the tomato sauce or using a high-quality marinara sauce like Rao's.
FAQ's for Ground Turkey Zucchini
What to serve with Turkey and Zucchini?
Serve the turkey skillet recipe with a side salad, roasted potatoes, or serve it over a starch like pasta, gnocchi, rice, or a grain like quinoa. For low carb options, try pelmeni noodles, cauliflower rice, spaghetti squash, or roasted radishes.
How to store?
Store the turkey zucchini skillet for up to 4 days in the fridge. You can also freeze it in freezer safe containers for up to 3 months.
Ground Turkey Recipes
- Turkey sweet potato skillet
- Ground turkey meatballs
- Air fryer turkey burgers
- Turkey taco sweet potatoes
- Turkey taco bowls
If you loved our recipe, please leave us a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and leave us a comment too! Connect with us on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube!
Italian Turkey Zucchini Skillet
Yield: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
A healthy Italian-inspired turkey skillet recipe with zucchini loaded with flavor that comes together really fast. This will definitely become one of your go-to favorites! As written the turkey zucchini skillet recipe is low carb, dairy free, Whole30, and keto friendly. Great for a quick dinner or for meal prep.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey (93%/7%)
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, divided
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- ¾ teaspoon course ground pepper, divided
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika (sweet, not smoked)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 medium zucchini, cubed
- ½ red onion, cut into ½-3/4" pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into ½-3/4" pieces
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¾ cup tomato sauce
- Garnishes- fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a large non-stick skillet on medium-high heat, cook the ground turkey until it's cooked through. If you don't have a non-stick skillet, add nonstick cooking spray or extra oil to the pan, if needed.
- Stir in 1 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, and ½ teaspoon paprika. Remove the cooked turkey meat from the pan and set it aside.
- Add the olive oil to the skillet along with the zucchini, red onion, red bell pepper, minced garlic cloves, salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Saute the vegetables for 5-7 minutes until they're starting to soften.
- Turn the heat down to medium. Add the seasoned ground turkey and tomato sauce. Stir everything together. Cover the pan and cook for 5+ more minutes until it's all heated through. Adjust seasonings to taste such as more salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, etc.
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley before serving. Serve with cauliflower rice or cauliflower gnocchi for a low carb meal or serve with white or brown rice, quinoa, or gnocchi. Enjoy!
Notes
- To cut the zucchini into cubes, first cut it in half lengthwise and then cut those two halves lengthwise. You'll be left with 4 long pieces of zucchini. Cut these into ½-3/4" slices to make zucchini cubes.
- Other great mix-ins are baby spinach, slice mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes. A sprinkle of parmesan cheese adds a nice Italian touch.
- To meal prep the recipe for lunches, you can divide the mix between 4 meal prep containers and then serve it with cauliflower rice or rice.
- This is a great recipe to double, plus leftovers freeze well for up to 3 months.
- To serve this over pasta (or zoodles or pelmeni noodles for low carb), we recommend doubling the tomato sauce or using a high quality marinara sauce like Rao's.
Nutrition Information
Yield 4Serving Size 1
Amount Per ServingCalories 328Total Fat 7gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 5gCholesterol 70mgSodium 901mgCarbohydrates 8gNet Carbohydrates 5gFiber 3gSugar 3gProtein 31g
The nutrional information is just an estimate and was calculated by an automated calculator. If you're on a restricted health program please manually calculate this information using the brands of ingredients you have since brands can vary.
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