Crockpot Turkey Tacos

These Crockpot Turkey Tacos are lean and flavorful, perfect for taco night or to serve a crowd on game day. You can use this healthy turkey taco meat in tacos, burritos, nachos, enchiladas, and all of your favorite Mexican-inspired recipes. 

My favorite healthy slow cooker recipes are ones that I make when I need to feed a crowd or when I need to make a large batch of meat freeze into portions. This Crockpot Shredded Chicken, Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken, Mexican Shredded Beef, or Slow Cooker Pulled Pork is always on repeat in my kitchen.

Now I can add Slow Cooker Turkey Tacos to the list! Not everyone likes ground turkey recipes, but I know this taco filling is so flavorful and juicy it’ll convert even the biggest beef taco fan.

Reasons you’ll love this recipe

• Easy to assemble and prepare – this ground turkey taco recipe has a longer ingredient list than some of the other recipes I share but don’t let that scare you. Once you get all of the ingredients in the crockpot, you don’t need to think about it again until it’s done cooking.
• Low fat and high protein – This taco meat recipe is lean, delicious, and will keep you satisfied. 
• Super delicious – The traditional flavor of taco seasoning with a smokey kick from the chipotle peppers and a layer of freshness from the lime and cilantro is so tasty. Everybody loves this taco filling!
• Versatile – You can use this ground turkey taco meat in everything from turkey tacos to pizza. If you can dream, you can make it.
• Meal prep or freeze – This crockpot recipe is a meal prep superstar. You can make it on the weekend to reheat for dinners during the week or freeze it into portions or a slow cooker freezer kit for easy dinner later on.

Ingredients

• Ground turkey – For best results, I highly recommend purchasing high-quality turkey breast with an 85/15 fat content. The extra fat will add more flavor and make it juicier. However, if all you can find is a 93/7 fat content, that’ll work.
• Bread and milk – these are key ingredients to keeping ground turkey from drying out.
• Onions, garlic, chili powder, and oregano – This is the flavor foundation for this turkey taco filling.
• Canned Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce – If you want to bring taco meat to the next level, adding chipotle peppers is the way to do it! These chipotle peppers add a smokey flavor and spicey heat to the ground turkey taco filling. You can play around with the flavors by adding more or less of the peppers.
• Fresh Cilantro, scallions, and lime – You’ll love the fresh flavor these ingredients give the taco meat.

FAQS

Cooking Tips

Add other ingredients – You can stir in so many different ingredients into these crockpot turkey tacos. Stir in black beans, pickled jalapeno, or diced green chilis, or add some corn. You can add these ingredients at the end.

Control the heat level of the tacos – The seeds in the chipotle peppers are what make the recipe spicy. To reduce the spice (but keep the smokey flavor), remove the seeds before adding them to the recipe. The taco meat will still be spicy but not too hot. 

To remove the seeds, cut the pepper in half and then use a spoon to scrape the seeds out.

Don’t skip cooking the aromatics – I know it’s an extra step to microwave the onion and garlic, but this is an important step. It helps to bloom the flavors. If you just throw both in raw, then they will boil instead and lose their flavor. 

Swap out the seasoning – Instead of using just chili powder, swap in equal amounts of homemade taco seasoning or store-bought for additional flavor.

Don’t let the chipotle peppers go to waste – You’ll likely have leftover chipotle peppers. Take the leftovers and freeze them in small freezer bags.

Make the taco meat gluten-free – This recipe calls for bread and milk panade to keep the taco meat moist. If you have gluten sensitivity, swap in gluten-free bread, bread crumbs, or crackers for the wheat bread. You just need enough to form a paste with a ¼ cup of milk.

Don’t be tempted to cook this on high heat – You should always cook ground turkey in the slow cooker on low and for no longer than 6 hours, same with chicken breast recipes. This is the best way to make sure the meat doesn’t dry out.

How to use this recipe?

You can use this crockpot turkey taco meat in any of your favorite Mexican-inspired dishes. 

Here are our favorites:

• Enchiladas – I love to swap out the beef for turkey taco meat in this easy enchilada recipe.
• Tacos, nacho, and burritos – of course, with all of our favorite condiments.
• Taco bowl – Add a scoop of turkey taco meat with all of your favorite burrito toppings on top of rice for a delicious rice burrito bowl. Make a batch of brown rice on the weekend to have ready during the week.
• This turkey taco meat is perfect for adding to a taco bar.

How to Make Crockpot Turkey Tacos

• Start with the aromatics. In a microwave-safe bowl, stir the onions, garlic, chili powder, chipotle chilis, oregano, and oil together. 
• Microwave on high for 5 minutes, stirring once at 2 ½ minutes. The onions will be translucent, and you’ll be able to smell the spices and chilis.
• Then stir in the tomato sauce and sugar into the onions, garlic, and spices.
• Pour the tomato mixture into a 6-quart slow cooker.
• Next, in a large bowl, combine the milk and bread slices. Use a fork or your hands to mash it up into a paste. Add the turkey, season with salt and pepper, and mix. You want to distribute the bread paste through the turkey without overmixing. 

• Place the ground turkey into the slow cooker with the other ingredients and mix using a large spoon. This takes some finesse. Break up any large pieces of ground turkey. You don’t need to brown the turkey for this recipe.
• Place the lid on and cook for 4-6 hours on low. Whenever I make this recipe, it cooks perfectly at 6 hours. 
• Use a spatula or spoon to break the turkey filling up into small pieces. 
• Stir in the cilantro, scallions, and lime juice. 
• Taste for salt and pepper. Most likely, you’ll need to add ½ teaspoon – 1 teaspoon of salt at the end. This helps the other flavors pop.

How to Meal Prep This Recipe

To store

• You can make the recipe completely and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave and use in your favorite recipes.
• You can also assemble the recipe the night before in the slow cooker insert and refrigerate. Put the insert in the crockpot the next morning and continue with the recipe.

To Freeze

• This recipe can be made ahead and frozen in a couple of different ways. First, you could make it entirely and then portion it out and freeze to use later on in tacos, nachos, or other Mexican dishes.
• You can put this together as a slow cooker freezer kit. To make this recipe as a Slow Cooker Freezer Kit, put together the tomatoes mixture, and after it cools mix with the ground turkey. Place half of a lime (wrapped in plastic wrap), cilantro, and scallions in a separate smaller bag. Label both bags and freeze.
• When ready to cook, take the freezer kit out 24 – 48 hours or more before going into the slow cooker and let it thaw in the refrigerator. You don’t want it to be completely frozen when adding it into the slow cooker because of safety reasons. Continue with the recipe.
• Don’t worry about the texture of the lime, cilantro, and scallions after thawing. The flavor still tastes the same.

Other Healthy Mexican-inspired Recipes

• Crockpot Steak Fajitas
• Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
• Mexican Chicken Soup
• Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Did you make this recipe?

Have you tried this Crockpot Turkey Tacos recipe yet? If so, I’d love for you to rate this recipe and leave a comment below. We all learn from each other’s experiences. Also, it would be awesome if you could share a picture on Instagram and tag it #organizeyourselfskinny. I can’t wait to see it.