Tacos are always a great option for dinner, but I always feel like the simple taco made with ground meat and one package of taco seasoning needs a little more elevation to make it a delicious meal. With Cole’s newfound love of putting jalapenos in food, I was able to make the perfect combo of ingredients for a spicy turkey taco meat. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of soft shell tacos, so when we have taco night at our house, I prefer to make them into rice bowls instead. This dish is so easy to cook, and it makes enough for three very large rice bowls or four smaller sized meals. It might be a good idea to supplement the meal with Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Muffins if you are trying to spread this dinner between four people. I’ve split this meal into three distinct recipe components for ease of putting the dinner elements together: Cheater’s Guacamole, Spicy Turkey Taco Meat, and Cilantro Rice.
I love guacamole, but sometimes I don’t feel like doing all the prep work and chopping onions and peppers. This is my quick-fix/cheater’s version that gives a similar taste of guacamole without all the prep work. If you are looking for a more traditional guacamole approach, check out my recipe for Guacamole with a Zip.
2 Avocados
3 tsp Taco Seasoning
2 tsp Lime Juice
1. Cut the avocados in half and scoop the insides out, throwing out the pit.
2. Pour the taco seasoning and lime juice over the top of the avocado.
3. Mash the avocado until it has a creamy texture.
Kitchen Tip: Before storing the guacamole in the fridge, push cling wrap down over the bowl until the wrap is physically touching and creating a layer directly over the guacamole. This helps to keep the oxygen from touching as much of the avocado and will keep the food green longer.
While it’s very easy to make turkey tacos by simply subbing in ground turkey for ground round, the extra ingredients in this recipe help move these tacos from good to great!
1 lb Ground Turkey
1 ½ tbsp Taco Seasoning
¼ cup Diced Jalapeno Peppers
½ tsp Hot Sauce (I always use Crystal’s Hot, but Tabasco also works)
1 tbsp Lime Juice
2 tsp Garlic
¾ cup Water
1. Heat a large frying pan on medium to high temperatures. Put the turkey in the pan and brown it.
2. Strain the grease from the meat, then pour it back into the pan with all of the other ingredients.
Kitchen Tip: Whenever I strain meat, I like to put a layer of tinfoil in the bottom of my sink, almost forming a cup in the sink with it, then I leave the grease to cool and harden. This makes it much easier to throw out at the end of the night, and it keeps the pipes clean, since grease isn’t good for them.
3. Stir until the jalapenos look like they are starting to saute, then move the temperature down to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
Cilantro Rice is one of my favorite ways to change up a rice bowl, it provides the ease of Minute Rice while adding in extra flavor to step it up a notch.
2 cups Minute Rice
2 cups Water
2 tsp Chicken Bouillon
1 tsp Dried Cilantro
1. Follow the directions for making Minute Rice according to the box, but add chicken bouillon to the water and rice before cooking. This can be done on the stove or in a rice steamer in the microwave.
Kitchen Tip: I always keep chicken, turkey, and beef bouillon on hand so that I have an easy way to make broth. Since this is a dish made with turkey, I actually used the turkey bouillon in my rice, but if you prefer to keep only chicken bouillon on hand since it is a more common ingredient, chicken also works since both turkey and chicken are forms of poultry. If you do not keep bouillon in your kitchen, you can simply use store bought broth instead of water mixed with bouillon.
2. After the rice is cooked, mix in the dried cilantro and let it rest covered until the meal is ready to be served.
Once all three of the portions of this meal are cooked it’s time to throw it all together to make a beautiful, filling bowl. I’ve listed all the ingredients below that I like to use to make a perfect meal, but there are many other taco toppings that you could also include to make your idea of the best bowl, or you could be like Cole and keep things simple. He likes to stick to just rice, meat, and cheese.
Note: The more ingredients you add, the less spicy your bowl will be because the other ingredients will provide some cover to the spicy addition the jalapenos bring to the dish.
½ cup Rice
¼ cup Turkey Meat
⅓ Black Beans – I use my recipe for Slow Cooker Jalapeno Black Beans
¼ cup Pepper Jack Cheese
1 tbsp Sour Cream
2 tbsp Salsa
2 tbsp Cheater’s Guacamole
Some families have tacos every Tuesday, and others have them occasionally, but no matter what your schedule is, Spicy Turkey Jalapeno Taco Bowls are a great way to change up a meal that is typically made with beef and served in a shell!
August 20, 2023
Spicy Turkey Jalapeno Rice Bowls – Soup's On with Schallock
maximios Recipes
Tacos are always a great option for dinner, but I always feel like the simple taco made with ground meat and one package of taco seasoning needs a little more elevation to make it a delicious meal. With Cole’s newfound love of putting jalapenos in food, I was able to make the perfect combo of ingredients for a spicy turkey taco meat. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of soft shell tacos, so when we have taco night at our house, I prefer to make them into rice bowls instead. This dish is so easy to cook, and it makes enough for three very large rice bowls or four smaller sized meals. It might be a good idea to supplement the meal with Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Muffins if you are trying to spread this dinner between four people. I’ve split this meal into three distinct recipe components for ease of putting the dinner elements together: Cheater’s Guacamole, Spicy Turkey Taco Meat, and Cilantro Rice.
I love guacamole, but sometimes I don’t feel like doing all the prep work and chopping onions and peppers. This is my quick-fix/cheater’s version that gives a similar taste of guacamole without all the prep work. If you are looking for a more traditional guacamole approach, check out my recipe for Guacamole with a Zip.
2 Avocados
3 tsp Taco Seasoning
2 tsp Lime Juice
1. Cut the avocados in half and scoop the insides out, throwing out the pit.
2. Pour the taco seasoning and lime juice over the top of the avocado.
3. Mash the avocado until it has a creamy texture.
Kitchen Tip: Before storing the guacamole in the fridge, push cling wrap down over the bowl until the wrap is physically touching and creating a layer directly over the guacamole. This helps to keep the oxygen from touching as much of the avocado and will keep the food green longer.
While it’s very easy to make turkey tacos by simply subbing in ground turkey for ground round, the extra ingredients in this recipe help move these tacos from good to great!
1 lb Ground Turkey
1 ½ tbsp Taco Seasoning
¼ cup Diced Jalapeno Peppers
½ tsp Hot Sauce (I always use Crystal’s Hot, but Tabasco also works)
1 tbsp Lime Juice
2 tsp Garlic
¾ cup Water
1. Heat a large frying pan on medium to high temperatures. Put the turkey in the pan and brown it.
2. Strain the grease from the meat, then pour it back into the pan with all of the other ingredients.
Kitchen Tip: Whenever I strain meat, I like to put a layer of tinfoil in the bottom of my sink, almost forming a cup in the sink with it, then I leave the grease to cool and harden. This makes it much easier to throw out at the end of the night, and it keeps the pipes clean, since grease isn’t good for them.
3. Stir until the jalapenos look like they are starting to saute, then move the temperature down to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
Cilantro Rice is one of my favorite ways to change up a rice bowl, it provides the ease of Minute Rice while adding in extra flavor to step it up a notch.
2 cups Minute Rice
2 cups Water
2 tsp Chicken Bouillon
1 tsp Dried Cilantro
1. Follow the directions for making Minute Rice according to the box, but add chicken bouillon to the water and rice before cooking. This can be done on the stove or in a rice steamer in the microwave.
Kitchen Tip: I always keep chicken, turkey, and beef bouillon on hand so that I have an easy way to make broth. Since this is a dish made with turkey, I actually used the turkey bouillon in my rice, but if you prefer to keep only chicken bouillon on hand since it is a more common ingredient, chicken also works since both turkey and chicken are forms of poultry. If you do not keep bouillon in your kitchen, you can simply use store bought broth instead of water mixed with bouillon.
2. After the rice is cooked, mix in the dried cilantro and let it rest covered until the meal is ready to be served.
Once all three of the portions of this meal are cooked it’s time to throw it all together to make a beautiful, filling bowl. I’ve listed all the ingredients below that I like to use to make a perfect meal, but there are many other taco toppings that you could also include to make your idea of the best bowl, or you could be like Cole and keep things simple. He likes to stick to just rice, meat, and cheese.
Note: The more ingredients you add, the less spicy your bowl will be because the other ingredients will provide some cover to the spicy addition the jalapenos bring to the dish.
½ cup Rice
¼ cup Turkey Meat
⅓ Black Beans – I use my recipe for Slow Cooker Jalapeno Black Beans
¼ cup Pepper Jack Cheese
1 tbsp Sour Cream
2 tbsp Salsa
2 tbsp Cheater’s Guacamole
Some families have tacos every Tuesday, and others have them occasionally, but no matter what your schedule is, Spicy Turkey Jalapeno Taco Bowls are a great way to change up a meal that is typically made with beef and served in a shell!