Turkey Picadillo

medinews April 23, 2021

151 3 minutes read

Turkey Picadillo is a lighter alternative to my favorite Cuban beef picadillo recipe, just much leaner and made with ground turkey instead.

Turkey Picadillo

Growing up in a Latin American home, beef picadillo took turns at dinner as a kid. It's also one of the first things I learned to cook. It's a 30 minute dish, while it's cooking I cook my rice in a different saucepan so that everything is ready at the same time. Serve with a quick coleslaw for a little acidity and dinner is ready! My family loves it with beef, but on some nights I like to swap it out for turkey as a leaner option. Personally, I'm not a fan of 99% lean turkey, it's too dry for my taste so I'll use 93% lean ground turkey instead. Leftovers are great in tacos, empanadas, or quesadillas.

Growing up we loved nights my mom made picadillo! My friends always wanted to eat on these evenings, they loved this dish! Mom always made it with beef, which is delicious and so am I often. But some nights when I want a lighter, less fat option, I turn to the ground turkey, it's honestly just as good!

I know I've made a lot of you fans of Picadillo as I've shared it in every way possible! You'll find that I also have a slow cooker picadillo version with beef (turkey works too) and an instant pot picadillo version. We do this a couple of times a month, it's Madison's favorite!

Food preparation and storage

Turkey Picadillo a great dish for meal preparation! Serve with the grain of your choice – brown rice, quinoa, white rice – or cauliflower rice to keep it low in carbohydrates. You can store the leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze the rest for up to 6 months.

What should you serve turkey picadillo with?

Make it a bowl! I love it over white or brown rice, with a quick coleslaw on the side for acidity. Sometimes I add some avocado to my plate depending on how I balance my macros.
By the way, sweet plantains or air fryer stones are also great.
Tostadas – My older daughter loves making tostadas with melted cheese from the leftovers. On some evenings we even serve them in taco shells.
Stuffed Picadillo Peppers – Mix it with rice and stuff it into peppers for delicious stuffed peppers!
Breakfast Scrambled Eggs – I even mixed the leftovers into my scrambled eggs and topped them with hot sauce.
Make a Taco Bell-esque Mexi melt by adding picadillo, cheese, and pico de gallo.

More Turkish Recipes You Might Like:

Turkey Picadillo

238 Cals 29 protein 7.5 carbohydrates 11 Fats

Preparation time: 5 min

Cooking time: 25th min

Total time: 30th min

Turkey Picadillo is a lighter alternative to my favorite Cuban beef picadillo recipe, just much leaner and made with ground turkey instead.

1.33 lb 93% lean turkey
4th oz Tomato sauce, (1/2 can)
1 TL kosher salt
1 TL ground cumin
2 small Bay leaves
2 tablespoon green Spanish pitted olives, plus 2 tbsp saline solution

Sofrito:

1 medium tomato
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 Cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoon Red pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoon coriander, Optional

Fry the ground turkey in a large frying pan over medium heat and season with salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat into small pieces.
While the turkey is cooking, make the sofrito by chopping the onion, garlic, pepper, tomato, and cilantro. (I do it quick in my mini chopper)
Add sofrito to the meat and continue cooking over low heat.
Add olives and about 2 tablespoons of brine (this will add great flavor) cumin, bay leaves, and more salt if needed.
Add tomato sauce and 1/4 cup water and mix well.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 15 to 20 minutes to allow the flavors to melt together.

Portion: 1/ 2 cup, Calories: 238kcal, Carbohydrates: 7.5G, Protein: 29G, Fat: 11G, Saturated fatty acids: 3G, Cholesterol: 100mg, Sodium: 354mg, Fiber: 1.5G, Sugar: 2.5G