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Home / Recipes / Ingredient / Ground Turkey / Easy Baked Ground Turkey Tacos

Easy Baked Ground Turkey Tacos

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Author:

Kimber Matherne

Updated:

October 8, 2023

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Quick and Easy Baked Ground Turkey Tacos make for the most delicious family meal! Made with lean ground turkey, these tacos are not only delicious but are wholesome too. With a couple of basic ingredients, you will have dinner on the table in no time!

Photo collage with baked ground turkey tacos lined up in a pan and another image of the tacos laying on a plate, close up, with lettuce and tomato's on top. this Recipe

Table of contents

Toggle
  • Easy Baked Ground Turkey Tacos – The EASY Way!
  • What to Serve with the Beast Ground Turkey Tacos
  • Recipe Notes
  • Recipe Tips
  • Recipe Short Cuts
  • Recipe Variations
  • More Taco Recipes
  • Easy Baked Ground Turkey Tacos Recipe

Easy Baked Ground Turkey Tacos – The EASY Way!

These delicious baked ground turkey tacos are a regular rotation kind of dinner at my house!

Kids love them because they are crunchy, cheesy, and easy to grab and run. Parents love them because they only require five simple ingredients and 25 minutes. They could not be easier to make and the only way they could be tastier is by topping them with sour cream and salsa!

The best part about this ground turkey taco recipe is that you can easily scale up the recipe (or scale down) for however many kids you need to feed today! And if you want to make a couple of kinds of baked tacos, try my Baked Chicken Tacos or my Baked Ground Beef Tacos.

Why I LOVE this recipe!

  • Super Crispy and Delicious – By making tacos baked in the oven and filling them with an easy three-ingredient ground turkey taco seasoning mixture, this meal makes a super quick and flavor-packed dinner!
  • Totally Customizable – While we kept these tacos pretty simple, you could add salsa, guacamole, peppers, or anything else delicious to this ground turkey taco recipe.
  • Easy to Make More – This recipe makes enough oven-baked tacos for 5 people but you could easily double or triple it without any complicated math!
  • Super Quick – 15 minutes to prep and 10 minutes to cook these easy oven-baked tacos makes them faster than the speed of light. Ok, maybe not quite that fast, but definitely fast enough to feed a hungry family!

What to Serve with the Beast Ground Turkey Tacos

Tacos go with everything! Regardless, I have compiled a list of some of my favorite Mexican inspired side dishes to serve with these baked ground turkey tacos.

Side Dish Ideas

  • Mexican Crock Pot Refried Beans
  • Crock Pot Black Beans
  • Easy Mexican Rice– you can’t go wrong with rice!
  • Mexican Roasted Vegetables – Great for a healthy side dish!
  • Mexican Corn Salad
  • Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice
  • Mexican Street Corn Casserole – one of my most popular sides of all time
  • Easy Mexican Cornbread – Reader favorite!

You can choose one or add a few sides to make a wholesome, well rounded dinner. 

Recipe Notes

This easy baked ground turkey taco recipe is as simple as promised! Just 25 minutes and 5 ingredients for a family friendly meal (including prep!).

In this section I am going to go through a few tips and tricks I use when making this recipe to get the absolute best and most delicious results.

Make sure to scroll to the bottom for the FULL recipe card.

Ingredients + Substitutions

Ingredients to make baked ground turkey tacos including ground turkey, crunchy taco shells, taco seasoning, salsa, and toppings of lettuce and tomato.
  • Ground Turkey – Any ground turkey can be used, including lean or extra lean. Either one will yield delicious results! Just be sure to check the recipe card for how to cook ground turkey taco meat for additional tips to keep this lean protein juicy.
  • Tomato Sauce – Unsweetened tomato sauce without much-added flavors should be used. If you cannot find a plain tomato sauce, you could use something like enchilada sauce or tomato sauce with green chilies for an extra flavor kick.
  • Taco Seasoning – Use any blend you love. We love my homemade taco seasoning, but I also use the pre-measured packets too.
  • Crispy Taco Shells – You can make these baked hard shell tacos with any brand and any size shell you like or use premade crispy taco shells. We like to use the bigger ones, and 10 shells will feed 5 people. But, you can definitely just use more of the smaller size. As is, this recipe will adapt to fill 14-16 smaller shells.
  • Shredded Cheese – Shredded cheddar, a Mexican blend, or even a spicier shredded pepper jack can all be used with tasty results.

Ground Turkey Taco Topping Ideas

You can keep the toppings super simple and traditional (which is a delicious choice!). Or, make an easy salsa or guacamole to add in extra veggies and make your ground turkey taco recipe extra tasty!

  • Shredded Lettuce
  • Pico De Gallo
  • Corn Salsa
  • Sour Cream
  • Guacamole
Steps to make ground turkey baked tacos step 1 make the filling step 2 fill the tacos with ground turkey step 3 top with cheese and bake step 4 enjoy with all any toppings you love like tomatoes and lettuce.

Recipe Tips

  1. Use flat bottomed shells – If I can find them I LOVE making my baked stuffed tacos with the flat-bottomed shells. They are super easy to fill and stand up in the pan better which keeps things neater. BUT if you are only able to find rounded bottom shells, they will also work. You will just want to line them up in the pan together so they stay upright as you fill them.

    There is a bit of variation in the size of taco shells between different brands, so you may end up getting up to 14-16 shells in a casserole dish with smaller shells.
  2. Drain excess liquid – Nobody wants a soggy taco. That fresh, crispy crunch of the shell is what makes these oven-baked ground beef tacos so delicious! Since this is the best ground turkey taco recipe, we only want the best (not soggy) filling. To achieve that make sure you drain the salsa of the extra liquid before you add it to the ground turkey. We want all the tomato and pepper goodness, without the watery liquid.
  3. Make them how YOU like them – Customize, customize, customize, can I say that enough? I wrote this recipe how my family likes them, but if yours are fans of double meat or cheese, then load them up! You can absolutely add more filling and use whatever toppings will keep your family happily munching away. If I have a little extra time, I love to add corn salsa, pineapple salsa, or mango avocado salsa for a fun flavor twist.
  4. Make more or less – This is one of my go-to party foods because it is simple to scale up. In my 9×13 baking dish, I can make 10 large tacos, or about 15 smaller ones, and feed my family. But it is so easy to use a baking sheet, two casserole dishes, or whatever larger pan you have to double (or triple) the recipe. If you need to scale down, just use an 8×8 pan instead.

Recipe Short Cuts

If you need to make this recipe but are extra short on time, here are a few ideas that can help make this recipe even faster!

  • Brown the turkey ahead of time – Sometimes I will make a large batch of plain ground turkey as meal prep for the week. Then, this meat can be mixed with whatever fillings throughout the week, like taco seasoning and tomato sauce for these oven baked tacos
  • Make the turkey filling ahead of time – You could also make all of the fillings ahead of time and store them in the fridge. It will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.
  • Use pre-shredded and chopped toppings – Premade salsa, shredded lettuce and cheese, and pre-chopped peppers are lifesavers for busy families! Go ahead and use those shortcuts to get dinner on the table faster.

Recipe Variations

If you love this easy ground turkey taco recipe as much as we do and want some quick ways to change it up for variety, these little tips will do the trick!

  • Ground Turkey Soft Tacos – To make baked soft tacos, make the recipe as directed, simply swap out the crispy shells for soft shells and bake as directed.
  • Baked Spicy Turkey Tacos – For more spice, try adding an additional 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper or one deseeded jalapeno to the ground beef mixture. You can also use spicy taco seasoning.
  • Baked Black Bean and Turkey Tacos – Black beans are a great addition to these turkey tacos and a great way to make the filling go further with a 99-cent can of black beans. When browning the turkey, add the black beans to the pan when the turkey is almost done cooking to warm them up. Then continue with the recipe as directed.
Close up image of ground turkey tacos with lettuce and tomatoes on top and black beans on a plate beside the tacos.

More Taco Recipes

If you enjoyed this recipe, I really hope you will take a moment to grab a few more easy recipes for another busy night!

You can check out all of my tacos recipes here, or see a few of our reader’s favorite recipes below.

  • BBQ Brisket Tacos
  • Baked Crispy Ground Beef Tacos
  • Baked Chicken Tacos
  • Hawaiian Chicken Tacos
Ground turkey tacos in a baking dish with lettuce and tomatoes on top.

Easy Baked Ground Turkey Tacos

By: Kimber Matherne
5 from 1 vote
These easy baked turkey tacos are packed with flavor, super simple to make, and will be a family favorite!
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 10 minutes mins
Total Time: 25 minutes mins
5 people
Rate this Recipe Print SaveSaved!

Ingredients 

  • 1.25 pounds lean ground turkey
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons taco seasoning, (1 packet)
  • 10 crispy taco shells, (or more depending on size)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, or Mexican blend

Toppings (optional)

  • shredded lettuce
  • pico de gallo
  • corn salsa
  • sour cream
  • guacamole

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 375˚F.
  • In a large skillet brown the ground turkey until cooked through (165˚F.) Drain any excess fat.
  • Mix the tomato sauce and taco seasoning into the meat and let it simmer until thickened.
  • Stand the taco shells upright tightly in a 9×13 baking dish. Fill each shell with taco meat and top with cheese.
  • Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the shells are crispy.
  • Remove the tacos and stuff with preferred toppings, or allow each person to top their tacos in any way they like!
Last step!Share a picture on Instagram and tag me at @easyfamilyrecipes!

Recipe Notes

Number of tacos may vary depending on the size of the taco shells you use. I have fit from 10-16 tacos in a 9×13 baking dish depending on brand.
 

Scaling the recipe:

  • To make less tacos, use the same method, but place shells in an 8×8 baking dish.
  • To make more tacos, use 2 9×13 baking dishes, or 1 half sheet pan.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 2tacos, Calories: 340kcal (17%), Carbohydrates: 18g (6%), Protein: 34g (68%), Fat: 15g (23%), Saturated Fat: 7g (44%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 86mg (29%), Sodium: 466mg (20%), Potassium: 494mg (14%), Fiber: 2g (8%), Sugar: 2g (2%), Vitamin A: 459IU (9%), Vitamin C: 2mg (2%), Calcium: 193mg (19%), Iron: 2mg (11%)

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