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This Paleo Ground Turkey Taco Zoodles recipe has been my most recent dinner obsession. It started while I was doing the Whole30 in January, and I have been unable to stop eating it ever since.
I make this recipe at least once a week! And my husband and I literally lick the pan clean…. yup the pan… not our individual plates. Try it and you’ll see what I mean. 🙂
I blame the magic ground turkey taco meat. It’s the most delicious taco seasoned ground turkey that I’ve ever made! And it all came to be on accident.
I mentioned the story in my Paleo 7 Layer Ground Turkey Taco Dip recipe. BUUUT, basically I was tired of cooking one night. I cooked everything I ate during the Whole30… and was not feeling it that night.
So, I threw some ground turkey onto a pan. Literally threw it on. Haha
Note: make sure to use ground turkey that has a little extra fat in it. I used 94% ground turkey for this recipe. The grocery store was actually out of the 99% one that I normally buy… so it was fate!
The extra fat makes a difference in the texture and taste of this magic ground turkey taco meat.
Then I added some homemade taco seasoning to the ground turkey meat. Salt, ground pepper, red pepper flakes, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, paprika, onion powder, parsley, oregano…. I started to mix the seasoning into the ground turkey.
Then I added tomato paste and hot sauce to the ground turkey and mixed. All while the heat was on.
Then I remembered that I wanted diced red pepper in the meat, so I pushed the ground turkey aside, and added the diced red peppers to the pan. I let everything cook itself.
Then I mixed everything together, and cooked it a bit longer.
While the meat was cooking, I added spiralized zucchini to another pan and cooked it with some strained tomato sauce.
I topped the zoodles with the magic ground turkey taco meat and mixed everything together.
Honestly, at the time I wasn’t expecting much. I actually apologized to my husband and said, “sorry if this is weird, I was just lazy and didn’t know what to make”.
WELL this Paleo Ground Turkey Taco Zoodles recipe knocked our socks off! I actually started to frantically try to remember what I had done to make this and started taking notes.
Because, I had to make this delicious dish again. I just had to!
So I experimented with the notes that I scribbled down and luckily I remembered it correctly because I’ve been making this magic ground turkey taco meat every since. I used it to make that 7 layer dip that I mentioned above.
And I use it ALL the time to make this Paleo Ground Turkey Taco Zoodles recipe.
My husband and I can eat the whole thing for dinner. But I can see it serving up to 3 people.
Though if you are worried about if this will serve enough, add another spiralized zucchini to the mix and add a bit more strained tomato sauce to the pan while cooking it.
Yay for lazy night success! Please try this and let me know how you like it. 🙂 Check out my lemon pesto zoodles.
Oh and if you are looking for a meatless taco bowl option, check out these Easy Vegan Burrito Bowls from Veggie Balance.
Paleo Ground Turkey Taco Zoodles (GF)
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 pound of 94% lean ground turkey, ( don’t use 99%, a little fat here makes the recipe better)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- a pinch of red pepper flakes
- 3/4 tsp chili powder
- 3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp cumin
- 3/4 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 3 Tbs tomato paste, (Cento is Paleo)
- 2 Tbs hot sauce, (Franks is Paleo)
- 1 red pepper, , diced
- 1 large zucchini, , spiralized
- 3 Tbs Pomi strained tomatoes
Instructions
- In a large frying pan, add 2 tsp of olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the ground turkey to the pan. Top the ground turkey with 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground pepper, a pinch of red pepper flakes, 3/4 tsp chili powder, 3/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cumin, 3/4 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp dried parsley, and 1/2 tsp oregano. Mix the spices into the ground turkey while breaking the turkey up into smaller pieces. Add 3 Tbs tomato paste, and 2 Tbs hot sauce to the ground turkey and mix. Then push the ground turkey to one side of the pan so that it fills only 1/2 of the pan, and put the diced red pepper onto the other half of the pan.
- Increase the heat to medium-high heat and cook for 5 minutes, without mixing. Mix the red peppers and ground turkey together for about 1 minute. Then, cook the mixture for another 4 minutes while mixing every so often. Set the mixture aside.
- In another large frying pan, add the spiralized zucchini with 3 Tbs of strained tomatoes, and heat over medium-high heat. Cook for 4-6 minutes, while mixing frequently. Stop when you have the desired consistency of your zoodles.
- Top the zoodles with the ground turkey mixture, mix, and serve.
- To serve 3-4 people, spiralize an extra zucchini and cook it was some extra strained tomato sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious! Made this for the second time tonight and again the turkey taco really is magic!! The first time my kids(3 & 5) gobbled it up in tacos and I never got to the Zoodles because I took a bite of the magic meat and ate it call up alone! Lol Tonight I made double the magic taco meat and used half for my (nonpaleo)hubby and kids chili and they all loved it and half for me with the Zoodles in tomato sauce 🙂 we will all be enjoying this many many times in the future!
Yay!!! I’m so happy you and your family love it! It’s the only way I make my meat for tacos 🙂
This was amazing. I needed a break from tomatoes so I just left out all tomatoes and cooked my zucchini in 1 clove garlic and 2 Tbsp lemon and combined them. Delicious!!!!
Oh yummm! I like hearing the non-tomato option. I’ll have to try cooking my zucchini in garlic and lemon juice next time. 🙂
Hi this looks wonderful. I would like to know what is the side (not the plantains) portion, please?
Hi! I added slices of avocado, salsa, and guacamole to the bowl. They taste great with the zoodles. 🙂
Stumbled upon this recipe and made it for dinner tonight. Delicious! Thank you for adding to my whole 30 recipe rotation. It’s a keeper!
I made this for dinner last night too! It’s become a weekly rotation for me, glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Are those banana chips? … need recipe please;-)
They are plantain chips! 🙂 I do have a recipe on here… here is the link: Baked Paprika Garlic Plantain Chips
This looks great. I’ve only just converted to Paleo so am looking for new recipes. Particularly those that appeal to children 🙂
Thank you! Let me know how you guys like it! 🙂
This is a delicious looking combination. I was recently given a spiralizer, so I think this recipe may be the one I use to christen it.
Yes you need to use it! 🙂
I love zoodles and I love tacos – I need to give this a try!
Please do! Let me know how you like it. 🙂
Omg! This looks yummy. Thanks for sharing the recipe
You’re welcome! 🙂
I’m currently buried under 2 feet of snow, but I’ve got garden fever! I cant wait for summers zucchinis! This recipe sounds fantastic!
2 feet of snow!! This dish would warm you up for sure. 🙂