Low-Calorie Ground Turkey Recipes

This crowd-pleasing, make-ahead pasta dish uses lean ground turkey instead of ground beef and sneaks in zucchini, which helps you eat more vegetables and helps keep the filling moist. Assemble the shells and then freeze to bake off on a busy day for easy, healthy meal prep at its best.

This healthy meatloaf recipe uses ground turkey--which has a higher percentage of healthy unsaturated fat compared to ground beef--and it's loaded with colorful vegetables. You'll also love this recipe because it makes two loaves. That means you can eat one the night you bake it and save the other for the next day to enjoy as sandwiches (hot or cold, your choice) or set atop a salad of vinaigrette-dressed mixed greens (your own homey version of a country pâté).

These tasty turkey and bean burritos are the perfect choice for a quick dinner or lunch. Shredded lettuce and Cheddar cheese are wrapped up in warm whole-wheat tortillas with cooked turkey, salsa and beans--yum!

We use portobello caps to make these dinner-sized stuffed mushrooms that are big on flavor without being overly rich. Rather than the traditional sausage filling, this recipe calls for lean ground turkey blended with fresh herbs and spices, topped with golden, melted fontina cheese. Add a tossed salad and a slice of crusty whole-grain bread to complete the meal.

This mild-flavored chili is lower in sodium than most canned chilis or chili seasoning blends.

For this healthy turkey meatball recipe, lean ground turkey is mixed with fresh mushrooms, oats, garlic, spices and a little Parmesan cheese for a meatball that's moist, delicious and has more fiber and less saturated fat than a traditional beef and pork version. Serve these tasty meatballs over whole-grain pasta with fresh tomato sauce for a satisfying take on spaghetti and meatballs, and save the leftovers to stuff into sandwiches.

Hominy, onion, garlic and chile peppers are hallmark ingredients in this soup from Mexico. Posole is often made with pork or chicken, but this version uses flavorful turkey breast.

Adding cooked veggies to these mini meatloaves helps the lean turkey stay juicy.

Ground turkey and bulgur form the base of these healthy Thanksgiving-themed meatballs, which are tossed in a tangy cranberry-sauce glaze. Serve these on a platter or keep them warm in a slow cooker.

This twist on the Latin American staple is made healthier with lean ground turkey and crisp apples. It doubles well. Try tucking it into whole-wheat tortillas or serve over instant brown rice for a quick and healthy supper.

This healthy turkey meatloaf recipe is packed with cranberries, sage and celery--all the flavors of Thanksgiving dinner wrapped up into one delicious turkey meatloaf.

Set yourself up for a week of super-satisfying lunches with these south of the border-style meal-prep bowls. We took one of our favorite recipes, Mexican Stuffed Acorn Squash (see Associated Recipes) and repurposed the filling into a tasty topping for low-carb spaghetti squash. The Mexican-inspired seasoning blend adds a lot of flavor easily, and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro and queso fresco finishes the dish.

If you're a fan of caprese salads, you'll love this healthy turkey burger recipe. The patties are seasoned with Italian spices, then topped with juicy tomatoes drizzled with balsamic, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella. We've doubled down on the basil in this recipe by mixing it into the mayo and using whole leaves to top the burger, but if you prefer less basil flavor, you can swap out the basil leaves for spinach or arugula. Serve this summery burger with a simple side salad for a healthy dinner that's full of fresh flavors.

These tasty turkey burgers, served on toasted focaccia and dressed with marinara sauce, are reminiscent of a sausage pizza. Shredded mozzarella combined with fresh basil melts beautifully inside these gems.

A turkey, vegetable and rice filling with a bread crumb topping make these peppers a satisfying, low-calorie meal.

Burgers made with ground turkey are a lean alternative to beef burgers, providing you choose turkey ground from the breast. Regular ground turkey, which is a mixture of light and dark meat and some skin, contains almost as much fat as lean ground beef. A honey-mustard mixture keeps these low-fat patties moist and succulent.

Lemon and rosemary flavor both these turkey meatballs and their velvety-rich sauce. Thyme can be used instead of the rosemary if you prefer. Serve with whole-wheat pasta or mashed potatoes.

Korean chile paste (also known as gochujang) blended into the ground turkey makes this turkey burger recipe incredibly moist and flavorful. Top these healthy turkey burgers with kimchi--a fermented mixture of cabbage and other vegetables--which can be found near other refrigerated Asian ingredients or near sauerkraut or pickles in well-stocked supermarkets or natural-foods stores.

Combine ground pork and ground turkey breast to make these delicious Slow-Cooked Swedish Meatballs. Serve meatballs and creamy sauce over egg noodles.

These healthy turkey meatballs take a little more time, but the recipe yields enough extra meatballs and polenta for three other meals (see Associated Recipes).

Vegetables and lean meatballs streamline a traditional Italian meatball soup to make it lighter while keeping all the great flavor. Save some of the meatball soup to make a delicious casserole for later.

These healthy turkey burgers are flavored with the Southwestern triad of chiles verdes, cumin and cilantro. We serve them here on tortillas, but traditionalists can go for a bun.

Homemade turkey meatballs are the star of this hearty soup. Full of spinach, macaroni and carrots and topped with grated Parmesan, this recipe takes just about an hour from start to finish.

Combine extra-lean ground beef and turkey breast with vegetables and herbs in this low-calorie, low-fat, diabetic main dish soup.