30 minute dinner alert! These Ground Turkey Bowls come together in one skillet with hardly any chopping or hands-on time. They're packed with protein and "hidden" veggies, and then finished with a sticky, 5-ingredient gochujang sauce. Serve over rice for a family pleasing meal that doubles as excellent meal prep!
This post includes make-ahead tips, simple variations to make it your own, and simple tips to ensure success. Check out our other one pan dinner recipes for more weeknight inspiration.
Once I find a sauce I like, I put it on everything possible. This Hot Honey Sauce is one of my favorites, but my latest love is the sweet, sticky, spicy gochujang sauce in this Asian ground turkey recipe.
This recipe was inspired by our Gochujang Stir Fry, but it requires even less chopping, time, and hands-on effort. This is one of those rare meals that is equally convenient as it is truly, truly delicious!
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Why this recipe is great
- It's on the table in 30 minutes or less! I even do up the dishes while it's cooking, so most of the cleanup is done too.
- It's a budget-friendly meal, even for a larger family.
- It's packed with protein and veggies.
- It makes great leftovers that you actually look forward to! (Nothing soggy or bland).
Ingredients for ground turkey rice bowls
Start with ground meat and veggies, then you just need 5 ingredients for the sauce. Full quantities are in the recipe card below.
- Soy sauce: Possibly an unpopular opinion, but I use regular instead of lite. If you prefer lite soy sauce, just know that you may need to add salt to the sauce.
- Gochujang: This is a Korean red chili paste that is pretty easy to find at the grocery store these days. I love the one from Trader Joe's, but I have tried multiple brands and have had success with each of them.
- Honey: This is a healthier option compared to the brown sugar or white sugar a lot of Asian recipes use.
- Rice vinegar: If you don't have any on hand, you can use white wine vinegar. The sweetness of the honey should make up for the slightly different flavor.
- Cornstarch: This just helps the sauce thicken so that it coats everything well and has that delicious sticky consistency.
- Olive oil: You can substitute with avocado oil.
- Ground turkey: Even though this cut of meat is more lean, the rich sauce keeps it really moist.
- Onion: Yellow onion or sweet onion are my preference. Dice them up nice and small.
- Bell peppers: I use red, yellow, or orange peppers and just dice them small.
- Zucchini: No peeling required! I chop mine into ¼ inch rounds, then cut each round into quarters.
- Garlic: I buy mine minced to make it faster, or mince it fresh.
Helpful kitchen tools
How to make ground turkey bowls
Before you start, I suggest having everything ready to go (including having your veggies chopped) because the cooking goes fast!
Step 1: In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, stir together the soy sauce, gochujang paste, honey, rice vinegar, and cornstarch. A whisk is the easiest tool to get everything easily and smoothly combined.
Step 2: Heat a 12 inch skillet, dutch oven, or large pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Give it a few minutes to get hot, then add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering (about 30 seconds), add the ground turkey and salt.
Cook for 5-6 minutes, or until no pink remains, thoroughly breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. This meat chopper makes it easy!
Step 3: Once the meat is cooked through, tilt the pan to one side. Using tongs and paper towels, soak up the excess cooking liquids. This ensures the sauce doesn't get watered down later.
Step 4: Now it's time to add all the veggies to the pan and continue cooking over med-high heat for 2-3 minutes.
Step 5: Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute, stirring often so it doesn't burn.
Step 6: Last but not least, pour the prepared gochujang honey sauce into the skillet. Reduce the stove to medium heat, then cook for 1-3 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Stir it often to prevent any sticking. Serve warm and enjoy!
Variations and substitutions
- Switch up the meat! This would be good with ground chicken or even ground beef, although the latter will definitely change up the flavor of the whole dish.
- Want it spicy? Use hot honey instead of regular or add red pepper flakes.
- Use whatever fresh veggies you have! This could be great with a lot of different options like snap peas, broccoli, green beans, carrots, red onion, etc. The key is just to choose veggies that cook in the same amount of time and to dice them small since they only cook for a few minutes. (Hint: I would skip sweet potatoes since those will take a lot longer to cook through).
- For more flavor, add a teaspoon of fresh ginger with the garlic. Yum!
How to serve ground turkey bowls with gochujang sauce
My favorite way to serve this is to turn it into a rice bowl! This is our tutorial for How to Make Jasmine Rice on the Stove, but of course you can use basmati, regular long grain, brown rice or cauliflower rice.
These would also be great as lettuce wraps or served over zucchini noodles (zoodles), on top of spaghetti squash, or just on its own. Green onions and toasted sesame seeds on top make it extra pretty, but in my real life I skip this 100% of the time. 😂
Make ahead tips
This is a super fast, low-effort dinner. But if you want it even faster, there are a few ways to accomplish that.
- Chop all the veggies 1-2 days ahead, then store in separate airtight containers until you're ready to cook.
- Make the sauce ahead and store in a sealed container in the fridge for 1-2 days.
- Make the rice ahead, then follow our guide for How to Freeze Rice. You can just thaw and re-warm it before serving.
FAQs
If sealed in an airtight container, you can keep this Korean ground turkey recipe in the fridge safely for 4-5 days. I love to meal prep this and eat it for lunches all week long!
If you haven't tried one of these chopper tools, you are missing out! They really do work and they make the chopping so fast and painless.
Tips & tricks
- Cut the veggies into even size pieces so that they all cook at the same rate.
- Be careful not to overcook the veggies when you first put them in. They will continue cooking once the sauce is added, and you don't want them to end up soggy.
- If you are intentionally meal prepping, reserve a little bit of the sauce to drizzle on top when you reheat throughout the week!
More Asian inspired recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
This post was photographed by Rhadonda Sedgwick.
Recipe
30 Min Ground Turkey Bowls with Sticky Gochujang Sauce
Equipment
- Meat chopper optional
Ingredients
Gochujang Sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce (regular sodium)
- ¼ cup gochujang
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Ground Turkey Bowls
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1.5 lb ground turkey
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ medium onion diced (about ½ cup)
- 2 med or lg bell peppers diced (red, yellow, or orange)
- 1 zucchini cut into ¼ inch quarters
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
For serving:
- Cooked white rice optional
- Sliced green onions or toasted sesame seeds optional for garnish
Instructions
- Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl with a whisk. Set aside.¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup gochujang, ¼ cup honey, 2 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Heat a large skillet, dutch oven, or pot on the stove over medium high heat. Once hot, add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the turkey and salt. Cook for 5-6 minutes, or until no pink remains, thoroughly breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks.½ tablespoon olive oil, 1.5 lb ground turkey, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Once the meat is cooked through, tilt the pan to one side. Using tongs and paper towels, soak up the excess cooking liquids.
- Add the onion, bell peppers, and zucchini to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often.½ medium onion, 2 med or lg bell peppers, 1 zucchini
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring often.1 tablespoon garlic
- Pour the prepared sauce into the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, for 1-3 minutes, stirring often until the sauce is thickened. Serve immediately.Cooked white rice, Sliced green onions or toasted sesame seeds
Notes
- Cut the veggies into even size pieces so that they all cook at the same rate.
- Be careful not to overcook the veggies when you first put them in. They will continue cooking once the sauce is added, and you don't want them to end up soggy.
- If you are intentionally meal prepping, reserve a little bit of the sauce to drizzle on top when you reheat throughout the week!
Add Your Own Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition information is provided by a third party and is an estimate only. Use your own nutritional calculator for more specific measurements.
Misty says
This dinner is ideal for those times when you want to put together a quick yet delicious meal.