This Ground Turkey and Cabbage Skillet with caramelized onions comes together quickly for healthy weeknight meals. You’d never guess this flavorful, nutritious meal is made with only 6 basic ingredients!
The inspiration for this recipe comes from a mashup of my Caramelized Cabbage with Bacon and my One-Pot Ground Beef and Cabbage.
In my mind, you can’t go wrong with meat and veggies for a filling, nutritious meal. The neutral flavor of cabbage makes it a win to cook with just about anything!
This simple ground turkey and cabbage skillet only requires 6 basic ingredients, but is plenty flavorful.
Plus, it is easy to customize to your heart’s delight by adding various veggies or sauces.
This recipe makes two servings if all you’re eating is this exact recipe, or 4 servings if you’re adding side dishes such as steamed rice or roasted veggies, salad, etc.
If you have a large pot, you can double the recipe for meal prepping weekday lunches or dinners. Just be sure you have a big enough vessel to hold a lot of cabbage.
This recipe takes a little longer to make than your standard 30-minute meal made in a skillet, because the onion and cabbage require more time to cook for perfect texture and flavor.
My favorite part about the recipe is that it is so easy to make. I would go so far as to say it’s totally goof-proof, so even cooking novices will find great success with it.
You can easily multi-task while the onions and cabbage are cooking, as the veggies don’t require a lot of oversight.
Let’s discuss the simple healthy ingredients needed to make this easy recipe a reality.
Ingredients for Ground Turkey and Cabbage Skillet:
Avocado Oil: Used to sauté the onion and cabbage, avocado oil has a high smoke point making it ideal for cooking at high temperatures.
Onion & Garlic: We cook the onion to caramelized perfection to maximize the flavor, making this dish so rich and flavorful in spite of being low-fat and low-carb. Fresh garlic cloves get minced up and added in for extra flavor.
Cabbage: Cabbage adds volume to the meal, making it nice and filling and satisfying. You can also use red cabbage if you prefer.
Lean Ground Turkey: For a high protein, low-fat dinner recipe, we use ground turkey in this delicious meal. Feel free to swap it out for lean ground beef or ground chicken.
Coconut Aminos: Bringing a little Asian flair to the meal, coconut aminos adds sweetness and umami flavor. You can swap it out for homemade teriyaki sauce, store-bought teriyaki sauce, low-sodium soy sauce, or tamari.
Sea Salt: Add sea salt to taste. If you’re using soy sauce, you likely won’t need to add more salt.
For Serving:
I like drizzling a little sriracha over the ground turkey and cabbage for a little kick.
You can serve this meal with additional side dishes like steamed rice or roasted veggies, or add more vegetables to the skillet.
If you do dairy, you can serve with grated cheese such as parmesan, cheddar, gouda, etc. Sour cream, salsa, and avocado are also great options.
Optional Additions:
- Add in any of your favorite hearty vegetables such as carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, or cauliflower.
- Cook 4 to 6 strips of thick-cut bacon, using the rendered fat to cook the recipe. You can sprinkle the cooked crispy bacon on top once everything is finished.
Now that we have the healthy ingredients list covered, let’s make it!
How to Make Ground Turkey and Cabbage Skillet:
Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet (a large 12-inch skillet with a deep rim is recommended!) or a large pot over medium-high heat.
Add the sliced onion and cook until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes.
Transfer the sliced cabbage to the skillet, stir as best you can (it will be overflowing) and cover with a lid. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage has wilted and much liquid is seeping out, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove the lid and create space in the center of the skillet to add the ground turkey and the garlic.
Allow the turkey to brown for a few minutes untouched, then use a spatula to break it into smaller pieces and incorporate it into the cabbage and onion.
Pour in the coconut aminos (or liquid aminos or soy sauce) and stir well.
If there is still a lot of liquid at the bottom of the skillet, continue cooking over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened to your desired level of thickness.
Serve this ground turkey cabbage skillet with any choice of side dishes and your favorite toppings (such as grated cheese, sliced avocado, hot sauce, salsa, sour cream, etc.) and enjoy!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
And that’s it! A quick and easy healthy dinner recipe that requires hardly any effort to prepare. Make this low-carb meal any time you’re looking for a nourishing dinner that will keep you feeling energized.
If you love skillet meals, also try these delicious healthy recipes!
More Healthy Skillet Meals:
- 30-Minute Vegetable and Ground Beef Skillet
- Thai Zucchini and Chicken Skillet
- Sausage and Cabbage Skillet
- 30-Minute Ground Beef and Mushroom Skillet
- Mediterranean Shrimp Skillet
- 30-Minute Mexican Chicken and Zucchini Skillet
Skillet meals forever!
Ground Turkey Cabbage Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion sliced
- 1 head green cabbage sliced
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 3 cloves garlic minced.
- 2 to 3 Tbsp coconut aminos*
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the avocado oil in a large skillet (a large 12-inch skillet with a deep rim is recommended!) or a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add the sliced onion and cook until the onion has softened, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the sliced cabbage to the skillet, stir as best you can (it will be overflowing) and cover with a lid. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage has wilted and much liquid is seeping out, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Remove the lid and create space in the center of the skillet to add the ground turkey and the garlic. Allow the turkey to brown for a few minutes untouched, then use a spatula to break it into smaller pieces and incorporate it into the cabbage and onion.
- Pour in the coconut aminos (or liquid aminos or soy sauce) and stir well.
- If there is still a lot of liquid at the bottom of the skillet, continue cooking over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened to your desired level of thickness.
- Serve this ground turkey cabbage skillet with any choice of side dishes and your favorite toppings (such as grated cheese, sliced avocado, hot sauce, salsa, sour cream, etc). And enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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We loved the recipe. So simple that I expected it to be bland. Not at all! A new Roasted Root favorite. I did add sun dried tomatoes for color. Your photo shows “red” item (?). We will definitely have this yummy dish again! ❤️❤️ Thank you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Connie! I thought the same thing going into the recipe – that I would need to add more flavors to make it tasty, but was surprised at how flavorful it turned out with minimal ingredients! The red stuff in the photos is sriracha. I like adding it for a kick of heat! xo
@Julia, I’m thinking any ground meat will work. I’ve got both ground pork & ground goat. For those meats I think I’d add pomegranate arils for the color & extra crunch!
Hi Jane! That’s correct! Any ground meat works here. I’ve used beef quite a few times and love it. Also love the idea of adding pomegranate arils! xo