Southwest Turkey, Vegetable and Rice Skillet

A healthy and delicious dinner made in one skillet and on the table in 30 minute or less! This Southwest Turkey, Vegetable and Rice Skillet is creamy, cheesy, full of vegetables, lean ground turkey and brown rice. It’s sure to become a family favorite!

It’s the first week back to school here in Denver and that means quick and easy weeknight dinners are back on the menu. One of my favorite dinners we had growing up was this Southwest Turkey, Vegetable and Rice Skillet. It’s a one pan meal that’s full of flavors and ingredients the whole family can get behind.

What Do I Need to Make This Skillet Dinner?

• Ground turkey, I like to use 93/7%
• Yellow onion
• Garlic
• Zucchini
• Green chiles, canned or frozen
• Corn 
• Tomato
• Cooked brown or white rice
• Chili powder and ground cumin
• Plain Greek yogurt, non fat, low fat or whole
• Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby Jack or Pepper Jack cheese

In my mom’s recipe book this is actually called Ranchero Bake. Why it’s called that, I don’t know, but I’m guessing there aren’t many people that search for a recipe with that name. 

The original recipe was topped with crushed tortilla chips and baked in the oven. I decided to skip that part to save time and because it really didn’t add that much extra flavor. Although, if you want to serve it with tortilla chips I’d never say no to that!

Ingredient Substitutions

• Use long grain white, Jasmine or Basmati rice instead of brown.
• Zucchini may be replaced with red or green bell pepper, yellow squash or even a can of black beans
• Plain Greek yogurt can be replaced with low fat or full fat sour cream
• Ground turkey can be substituted with ground chicken. I’ve not tried it with ground beef, but I’m sure that would work as well.

Time Saving Tip

If you’re like me and hate cooking rice, especially brown rice, I highly recommend using a pouch or two of pre-cooked rice. They come in all varieties and only take 90 seconds in the microwave to heat up. You can even skip that step for this recipe because it will warm up in the turkey and vegetable mixture on the stove.

More Skillet Dinners

Skillet Chicken Fajitas

Skillet Meatballs in Marinara Sauce

Turkey Taco Quinoa Skillet

Lightened Up Skillet Chicken Parmesan

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Southwest Turkey, Vegetable and Rice Skillet

Yield: 5 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground turkey, I use 93/7%
• 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
• 1 clove garlic, grated or minced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 zucchini, diced
• 4 ounces canned green chiles
• 1/2 cup frozen corn, defrosted
• 1 tomato, diced
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt, 2% or whole can also be used

Instructions

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot add a couple teaspoons of oil or spray the skillet generously with oil.
2. Add the ground turkey to the skillet and crumble it with a wooden spoon. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin.
3. When the turkey is almost cooked through add in the onion and garlic and cook for approximately 2 minutes. Add in the can of green chiles and the zucchini and cook for another minute.
4. Add in the cooked brown rice, corn and tomato and stir everything together.When the mixture is heated through add in the shredded cheese and stir until melted.
5. Turn off the heat and remove from the hot burner. Stir in the Greek yogurt until everything is combined and serve.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 5 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 391Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 242mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gProtein: 43g