Southwest Turkey Vegetable and Rice Skillet
on Jul 06, 2021, Updated Dec 09, 2024
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Southwest Turkey Vegetable and Rice Skillet is creamy, cheesy, full of vegetables, lean ground turkey and brown rice. Easy and on the table in 30 minutes!
This recipe and photos have been updated since they were originally published on 8/8/2016
Skillet dinner, one pan meal, one pot dinner, there’s several names for this type of cooking and it’s the way I make most of my dinners. As someone who hates doing dishes skillet and one pot meals have earned their own category on Recipe Runner.
A few of my favorite skillet and one pot meals are Mexican chicken, sweet potato and black bean skillet, turkey and vegetable skillet, and when I’m craving lot of carbs, one pot parmesan chicken, spinach and orzo.
I’m guessing if you’re looking at this recipe, you might also not be a fan of dirtying ever dish you own just to make an easy weeknight dinner. If that’s the case, I think that you will find many dinner recipes to try out while you’re here. I highly recommend starting with this Southwest Turkey Vegetable and Rice Skillet, especially if you’re a fan of Mexican and Southwest inspired cuisine.
Ingredients For Southwest Turkey Vegetable and Rice Skillet
- Ground turkey
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Zucchini
- Canned or frozen green chiles
- Corn
- Tomato
- Cooked brown rice
- Chili powder and ground cumin
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby Jack or Pepper Jack cheese
How to Make Southwest Turkey Vegetable and Rice Skillet
Add some olive oil to a large skillet. I like to use one that’s a little deeper and that has a lid, but it isn’t a requirement. Heat the oil and swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the turkey, onion, spices, salt and pepper to the skillet and crumble the meat with a wooden spoon or a potato masher works well.
When the turkey is nearly cooked through add in the garlic, green chiles, tomato, zucchini and corn. Continue to cook everything until the zucchini is tender, but not mushy. Remember the zucchini will continue to cook for several more minutes.
Add in the cooked rice and half of the cheese. Cook until the cheese is melted and then remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the Greek yogurt until it’s thoroughly combined and then top with the remaining cheese.
Cover the skillet with a lid or a piece of foil and let it sit for several minutes until the cheese on top is melted. Garnish with chopped cilantro if you’d like and serve.
Ingredient Substitutions
Rice – Use long grain white, Jasmine or Basmati rice instead of brown. You can also use cooked quinoa or farro.
Vegetables – Zucchini may be replaced with a red or green bell pepper, yellow squash or even a can of black beans.
Greek Yogurt – Greek yogurt can be replaced with low fat or full fat sour cream.
Ground Turkey – Try substituting with ground chicken or ground beef.
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 the microwaving for this recipe because it will warm up and finish cooking on the stove with the turkey and vegetable mixture.
More Skillet Dinner Recipes
Southwest Turkey, Vegetable and Rice Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground turkey, I use 93/7%
- 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 clove garlic, grated or minced
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 4 ounce can diced green chiles
- 1/2 cup frozen corn, defrosted
- 1 cup diced tomato
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 cup shredded Colby Jack, Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot swirl the oil to coat the bottom and add in the ground turkey, onion, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon or potato masher to crumble the meat.
- When the turkey is almost cooked through, lower the heat to medium and add in the garlic, green chiles, zucchini, corn and tomato. Cook for several more minutes or until the zucchini is tender.
- Add in the cooked rice and half of the cheese. Stir everything together until heated through and the cheese is melted.
- Turn off the heat and remove the skillet from the hot burner. Stir in the Greek yogurt until everything is combined and then top with the remaining cheese. Cover the skillet with a lid or piece of foil and let it sit for a couple minutes until the cheese is melted. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Could you sub the Greek yogurt with heavy cream?
Hi Tori,
I haven’t tried doing that, but I’m sure it would work fine. I would maybe start with a 1/4 cup of cream and check the consistency then add more if needed.
What is the calorie count for this dish?
Can this be frozen? I want to make it for just two people and hope I can have an extra dinner in the freezer.
Hi Melinda,
This can absolutely be frozen, however the texture of the zucchini will get a little mushy, so if that bothers you, you may want to leave it out.
I had some leftover brown rice and some ground turkey to use up and this recipe was perfect. Thanks
Glad to hear you liked it Mike!
Just made it. So good the whole family loved it. ????
I’m happy to hear your whole family loved it Stephanie! Thanks for trying it out. :-)
What is the approximate measurements of the serving size It states 5-6 but how many ounces or cups are those servings
Was panicking about what to make for dinner tonight, so Pinterest to the rescue. I searched for ground turkey recipes and this one came up. Can you believe I had all of the ingredients on the list? My husband, son and I all loves it! Quick, and flavorful! Thanks! ????
Nothing is better than finding a recipe and having all the ingredients to make it! Thanks for trying it out Alissa!
I’ve made this twice to meal prep with and it’s been great both times!!
Happy to hear you like it Alyssa, one of my favorites!
Do you think cauliflower would be a good substitute for the rice?
Hi Ashley.
I haven’t tried this recipe with cauliflower (I’m assuming you mean cauliflower rice). However, I think it would work well in here. If you do try it that way I’d love to hear how it turns out. :-)
I gave this a try substituting cauliflower rice instead of regular rice to lighten it up a bit so I could enjoy a larger portion ;)
Turned out great in my opinion.
Hello! I am making this tonight. I have everything except for the yogurt and don’t have time to stop at the store. What would make great substitute? Sour cream maybe?
Hi Angela,
You can absolutely use sour cream in place of the Greek yogurt. Enjoy!