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With a bright & tasty orange-ginger sauce, this nutritious ground turkey stir-fry is an absolute hit at the dinner table. Unfussy prep, bright flavors, and ready in less than 30 minutes.
This yummy ground turkey stir-fry is full of crisp, colorful veggies, salty cashews, and just enough orange-ginger sauce to tie it all together without drowning the ingredients. Everything ingredient gets to shine in this one, and it’s all brought together in 30 minutes (or less, honestly). Serve it over rice. Serve it over Ramen noodles. You’ll love it either way.
If you’d like more ideas for stir-fry recipes, check out my beef stir-fry with Ramen noodles or this sesame shrimp stir-fry with Ramen noodles.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
- Ground Turkey offers up a nice punch of lean protein while also cooking quickly and soaking up the sauce.
- The sauce balances things out without taking over the entire dish, like a lot of other stir-frys out there.
- With the way this dish is assembled, vegetables stay crisp and sturdy. No soggy peppers here!
Ingredient Overview
A full ingredient list with exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
- Ground turkey: I like using a 93/7 blend, but any blend works.
- Orange juice: Fresh orange zest and juice are great, but in a pinch, you can use good-quality orange juice from a jug.
- Sriracha: For a bit of heat. You can add more or less depending on your preference.
- Cashews: You’ll love the salty, rich crunch these bring to the dish!
How to Make Ground Turkey Stir-Fry
Step 1: Cook the Ground Turkey
Heat sesame oil in a skillet over medium heat, then add the turkey. Season it with a bit of salt and pepper, then cook for 5-7 minutes, or until cooked through. Transfer the meat to a paper towel-lined plate and remove any remaining liquid from the pan.
While the turkey is cooking, place all of the sauce ingredients into a small bowl and whisk until cohesive, then set aside.
Step 2: Stir-Fry the Vegetables
Once the turkey is cooked and transferred to a plate, heat the remaining sesame oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add all of the vegetables and fry for 3-5 minutes, or until tender but still crisp. Stir often to avoid any burning. If you need to add more oil to the skillet, you can.
Dana’s Cooking Tip
I recommend using a mandolin to shave the cabbage into thin, uniform slices so that it all cooks evenly. To save time, you could also buy a bag of coleslaw! These work great in a pinch.
Step 3: Bring It All Together!
Reduce the heat to medium. Transfer the ground turkey back to the pan, pour in the stir-fry sauce, add the cashews, and stir. Let the sauce come to a low simmer and keep stirring to ensure everything is evenly coated. Taste; if necessary, add a few extra splashes of soy sauce.
Remove the pan from the heat, sprinkle the stir-fry with sesame seeds and chopped cilantro (optional).
Substitutions & Variations
- Different Proteins: Use ground chicken, or even ground beef if you’re looking to change things up every once in a while.
- Vegetable Variations: This recipe can be adapted by using different veggies. Mushrooms, shredded carrots, zucchini, chopped broccoli, snow peas, etc. You could add about one cup’s worth of veggies to this dish as is before increasing the amount of sauce. To increase the sauce’s volume, add about 1/4 cup of chicken broth.
- Extra Saucy: If you like a very saucy stir-fry, double the sauce ingredients—easy!
- Spicy: Add more Sriracha, or use Sambal Oelek. Serve with a drizzle of crispy chili oil.
What to Serve With Ground Turkey Stir-Fry
Storage, Freezing & Reheating
- Fridge: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: You can freeze this recipe in freezer-friendly containers for up to 3 months. To thaw, place it in the fridge the night before. Keep in mind that with veggies, texture can deteriorate after freezing.
- Reheat: Place leftovers onto a microwave-safe plate and reheat in 30-second increments until warmed through.
Quick Ground Turkey Stir-Fry
Ingredients
STIR FRY SAUCE
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 large orange, juiced & zested, You're looking for about 5 TBSP of orange juice.
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 TBSP Hoisin sauce
- 1 TBSP grated ginger
- 1 TBSP toasted sesame oil, Regular sesame oil is also fine
- 2 tsp raw honey
- 2 tsp Siracha, Can also use hot chili sauce, like Sambal Oelek
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
GROUND TURKEY STIR FRY WITH CABBAGE
- 2 TBSP sesame oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage, Preferably sliced with a mandolin
- 1 sweet bell pepper (red, orange, or yellow), cut into bite-sized pieces
- 4 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1/3 cup chopped salted cashews
- Sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Heat 1 TBSP of sesame oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the ground turkey, season with a bit of salt and pepper, and cook for 5-7 minutes or until cooked through.
- While the ground turkey cooks, place all of the stir fry sauce ingredients into a small bowl and whisk until well combined; set aside.
- When the turkey is done, transfer the meat to a paper towel-lined plate and get rid of any liquid left in the pan.
- Heat a second TBSP of sesame oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and fry for 3-5 minutes, or until tender but still crisp.
- Decrease the heat to medium-low. Transfer the ground turkey back into the pan, pour in the stir fry sauce, add the cashews and stir well. Let the sauce come to a low simmer and keep stirring to ensure everything is evenly coated. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional) and serve.
Notes
- The grams of fat in this dish come mostly from the cashews, which are rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, both of which are considered good fats.
- I recommend using a mandolin to shave the cabbage into thin, uniform slices so that it all cooks evenly. To save time, you could also buy a bag of coleslaw! These work great in a pinch.
- Like things extra saucy? Double the sauce ingredients for more coverage.
Nutrition
View more ground turkey dinner recipes here!
loved the ground turkey stir fry recipe- the sauce was delicious and can be used for other dishes as well- a keeper for sure
Thanks so much for the review, Fran! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Wow, that sounded good. I was just looking for recipes for this week’s dinners. This one sounded delicious and look forward to picking up the ingredients tomorrow and having it this week sometime. Thank you for the healthy and tasty meal recipes. Keep them coming!!
What an incredible meal it was! My entire family couldn’t stop asking for seconds and thirds. Thank you so much!
Ned! I’m so glad. Thanks so much for the review. Thrilled to hear everyone enjoyed it.
Wow… so if you love making recipes from « killing thyme « as much as I? Allergies or not you make it work!!! Dana has been there for all of my questions 100% and I am so grateful! So here’s my tweak… I omitted the sauce on the most part but used a sprinkle of the naked soy sauce, a tich of rice vinegar, and a splash of real maple syrup just to try and make things work for my husband. Thank you Dana for all of your support, I love your recipes ♥️ it was delicious even by tweaking 🥰
I had a cabbage in the fridge that needed using and I had no idea what to do with it. This was the perfect solution! Thank you so much for sharing :)
This was such a simple and inexpensive stir fry that does not disappoint! Turned out easy, hearty and delicious; my kind of comfort food, indeed!
This is absolutely delicious! I love that this is healthier than the usual takeout, but still so flavorful. :)
The whole family loved this! tons of flavor and texture, super easy to make, too!
I love how healthy this recipe is without losing all the great fried rice flavor I love so much. This is a big time winner!
So glad you enjoyed it Beth! :)