It’s Cinco de Mayo – woo hoo! If we are being completely honest, I am not exactly sure what this holiday really means but I do know that it’s an excuse to eat endless amounts of tacos and nachos that’s written on my calendar. Oh, and since we are being completely honest, the only difference between this day and the other 364 is that this one is actually written on the calendar. Since I eat tacos so often, I’ve tweaked my recipe over the years to make it as healthy as I possibly could. When I was in college, my roommates and I honored Taco Tuesday like it was a religious holiday and basically never skipped. We always made ground beef with an Old El Paso taco kit – including the taco seasoning, which is basically pure sodium. How can they even make something so simple so unhealthy?! Don’t ask me – I was the college girl who was actually using this stuff. But now that I am a bit older and my taco palette has sophisticated, I make my own taco seasoning and I can’t believe more people don’t do this! You know exactly what’s going into it, it’s not loaded with sodium, and it’s just as easy as using the packaged stuff! These healthy turkey tacos are on the menu about once a week at our house (they pair perfectly with my guacamole) and I can honestly say, I will never go back to the packaged seasoning!
Taco Seasoning:
Enough for 1 pound of ground meat, preferably turkey. Mixture can be made ahead of time (leave out hot sauce) and stored in an airtight container in the pantry. If you make a large batch, use 1 1/2 tablespoons of taco seasoning per pound of meat.
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (adjust to taste)
Taco Meat:
I use ground turkey but this would also work well with ground beef or chicken! I’ve also used it with various shredded meats.
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
- Taco seasoning (recipe above)
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
- Cook 1 pound of ground turkey in skillet until meat is cooked through and slightly browned.
- Sprinkle taco seasoning over ground turkey. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth (water is fine, too).
- Mix seasoning in with ground turkey. Allow the seasoning and broth to combine into a sauce.
- Let the mixture thicken slightly before turning the heat down. When it starts to bubble, the heat is ready to be reduced.
- Turn the heat down to low and let the meat simmer for 3-4 minutes, until the sauce is adequately thickened and flavor absorbs into the turkey.
- Serve with your favorite Mexican meal and toppings! Perfect for tacos, nachos, tostadas, burritos, taco salads, etc.!
Happy Cinco De Mayo! Enjoy your tacos!
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