Ground Meats
$1.35per plate
Prep
15 min
Ground Meats · Ground Turkey
Ground Turkey Stir Fry
Ground turkey turns stir fry into one of the cheapest, fastest dinners you can make. Instead of pricey strips of beef or chicken, a pound of lean ground turkey browns in minutes and soaks up a quick homemade sauce of soy, garlic, and ginger. Stir in a bag of frozen vegetables and pile it over rice and you have a colorful, better-than-takeout dinner for six for about a dollar twenty a plate. It joins the rest of our ground turkey recipes, all cheap dinners built on the same lean pound.
$1.21per plate
Estimated recipe total
$7.24 · serves 6
Cook
20 min
Total
35 min
Serves
6
Recipe from Budget Plates · https://www.budgetplates.com/ground-turkey-stir-fry
Equipment
- Large skillet or wok
Variations
- Use a few cups of chopped fresh broccoli, carrots, bell pepper, and snap peas instead of frozen.
- Use half a cup of any bottled Asian stir-fry or teriyaki sauce instead of the homemade sauce.
- Serve over cooked lo mein noodles, or over cauliflower rice for a lighter, low-carb plate.
- Scramble an egg into the pan before the sauce, or scatter peanuts or cashews on top for crunch.
1 How to make it
1
Cook the rice
Start the rice first, or pull out leftover rice, so it is hot and ready when the stir fry is done. Stir fry comes together fast once you get going.
2
Mix the sauce
Whisk together the soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, sesame oil, and half a cup of water in a small bowl and set it aside. The cornstarch is what makes the sauce glossy instead of watery.
3
Brown the turkey
Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high and add the ground turkey. Cook, breaking it into crumbles, until no pink remains and some of it browns, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger for the last minute. Ground turkey is done at 165 F.
4
Add the vegetables
Add the onion and the frozen vegetables straight from the freezer and stir fry over high heat until they are hot and crisp-tender, about 5 to 6 minutes. Keep them moving so they cook fast and stay bright.
5
Add the sauce
Give the sauce a quick whisk and pour it in. Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes until it thickens and coats the turkey and vegetables in a glossy glaze.
6
Serve
Spoon the stir fry over the hot rice. A sprinkle of sesame seeds or sliced green onion on top is nice if you have it.
2 Cheaper ingredient swaps
- Fresh vegetables for the frozen. A few cups of chopped fresh broccoli, carrots, bell pepper, and snap peas work too. Add the firmer ones first so everything finishes crisp-tender.
- Bottled stir-fry or teriyaki sauce. Half a cup of any bottled Asian sauce stands in for the homemade. The from-scratch version is cheaper and lower in salt.
- Noodles or cauliflower rice. Serve the stir fry over cooked lo mein noodles, or over cauliflower rice for a lighter, low-carb plate.
- Add an egg or nuts. Scramble an egg into the pan before the sauce, or scatter a handful of peanuts or cashews on top for crunch.
3 Budget tips
- Ground turkey is far cheaper than strips of steak or chicken breast and browns in minutes, so it is perfect for a fast stir fry.
- A bag of frozen stir-fry vegetables is the cheapest way to get a colorful mix with no chopping and no waste.
- Make the sauce from pantry soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch instead of buying a bottle of stir-fry sauce.
- A pot of rice stretches the pan to feed six for pennies a plate, and leftovers reheat into lunch.
- See more recipes priced per serving in the Budget Plates Index.
4 Storage, freezing & reheating
Fridge
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Keep the rice and stir fry together or separate, whichever you have room for.
Freezer
The stir fry freezes for up to 2 months, though the vegetables soften on thawing. Freeze it in portions with or without the rice.
Reheating
Reheat in a hot skillet or the microwave until steaming. A splash of water or soy sauce loosens the sauce if it has thickened in the fridge.
5 Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
345
Protein
20g
Fat
10g
Carbs
43g
Estimates per serving, calculated from standard ingredient data. Not a substitute for medical advice.
6 Frequently asked questions
Do I need to thaw the frozen vegetables?
No. Add them to the hot pan straight from the freezer and stir fry over high heat. Thawing first just makes them watery, so frozen-to-pan keeps them crisp.
How do I get a glossy sauce instead of a watery one?
The tablespoon of cornstarch whisked into the sauce is the key. Add the sauce at the end and cook it just a minute or two, stirring, until it thickens and clings to everything.
Do I need to drain the ground turkey?
Usually no. Lean ground turkey renders very little fat. If you used a fattier blend and see grease pooling, spoon it off before you add the vegetables.
How is $1.21 a plate figured?
About $7.24 for the whole pan plus the rice, six servings, so roughly $1.21 each. The turkey and the bag of vegetables are the biggest costs.
Helpful Tools for This Recipe
As an Amazon Associate, Budget Plates may earn from qualifying purchases.
- Chef's knife. One sharp chef's knife handles almost all the chopping, from onions to chicken, and replaces a drawer of gadgets. Best for all-purpose prep in essentially every recipe on the site.
- Cutting board. A large, stable cutting board makes prep faster and safer, which matters when you cook most nights. Best for everyday chopping of onion, garlic, and vegetables across nearly every recipe.
- Mixing bowls set. A set of nesting bowls handles prep, mixing, and marinades without dirtying every dish in the house. Best for mixing meatball and patty mixtures, tossing ingredients, and holding prepped components.
- Measuring cups and spoons set. A basic set of measuring cups and spoons keeps amounts consistent, which keeps budget recipes reliable. Best for rice, liquids, and any recipe where the ratio matters.
Feeding a crowd tonight? This one is also part of our Easy Family Dinner Recipes collection.
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