This is the kind of meal you make when you want really, really, ridiculously good food but not interesting in reading through a complicated recipe. Ground turkey and sweet potatoes keep things simple, comforting, and weeknight-friendly. Low effort, high reward as it should be.
Ground turkey stuffed sweet potatoes are a go to on nights where you just want food on the table in a short amount of time and not have to do a TON of prep. Similar to my ground turkey stuffed acorn squash and my high protein ground beef taco bowls, this is meal-prep friendly and totally satisfying.
TL; DR Summary - Ground Turkey Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- 👩🏼🍳 Cook Level: Easy/Beginner
- ⏱️ Cook Time: ~50m-1 hour
- 📖 Dietary Info: Animal protein, aliums (garlic powder), butter
- 😋 Taste: Buttery, sweet, savory, umami, salty
- 💖 Why You'll Love: Naturally low in carbs, this is a fantastic option for keeping on track with macros, or as a meal prep dinner that keeps you full.
- 🍽️ Best Served With: Even with the veggies and the sweet potato in this meal, you can definitely serve this with a fresh shaved brussel sprout salad, spring veggie pasta salad, roasted garlic carrots, or creamed corn.
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Jump to:
- TL; DR Summary - Ground Turkey Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Tips, Tricks, and Reminders
- The Main Ingredients
- Suggested Swaps and Substitutions
- How to make ground turkey and sweet potato
- Mistakes I've Made (to avoid!)
- Ground Turkey Stuffed Sweet Potato FAQs
- Looking for other ground turkey recipes like this? Try these!
- Ground Turkey with Sweet Potatoes
Tips, Tricks, and Reminders
- Pierce the skin of the sweet potato with a fork a few times around the potato prior to baking to allow the sweet potatoes to soften a little easier. Another fun trick is to add the sweet potato to the microwave for 4-5 minutes prior to baking.
- If you have trouble baking the sweet potato, a good idea is to wrap them in aluminum foil before baking.
- The type of ground turkey you use doesn't really matter. You could use lean ground turkey or a dark meat ground turkey. I like to use a combination of both for the flavor aspect and also more healthy fats added.
- If you want to spruce up the protein, add in some black beans, chickpeas, protein powder (the protein powder can be added with the thickening agent!), or some lentils.
- FOR MEAL PREPPING: make the ground turkey and sweet potatoes ahead of time, then store separately in airtight container. Assemble when you want to eat, and reheat the meat on the stove in a large skillet, and warm up the sweet potatoes in a 300º oven.
The Main Ingredients
- Sweet Potatoes: traditional yams or sweet potatoes are perfect for this dish. You could also use japanese sweet potato (my current hyperfixation) and bake the same way. I'd say choose medium sweet potatoes so that each of the potatoes are cooking evenly.
- Ground Turkey: I like to visit my local butcher for a combination of fresh ground dark and light meat turkey, as the dark meat adds a lot of flavor.
- Carrots and Celery: These vegetables are a part of a classic mirepoix to sauté at the very beginning of making this ground turkey skillet.
- Shallot: sautéed shallots bring flavor to the recipe, and it's my favorite type of onion to use. If you don't have shallots, you can easily use a white onion or yellow onion.
- Broth: I use chicken stock, but you can easily use vegetable stock.
- Butter: the butter is used to sauté the vegetables and render them down.
- Arrowroot: this is what thickens the ground turkey as it simmers. If you don't have arrowroot, you can use corn starch.
- Paprika: Essentially granulated peppers, but it gives such a beautiful color to the ground turkey as it browns and thickens. I like adding paprika as a dusting on top of my ground beef shepherd's pie for color!
- Garlic Powder: Garlic powder gets added to the ground turkey and the paprika to give more flavor.
Be sure to check out the recipe card at the end of this post for more information about quantities, measurements, and specific cooking instructions.
Suggested Swaps and Substitutions
- You can easily swap out the ground turkey for ground chicken if you would prefer that. I would also use ground sausage (chicken or pork) in this too like I do with my one pot sausage and broccoli pasta. The flavors of the sausage would marry really nicely with the sweet potato.
- You can use Japanese sweet potato, or honestly a regular Russet potato instead of a yam. I LOVE Japanese sweet potatoes, they're really great and fun for a different taste.
How to make ground turkey and sweet potato
Step 1: In a medium frying pan, add butter and begin to sauté the mirepoix (carrot, celery, shallot/onion) until fragrant and soft, approximately 5-7 minutes.
Step 2: Add in the ground turkey, season with paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Step 3: Once the ground turkey is mostly cooked, add in the potato or arrowroot starch and broth.
Step 4: Turn to a low flame and cook until thickened, approximately 5-10 minutes.
Mistakes I've Made (to avoid!)
- Don't leave out the starch!! I forgot to use the starch the first time I used it thinking "Oh it'll thicken." It did not the way I wanted it to. It should become very creamy, saucy, but not thin and runny.
- Make sure you TIME THE SWEET POTATOES so that they are not raw on the inside. Speaking from unfortunate experience here. You should be cooking the ground turkey halfway through the cooking time for the potatoes.
Ground Turkey Stuffed Sweet Potato FAQs
You can use any leftover ground turkey in other recipes such as my one pot cheeseburger pasta and replace the ground beef with the turkey, or add the turkey to baked stuffed shells for added protein.
All leftovers can be placed in an airtight container and placed directly in the fridge. This will be good for up to five days. This recipe is also freeze friendly, so if you want to make this dish for another day, simply prep the veggies and ground turkey, place into an airtight container and into the freezer it goes. When ready, you can defrost the ground turkey, bake the sweet potatoes and enjoy.
Yes! This is a great meal prep recipe as you can make the ground turkey ahead of time as well as bake the sweet potatoes, then store it all in the fridge for when you want to eat it.
If you would prefer to make this into a ground turkey sweet potato skillet like my skillet boneless chicken thighs with rice, you can peel and chop the sweet potato and add it directly into the ground turkey as it cooks, cover and let the sweet potatoes sweat and soften for 15 minutes.
No need to drain as we add the thickening powder to absorb the liquid and make the turkey mixture thick and creamy.
Looking for other ground turkey recipes like this? Try these!
Did you love this recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you're just as in love with this recipe as I am, please share a comment below and rate it! Better yet, share this recipe with family and friends!! Thank you!
Ground Turkey with Sweet Potatoes
Equipment
- 1 frying pan
- 1 cutting board
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 baking sheet
Ingredients
- 4 large sweet potatoes
- 1.25 lb ground turkey
- 2 celery stalks finely diced
- 2 carrot stalks finely diced
- 1 large shallot minced
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot or cornstarch
- ½ cup broth or stock
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375º and prepare the sweet potatoes by rinsing, pat drying, and poking a few holes in each of the potatoes. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes or until tender.
- In a medium frying pan, add the butter and begin to saute the mirepoix (carrot celery, onion) until fragrant and soft, approximately 5-7 minutes.
- Add in the ground turkey, season with paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
- Once the ground turkey is mostly cooked, add in the potato or arrowroot starch and broth.
- Turn to a low flame and cook until thickened, approximately 5-10 minutes.
- When the ground turkey mixture is thick, slice open the sweet potatoes and scoop two spoonfuls of the ground turkey into the sweet potato.
- Optional to top with fresh thyme, and serve.
Liz says
This was SO good. So healthy. So easy. What a perfect recipe!
Morgan Peaceman says
Thank you so much for making this recipe!!!
Sha Peace says
this recipe was not only easy to make but it was delicious!
Katelin says
What a great filling and comforting meal! I had ground chicken so I used that and then added a lil bit of thyme. So yummy! A new add to my meal rotation.
Morgan Peaceman says
Thank you for sharing Katelin!! I love the idea of ground chicken!
Maggie F says
Delicious. Easy. Perfect for a mom in a rush.
LJ says
These are outstanding! Deff not a recipe you want to sleep on. Took your advice and swapped the turkey with chicken. Will definitely make this again.
Addie says
What a wonderful turkey recipe. We're trying to stay a little healthier this year, and this recipe is exactly what we needed to start off the new year. The turkey was delicious, and I loved that it was wedged in a sweet potato.
David L. says
Not always a big ground turkey fan but I'm trying to watch my red meat so I made this recipe and it was very flavorful. I did not miss the ground beef at all. The leftover meat went over rice the next day. Great recipe.
Andrew G. says
I'm always looking to find ways to make ground turkey taste delicious, and this recipe is perfect. I also liked that there was no cheese added, even though I could have thanks to your suggestions. I had this for leftovers at work last week too, and it was very tasty.
Rosa V says
My husband and I try to keep as low carb as we can, so this recipe is exactly what we are looking for. The turkey was very flavorful. We opted to dice up the sweet potato instead of stuffing them, but the turkey on top of the sweet potato was great!
Lauren Scott says
Protein-filled carbs?! Sign me up! Can't wait to make this.