Need an easy meal? Try my ground turkey and rice casserole!

Updated August 3, 2023

Who doesn’t love a meal that has everything all in one dish? Meat, carbs, vegetables, all together in one place. This recipe uses zucchini and spinach, so you are getting plenty of healthy greens.

E loves vegetables, they’re usually the first thing he eats. Weird right? I try not to complain, but he isn’t as fond of meat which can be a struggle. I guess we can’t win every food battle.

This ground turkey and rice casserole has really good flavour too. It uses some of my favourite spices, oregano and basil. And cheese! Cheese makes everything taste good. It also uses rice (precooked).

I must confess I can’t make rice. It’s probably one of the easiest things to make and I somehow always mess it up. We even use a rice cooker. I don’t know what it is, I’m usually pretty intuitive about cooking but rice just baffles me.

Anyways, besides the rice, this dish is easy and makes a good leftover. Again, a favourite meal of mine is leftovers. Leftovers means no defrosting meat, no messy stove and no washing extra dishes. It’s a mother’s dream.

You will need a big frying pan and a gentle hand to mix everything together before putting it in your baking dish. There are a lot of ingredients that can spill over the edge of a small pan. When C makes this we always end up with rice everywhere!

Update: I have also made this dish in a dutch oven, browning the meat, mixing everything together and then popping the pot straight into the oven. Makes it even easier with only one pan to wash afterwards!

Check out my favourite dutch oven to use here.

If you need an easy Sunday meal or make ahead weekday meal, this is the one! You can prepare this and freeze it before putting it in the oven too. Enjoy!

Ground Turkey and Rice Casserole

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Bake time: 25 minutes

Total: 50 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1lb ground turkey (ground beef also works well)
• 1/2 TBSP onion flakes
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 1/2 lbs zucchini, diced
• 1 cup spinach, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups prepared rice
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried basil
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup shredded cheese, divided (cheddar is best)
• 1/4 cup mild salsa (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat a large skillet (or dutch oven) to medium high heat. Add olive oil and ground turkey. Cook until meat begins to brown.
3. Add onion flakes and garlic. Cook 2 minutes until garlic is fragrant.
4. Add zucchini and spinach, cook 3-4 more minutes until zucchini begins to soften.
5. Add rice, tomatoes, salsa (if using) oregano, paprika, basil and 1/2 the cheese. Stir until fully combined.
6. If using a dutch oven, sprinkle remaining cheese on top and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes.
7. Pour into a 9×13 baking dish* Top with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

*Or cover tightly and freeze. Defrost before baking.

Try some of our other family favourite meals like Taco Pasta or Thai Peanut Stir Fry!

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