Goatland Eatery
Pesto Ground Turkey & White Rice
Lean ground turkey tossed with homemade cilantro-basil pesto and a little chicken broth, served over white rice for a quick, easy weeknight meal.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 25 min
- Servings
- 3 servings
- Calories
- ~545 per serving
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground turkey
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
- ½ cup homemade cilantro-basil pesto added gradually to taste
- ¼ cup chicken broth plus a little more if needed
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- to taste Grated Parmesan for serving
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- 1 lb lean ground turkey Shop on Amazon (affiliate link)
- 1 cup uncooked white rice Shopping option: Mahatma extra-long-grain white rice, 2 lb bag View product on Amazon (affiliate link) Search alternatives (affiliate link)
- ½ cup homemade cilantro-basil pesto added gradually to taste Shop on Amazon (affiliate link)
- ¼ cup chicken broth plus a little more if needed Shop on Amazon (affiliate link)
- 2 cloves garlic minced Shop on Amazon (affiliate link)
- ½ tsp salt Shopping option: Morton iodized table salt, single canister View product on Amazon (affiliate link) Search alternatives (affiliate link)
- ¼ tsp black pepper Shopping option: Amazon Grocery ground black pepper, 3 oz View product on Amazon (affiliate link) Search alternatives (affiliate link)
- to taste Grated Parmesan for serving Shop on Amazon (affiliate link)
Instructions
- Start the rice Cook 1 cup uncooked white rice in a rice cooker according to the rice and rice-cooker directions. Start the rice first and let the rice cooker handle it while the rest of dinner is prepared.
- Cook the turkey Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 lb lean ground turkey and cook, breaking it apart as it browns. When the turkey is nearly finished, add 2 minced garlic cloves, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper. Cook for approximately another minute.
- Add the pesto Once the turkey is cooked, reduce or remove the heat. Start by stirring in approximately ⅓ cup homemade cilantro-basil pesto. Taste it, then add additional pesto as desired, up to approximately ½ cup. The pesto is concentrated, so do not automatically overwhelm the turkey with it.
- Add moisture Stir in approximately ¼ cup chicken broth. This is important. When this meal was originally made with only ground turkey, pesto and rice, it was too dry. The chicken broth loosens the thick pesto and gives the turkey enough moisture to work with the rice. If it still seems dry, add additional chicken broth 1–2 tablespoons at a time until the turkey mixture is moist without becoming soupy. Do not solve the dryness by dumping additional olive oil into the dish.
- Serve Divide the cooked white rice between 3 bowls. Spoon the pesto ground turkey over the rice, including some of the liquid from the skillet. Top with grated Parmesan to taste if desired.
Nutrition
Estimated per ⅓ of the turkey mixture plus approximately 1 cup cooked white rice.
- Calories
- ~545
- Total Fat
- ~23 g
- Saturated Fat
- ~4.5 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Cholesterol
- ~95 mg
- Sodium
- ~560 mg
- Total Carbohydrates
- ~48 g
- Dietary Fiber
- ~2 g
- Total Sugars
- ~1 g
- Added Sugars
- 0 g
- Protein
- ~35 g
Nutrition Assumptions
- Serving size: ⅓ of the pesto ground turkey mixture plus approximately 1 cup cooked white rice.
- One cup uncooked white rice is estimated to yield approximately 3 cups cooked rice, or about 1 cup cooked rice per serving.
- Ground turkey estimate uses a representative lean ground turkey profile; exact calories and fat vary by lean percentage and brand.
- Homemade cilantro-basil pesto uses the established Eatery pesto assumptions from the grilled chicken pesto protein pasta recipe. Nutrition assumes up to ½ cup pesto is used in the full turkey mixture.
- Chicken broth estimate uses a representative regular chicken broth. Sodium can vary significantly by brand, and any extra broth added to loosen the turkey is not included.
- Grated Parmesan added at serving is not included because the amount is to taste.
A Note From the Kitchen
I made this as part of getting back to simple, healthier weeknight meals. The rice goes in the rice cooker, so most of the actual work is just browning the turkey.
The first version was too dry. The homemade pesto is thick, and pairing ground turkey with white rice made that especially noticeable. Adding a little chicken broth fixed it without needing more oil or drowning the turkey in pesto. That correction is now part of the actual recipe.