Thai Slow Cooker Ground Turkey

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This Thai slow cooker ground turkey recipe is an easy & nutritious dinner that only takes 10 minutes to prepare. It can be served in many ways including over rice or noodles.

Overhead view of Thai Slow-Cooker Ground Turkey in a bowl over rice

Asian cuisine is one of favorites. Probably because common Asian ingredients like hoisin sauce, coconut milk, garlic, ginger etc. are rich in flavor and nutritious.

This Thai slow cooker ground turkey combines the flavors I love with a cooking method that makes executing this dish very easy (crock pot).

This ground turkey recipe is an easy dinner that only takes 10 minutes to prepare. It can be served in many ways including over rice or noodles.

Overhead view of Thai Slow-Cooker Ground Turkey in the crockpot with a spoon stirring it

Thai Slow-Cooker Ground Turkey: Ingredients & Substitutions 

overhead photo of the labeled ingredients in this Thai Slow Cooker Ground Turkey recipe

Here are a few potential substituions for this healthy slow cooker turkey recipe!

  • Ground turkey. Ground chicken or beef work well in this recipe.
  • Soy sauce. For a paleo version use coconut aminos.
  • Brown sugar. honey or coconut sugar are great substitutes for browns sugar.
  • Powdered ginger. use fresh minced ginger instead of powdered, if desired.
  • Bell Peppers & Edamame. use your favorite vegetables. Sometimes I even put sweet potatoes in the dish.
  • Cornstarch. Arrowroot or tapioca starch work well.
Overhead view of Thai Slow-Cooker Ground Turkey in a bowl over rice

How to Make Slow-Cooker Ground Turkey

This Thai Slow-Cooker Ground Turkey is crazy easy to make, but we’ll walk through the process step-by step and don’t forget to watch the video.

Make the Sauce

The first step in this recipe is making the sauce. Whisk the sauce ingredients together in the container of your slow cooker. No need to dirty an extra bowl by whisking it in a separate dish.

A collage of six overhead photos showing how the sauce for this Thai Slow-Cooker Ground Turkey is made inside of the slow cooker

Brown the Ground Turkey

Next, brown the ground turkey & onion together in some olive oil before adding it to the slow cooker is a key step in making this healthy ground turkey recipe.  Browning adds both texture and flavor to this dish.

front view of turkey and onions browning in a cast iron skillet in the making of this Thai Slow-Cooker Ground Turkey recipe

Cook in the Slow Cooker

After the turkey/onion mixture is browned, put it into the slow cooker.

Next, add the veggies and stir to combine.

Overhead view of Thai Slow-Cooker Ground Turkey after veggies and turkey have been added to the sauce in the crockpot before cooking

Since the turkey in this recipe has already been cooked, this dish only needs to be cooked until the veggies are done.  I recommend cooking it on high for at least 2 hours, or on low for at least 4 to give the flavors time to blend.

I love this recipe because It doesn’t need to cook all day to still be delicious.

Overhead view of a spoon taking a scoop of Thai Slow-Cooker Ground Turkey recipe out of the crockpot

Thicken the Sauce

If necessary, use cornstarch (or tapioca starch) and water to thicken the sauce in the crockpot. This step isn’t always necessary. It mostly depends on the water content of the vegetables you use.

Cook for 30-60 minutes on high or until sauce is thick. Add the cornstarch and water to the mixture in the crockpot, then leave the top slightly ajar and cook for 30-60 minutes, until thickened.

front up close view of Thai Slow-Cooker Ground Turkey in a bowl served over white rice

Serve

Here are a few delicious ways to serve this Thai Slow-Cooker Ground Turkey (other than all by itself, of course!

  • always serve it with crushed peanuts or cashews sprinkled on top.
  • Serve it over Noodles or vegetable noddles of your choice (zucchini, sweet potato, etc).
  • Enjoy it with rice of any kind (white, brown, fried rice, cauliflower, etc)
  • Over a salad
  • Stuffed inside a baked sweet potato
a hand taking a scoop of Thai Slow Cooker Ground Turkey out of a bowl

Store/Freeze

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. 

front view of a hand sprinkling crushed peanuts into a bowl of Thai Slow-Cooker Ground Turkey over rice

Slow Cooker Ground Turkey Recipe FAQs

Can you put raw (or frozen) ground turkey into a crockpot?ย 

Yes you can! If you’d prefer to skip the browning step you can add raw or frozen ground turkey to the crockpot. However, I’d recommend modifying the method:
Cook the ground turkey alone in the sauce for at least 3-5 hours (on low or high), until it is cooked.
You may need to skim fat off the top of the sauce or break up the meat during this process so it doesn’t end up in clumps.
Add the vegetables after the meat is cooked and continue on with the recipe.

Do you have to brown ground turkey before putting it in the crockpot?ย 

You don’t have to, however, browning the ground turkey gives thisย recipe the best texture and flavor, and I do not recommend skipping this step.

How can I make thisย recipe gluten-free?

Most of the ingredients in thisย recipe are naturally gluten-free! However here are a couple that you need to be mindful of and choose gluten-free varieties:
Gluten-free hoisin sauce
Gluten-free Soy sauce

front view of slow cooker ground turkey in a bowl with a spoon taking a scoop

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Thai Slow Cooker Ground Turkey

Laura
This Thai slow cooker ground turkey recipe is an easy & nutritious dinner that only takes 10 minutes to prepare. It can be served in many ways including over rice or noodles.
4.96 from 49 votes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, asian
Servings 8 Servings
Calories 198.5
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time3 hours
Total Time3 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients 
 

Sauce

Turkey & Vegetables

  • 20 ounces ground turkey
  • 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon sesame oil
  • ยฝ cup finely diced onion
  • 1 bell pepper any color, diced
  • ยฝ cup edamame shelled
  • 1 Tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder
  • 1 Tablespoon water

Instructions 

  • Add coconut milk, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, brown sugar, chili sauce, sesame oil and powdered ginger to the container of a slow cooker. Whisk together until smooth. Set slow cooker off to the side.
  • In a large skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon sesame oil. Add ground turkey, minced garlic and onion and cook until turkey is browned (about 10 minutes), stirring often.
  • Add the cooked turkey mixture to the crock pot and stir until it's evenly distributed in the sauce.ย 
  • Add diced bell peppers (or any color of your choosing) and edamame to the crockpot and stir.
  • Cook on high for 2 hours, or low for 4 hours, until the veggies are cooked to your liking.ย 
  • To thicken the sauce: Mix together cornstarch and water, add to crock pot and cook on high for 30-60 minutes, with the lid slightly ajar. 
  • Once veggies are cooked to your liking and sauce is thick, serve over rice or noodles.

Video

Notes

Ingredient Substitutions
  • Ground turkey. Ground chicken or beef work well in this recipe.
  • Soy sauce.ย For a paleo version use coconut aminos.
  • Brown sugar.ย honey or coconut sugar are great substitutes for browns sugar.
  • Powdered ginger.ย use fresh minced ginger instead of powdered, if desired.
  • Bell Peppers & Edamame.ย use your favorite vegetables. Sometimes I even put sweet potatoes in the dish.
  • Cornstarch.ย arrowroot or tapioca starch are good substitutes.ย 
Store/Freeze
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5-7 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.ย 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 198.5kcal | Carbohydrates: 8.5g | Protein: 16.3g | Fat: 11.2g | Saturated Fat: 4.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1.5g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 972mg | Potassium: 88mg | Fiber: 0.7g | Sugar: 4.5g | Vitamin A: 110IU | Vitamin C: 18.2mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1.8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Have a question? Leave a comment below!

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4.96 from 49 votes (31 ratings without comment)

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53 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I felt like I was in a dinner rut and just did not know what to cook, until I realized that I had pretty much all the ingredients to make this! So I tried it out for friends that came over for dinner and everyone enjoyed it. We had it with rice. The edamame was such a wonderful component, I wouldn’t leave it out! Very tasty and nutritious. I highly recommend it.

    1. Yay!!! I’m so glad you liked this! I need to make it more because I really love it and it’s super easy! I think edamame makes everything better! ๐Ÿ˜‰

  2. I call it a crock pot and I love cooking anything I can in it ๐Ÿ™‚ This recipe looks fabulous!! Pinned ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. Your recipe for Slow Cooker Thai Coconut Ground Turkey would be delicious! Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great weekend!
    Miz Helen

  4. This looks AMAZING! I am always looking for new ways to use ground turkey so this looks perfect!

    1. I love ground turkey too! I like creating recipes using it instead of subbing it for ground beef (does that make sense)? I tried turkey tacos once, and while my hubby actually liked them…my tastebuds couldn’t get over the fact that it wasn’t ground beef. LOL

  5. 5 stars
    I have to try this, the combination of coconut milk and hoisin sauce sounds devine. Finding turkey in South Africa might be a problem though, lol!!

    1. Hey Michelle! You could absolutely sub ground chicken or ground beef if you can’t find ground turkey! ๐Ÿ™‚ Hoisin sauce is on my list of top 5 favorite condiments!!! ๐Ÿ™‚ And you can never go wrong with coconut milk!

  6. This looks delicious! I can hardly wait to try it. (Oh, and I call it a crock pot…not that slow cooker is wrong! ๐Ÿ™‚ )

    1. Yay! Hopefully it complies with your new lifestyle! ๐Ÿ˜‰ I never can figure out what to call it! I think it’s like tissues…they are tissues but since Kleenex was such a popular brand they became kleenexes. I think slow cooker might be the original and crock pot the brand?! Who knows! LOL!