Oh….for the love of Chorizo. Don’t get me started. I seriously love it, but it’s never loved me. Made with pork, it doesn’t always sit well in my stomach, and it’s pretty high in fat. But I was craving its incredible flavor the other day and decided to make a lightened-up version with ground turkey instead. Guess what? It was so easy and very tasty and so versatile! This Turkey Chorizo can be used in so many things! For example, add to scrambled egg tacos, or to burritos or wraps, or add to chili or pizza, nachos, to this Enchilada Pie Recipe I posted a while back. This morning I added it to our Breakfast Bowls with Black beans and Sweet potatoes, which was delicious! So many options here.
Simply take ground turkey and add Mexican spices to it. A little vinegar gives it acidity which pumps up the volume even more.
Once it’s mixed, store it in the fridge, freeze it or brown it up and use it throughout the week.
An area in Mexico, called Toluca, is known as the chorizo capital, and specializes in “green” chorizo, which is made with tomatillo, cilantro, chili peppers, garlic, or a combination of these. The green chorizo recipe is native to Toluca, which is on my list next.
But most Mexican chorizo is a deep reddish color, seasoned with chili powder and vinegar. Chorizo is usually made from cuts of pork, and ground and stuffed in intestinal casings. Before using, the casing is usually cut open and the sausage is fried in a pan and mashed with a fork until it resembles finely minced ground beef.
In Mexico, restaurants and food stands make tacos, queso fundido, burritos, and tortas with cooked chorizo. Chorizo con Huevos (Chorizo with Eggs) is a popular and yummy breakfast dish made by mixing fried chorizo with scrambled eggs – then this is often used in breakfast burritos, tacos, and taquitos. So many options here, folks.
This morning I made these Sweet potato Black bean Breakfast bowls with the Turkey Chorizo…..so good! Tonight its easy Nachos.
See what you can come up with….and let us know!
PrintEasy Turkey Chorizo
A simple delicious recipe for Turkey Chorizo, a lighted up version which can be made in 15 minutes. Easy, fast, tasty!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 4
- Category: main
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
- 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
- ¼-½ teaspoon chipotle powder (or cayenne) or sub 1 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (white, red, or apple cider)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Mix well using your hands.
- Store in the fridge, or freeze until ready to use.
- To cook, simply brown it in a skillet with a little oil, breaking it up into smaller pieces, like you would ground beef.
- (Alternately, you could shape into breakfast patties,or burgers, and sear, finishing in the oven if necessary)
- Use in tacos, burritos, enchiladas, pizza, quesadillas, nachos, etc.
Hi Sylvie, the recipe sounds great but you have forgotten to include the chorizo in the list of ingredients for the Easy Turkey Chorizo 🙂
Hi Keri, When you combine the ingredients, it turns into chorizo. 🙂
That makes more sense now – I am from the UK, where we use Spanish chorizo a lot as an ingredient. Do you have that too? It’s a cured and seasoned sausage that is chopped up and added to paella etc. or sliced and fried and served on its own as an appetizer. I have never heard of a meal called chorizo before! Thanks for explaining – every day is a school day!
Oh ok Keri I understand now! Yes, this is a recipe for Mexican Style chorizo (which you can buy here raw, and its usually made with pork). Spanish style, the kind you are talking about is totally different…. I understand the confusion!!! LOL!
Can’t wait to try this. I have a chili recipe that calls for chorizo and I usually use Diestal Turkey Chorizo but can’t find it so i’m excited to use this instead! Homemade is always better anyway!
Let me know what you think Julie!
Thanks for your Information a very much Healthier version without all of the grease.Thanks again
Thanks!!
★★★★★
Hi Sylvie,
I also adore chorizo! I detect the taste of cinnamon in three chorizo we buy at a Mexican market. Does this flavor come from another seasoning, like cumin? 🙂
Delicious! My fiancé loved it. He is Mexican and knows good chorizo!