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Obsessed with easy, hearty, and healthy dinners? Same here! Unlike traditional casseroles that are high in sodium and carbs, this sweet potato and Ground Turkey Casserole is packed with veggies. Even better, it's dairy-free, gluten-free, and absolutely delicious—perfect for feeding the whole family!
A family-friendly, healthier casserole that will easily become a staple in your weekly meal rotation. This hearty ground turkey casserole is both comforting and nutritious, offering a great balance of macronutrients to keep you fuller and more satisfied each time you enjoy it.
Made with a nutritious mix of lean ground turkey, creamy sweet potatoes, hearty eggplant, aromatic spices, and a dairy-free sauce, this lightened-up dish delivers a high-volume meal—perfect for meal prepping for the week ahead.
Looking for more high-protein sweet potato recipes? Try this healthy chorizo breakfast hash, turkey broccoli hash, or this easy hummus chicken recipe.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Incredible Flavor: This recipe is loaded with flavor! The seasonings work together perfectly, creating a WOW factor and one of the best ground turkey recipes.
- Easy To Make: Don't be intimidated by the steps! While there are a few, this recipe is simple to prepare, and you can easily prep everything ahead of time for a stress-free meal.
- Nutritionally Balanced: High in protein and low in calories, this healthy ground turkey vegetable casserole is both dairy-free and gluten-free, offering a satisfying and versatile meal that nourishes you and supports your wellness goals.
Ingredients
- Ground Turkey: The primary protein source, lean ground turkey provides a meaty texture. I sourced mine from ButcherBox. You can substitute with any ground meat, such as lean ground beef, ground chicken, or ground pork.
- Eggplant and Potato: Eggplant adds substance, texture, and a subtle earthy flavor to the dish. If you’re not a fan, zucchini, okra, or mushrooms are great replacements. The sweet potato offers natural sweetness that pairs well with the savory ingredients. You can swap the sweet potato for yam, red potatoes, or russet potatoes if needed.
- Star Spices: Tarragon provides a unique aromatic flavor, while cardamom adds warmth and complexity to the ground turkey potato casserole. These two spices are the stars of the dish, and while they can be omitted, the flavor won't be the same.
- Sauce Components: Dairy-free milk creates a creamy, cohesive texture without the dairy. You can use any milk if you prefer for the sauce. Almond flour and coconut flour work as thickening agents, with coconut flour being particularly effective due to its high fiber content. I recommend not substituting coconut flour, as no other flour achieves the same consistency. Use the leftover coconut flour to make a batch of coconut flour banana bread or coconut flour cookies.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations & Dietary Modifications
- Turkey Day Leftovers: Swap the ground turkey for cooked turkey breast to give your Thanksgiving leftovers a new spin in this hearty ground turkey casserole recipe!
- Make it Cheesy: If dairy isn't an issue, sprinkle some shredded mozzarella or cheddar on top for a gooey, cheesy finish that adds extra richness.
- Vegan-Friendly: Replace the ground turkey with a plant-based protein like tempeh, lentils, or tofu (be mindful of processed ingredients in some substitutes). Add extra veggies like spinach, zucchini, or bell peppers to make this dish even more filling and nutritious.
How To Make Ground Turkey Casserole
Ready to chop and prep this ground turkey sweet potato casserole in just 15 minutes? It comes together quickly and is ready to bake in just a few simple steps. Grab your spiralizer and apple slicer, grease your casserole dish, preheat the oven to 350°F, and gather your ingredients! Let's turn them into a wholesome, family-friendly meal!
Step 1: Brown the Turkey. Cook the ground turkey, garlic and onion over medium heat, making sure to break up the turkey as it browns.
Step 2: Create the Base. Mix in the tomato paste, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes, and cook with the turkey until slightly softened.
Step 3: Season the Eggplant. Toss the eggplant in a bowl with the slat, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cardamom, and tarragon, until well combined.
Step 4: Make the Sauce. Cook the olive oil with the almond and coconut flours. Reduce the sauce to medium high heat, whisking in the almond milk slowly. Stir for another 10 minutes until the sauce reduces to half. Then, remove from the heat.
Step 5: Layer. Place the eggplant on the bottom of the dish, top with the turkey mixture, and bake for 15 minutes. Then, pour the sauce over the casserole.
Step 6: Bake and Serve. Bake for another 40-45 minutes until browned on top. Garnish with tarragon, slice and enjoy! Serve with a salad, like this healthy broccoli and cauliflower salad, or your favorite simple vegetable.
Expert Tips
- Don't Overcook the Turkey: Sauté the ground turkey until it's just browned. It will continue cooking in the oven, and overcooking can result in a dry texture.
- Make it a One-Pot Meal: For an even simpler prep and cleanup process, use a cast-iron skillet for the entire cooking process, then transfer it directly to the oven.
- Storage and Reheating: Store the healthy ground turkey casserole in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For freezing, I recommend cooking the casserole first and then freezing it in an airtight container. This will help preserve the flavor and texture. To reheat, you can microwave it, bake it at 325°F until heated through, or sauté it in a skillet.
Serving Suggestions
On it's own, this easy ground turkey casserole is a nutritious and satisfying powerhouse, but if you're looking to add a little something extra, here are a few ideas to round out your meal:
- Need a little more carbs? Serve this dish over your favorite pasta like macaroni, spaghetti, or even use it as a filling for lasagna!
- For a Tex-Mex spin, spoon the ground turkey casserole into your favorite tortilla, like a gluten free tortilla wrap, a high fiber wrap, or my keto wrap recipe, and top with sour cream and avocado.
- Balance the richness with a fresh, crisp salad like this Orecipe for Olive Garden salad and dressing, a street corn salad, or this Lebanese tabbouleh salad.
Recipe FAQs
No, you don’t need to spiralize the potato for this recipe. You can also dice the sweet potato into 1/2-inch pieces or smaller for quicker cooking. Just note that it may take a little longer to cook in the skillet compared to spiralized potatoes.
Yes! You can prepare the casserole up to the point of baking. Simply follow all the steps up until baking, then cover and refrigerate it until you’re ready to bake. You can also make the sauce in advance and pour it over the uncooked casserole before storing.
If you plan to freeze it, I recommend assembling the casserole, then storing it in an airtight container. Keep in mind, eggplant can release moisture when frozen, so it’s best to cook it fresh for the best texture.
For best results, if preparing in advance, remove the casserole from the refrigerator before baking to bring it to room temperature while your oven preheats.
More Delicious Casserole Recipes
If you tried this Ground Turkey Casserole recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below.
Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Casserole (Paleo)
Ingredients
For the Casserole:
- 1 lb ground turkey 98-99% lean
- 1 sweet potato peeled and spiralized*
- 1 eggplant sliced into 1/2 inch pieces (or zucchini)*
- ¼ cup onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 15 oz diced tomatoes liquid drained
- 8 oz tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon oregano
- ⅛ teaspoon cardamom
- ½ teaspoon tarragon + more for topping
For the Sauce:
- 1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
- 1 tablespoon almond flour
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350 F and spray an 8x8 inch square casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat and add ground turkey, garlic and onion cooking until browned, breaking up the meat as it browns.
- Stir in the tomato paste and tomatoes to combine with the turkey. Add sweet potatoes cooking until slightly softened.
- Place chopped eggplant in a bowl with all seasonings and toss to combine.
- Layer the eggplant on the bottom of the casserole dish and top with turkey and sweet potato mixture. Place in the oven and bake 15 minutes.
- While baking, make the sauce. Add olive oil with almond and coconut flours to a small pot and bring to a boil. Boil the olive oil, almond and coconut flour.
- Stir 1 minute until it thickens then reduce to medium high heat slowly add almond milk to the pan whisking as you stir.
- Continue whisking another 10 minutes until the sauce reduces to half. Remove the casserole from the oven and top with the sauce from the pot.
- Place the casserole back in the oven to cook another 40-45 minutes until the top of the casserole has browned.
- Remove from the oven, top with more tarragon, slice into 6 pieces and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- 1/6 of the casserole equals one serving.
- Brown the turkey until it’s just cooked through to keep it juicy. Overcooking can result in a dry texture.
- For quick chopping use an apple slicer to dice the eggplant.
- For an even easier prep and cleanup process, use a cast-iron skillet for the entire cooking process, then transfer it directly to the oven to bake.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in the oven at 325°F, microwave, or sauté in a skillet to bring it back to life.
Nutrition
Hi Megan, All my family loved it.Thx for the option.
That was delicious. My compliments to the chef!
Hi Megan, Kids loved it. very good and easy recipe, i tried it last night
Thank you! Glad they liked it. We love this recipe!
Hi Megan, This was delicious!!! I’m making it again tomorrow.
YUM! Enjoy!
Made this for the second time now! Delish! Going in the recipe box...
Also, after burning the sauce the first time, now I just mix up those ingredients in a bowl and pour over the casserole without thickening it on the stove first. Tasted fine to me!
This recipe is amazing! My 7-year old was super hesitant, and I normally don't like eggplant, but it was devine! I used the water from a can of full fat coconut milk for the nondairy milk and added an extra sweet potato. I did have a question regarding Step 7 "While baking, make the sauce by bringing a small pot to a boil. Add olive oil with almond and coconut flours to the pot. Boil the olive oil, almond and coconut flour." I'm not sure exactly what I was supposed to bring to a boil in the small pot, so I brought the nondairy milk to a boil. Then, I read further and found out I was only supposed to boil the olive oil and flours, then slowly add the nondairy milk, but I had already added it at that point. After about ten minutes, it did thicken and reduce just as you said, so both ways do work. Thanks for a great recipe! I'll double it next time, for sure!