One-Pot Spiced Turkey and Rice
Updated October 14, 2024
- Total Time
- 55 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow or red onion, diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, finely grated, or 1 small red or green chile pepper, minced, or use both
1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt, plus more to taste
1 ½ teaspoons garam masala, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cayenne
1 pound ground turkey
1 cup long-grain white rice (basmati or jasmine)
1 cup frozen peas or corn
1 cup freshly chopped cilantro or parsley, more for serving (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Add olive oil to a 3- to 4-quart Dutch oven. Add onion and cook until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, garlic and ginger and chile, if using, and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in salt, garam masala, cinnamon, cayenne and turkey. Cook, breaking up the meat with a spatula or spoon, until it’s deeply browned, 6 to 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Stir in the rice and coat in mixture. Stir in 2½ cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to very low. Cook at a gentle simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is just tender, 23 to 27 minutes.
- Step 3
Remove the lid and stir in the peas and cilantro or parsley, if using. Cover and cook until the peas are heated through, another 1 to 3 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed. Top with more chopped herbs if you like, and sprinkle with more garam masala.
Private Notes
Comments
This one is a keeper! Easy prep and one pot are always a favorite. I agree with another commenter that increasing garlic, ginger, and spices would be good for flavor. We don’t do it this round but will the next time we make it. Only changes I made was using brown rice. I soaked the rice for about 5 hours and the cooking time in the recipe worked.
quick and pretty decent, good for a weeknight! i’d recommend using 1/4-1/2 cup less water and check the rice periodically. i used the full 2.5 cups and it turned out a bit mushy. i’d also recommend topping with green onions and a fried egg!
This was well received—excellent. Doubled all of the spices (not the salt) including the ginger. Used half of a large serrano pepper as well. Used peas which were fine. 24 minutes for the basamati rice I used.
Hit with the family! Used chicken bone broth for liquid and reduced to two cups per other reviewers suggested. My rice was done at 20 minutes, so check it as it goes. I like some acid, so I made a Greek yogurt, garlic lime sauce to drizzle over the bowl with some cucumbers. Good amount of protein and pantry staples in my house. Will go into rotation!
Very tasty. I took advice to increase spices and doubled them, except for cayenne. Instead of cayenne, i used a jalepeno from my garden. And I used short grain rice, a little less water than called for. Makes fabulous leftovers.
Made this last night using basmati rice (unwashed!) and spices as stated in recipe. I did reduce the water to two cups and this was definitely a good call. The recipe was tasty as written and I do not see the need to double the spices as some have suggested, but did find the cinnamon slightly too much and will reduce next time.

