Chipotle Turkey Tacos

These chipotle turkey tacos satisfy your takeout craving without breaking your weekday calorie budget. I season lean ground turkey with chipotle peppers, spices, and a touch of honey. The chipotle turkey meat works well as a filling for tacos or as a picadillo to top roasted sweet potatoes.

Ingredients

• Olive oil or avocado oil spray
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (use 2 if you’re using ground turkey breast)
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 pound ground turkey (if you use ground turkey breast, you may need more olive oil)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground smoked paprika
• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons adobo sauce
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• ½ cup water
• 1–2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ½ tablespoon honey
• 6–8 corn tortillas
• 6–8 slices of cheese (your choice)

Optional toppings:

• Pickled red onion
• Sour cream or Greek yogurt
• Guacamole
• Salsa

Instructions

1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spray the foil with olive or avocado oil spray.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
3. Add the onion along with ¼ teaspoon salt.
4. Cook until the onions are translucent and softened, 2 minutes.
5. Add the ground turkey and break the meat down using a wooden spoon.
6. Increase the heat to medium high and cook until the turkey is no longer pink, 6-8 minutes.
7. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, and paprika to the turkey. Cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
8. Add the chopped chipotle pepper, the adobo sauce and tomato paste to the pan. Stir to coat the turkey with the chipotle sauce and cook out the tomato paste.
9. Add the water to the pan, bring to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to simmer until excess liquid has evaporated.
10. Add 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar along with the honey. Cook the meat a couple minutes longer to allow some of the honey to caramelize. Taste the meat analytically, adjusting salt and apple cider vinegar as necessary. I used a total of ½ teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar.
11. Lay out the desired number of tortillas onto the oil-sprayed aluminum foil.
12. Lay a slice of cheese over ⅔ of each tortilla.
13. Scoop 2 large spoonfuls of ground turkey over half of the tortilla and fold each tortilla over. If the tortilla doesn’t stay folded, place the baking sheet in the oven for a couple minutes to melt the cheese. Then remove the tacos and fold the tortilla over in half.
14. Roast the tacos until the cheese is completely melted and the tortilla is browned and crispy, 20-25 minutes.
15. Serve with toppings of your choice.

Recipes Sepideh Campos

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