Flavorful and SO fast, this Thai-style ground turkey with green beans is a super easy and delicious weeknight meal!
I love simple and tasty dinners, and this one has become a huge family favorite! P.S. It makes fantastic lunch leftovers, too.
This recipe is as simple as:
- browning ground turkey or ground chicken
- adding the sauce and green beans
- cooking for a few minutes until the beans are crisp-tender
- stirring in the basil
- serving and devouring
It is tasty served over rice with flatbread or naan bread, but it is extremely delish served sans carbs (never thought I’d say that, since I love me some carbs).
If serving with rice, start the rice cooking before embarking on this recipe. This meal comes together so quickly that you’ll easily be waiting on the rice to finish cooking if you don’t begin with the end in mind.
The Flavor is in the Sauce
The sauce for this Thai-style ground turkey and green beans is loaded with flavor. A little sweet, a little salty, a little spicy.
- oyster or hoisin sauce
- broth
- soy sauce
- chili garlic sauce
- tiny bit of brown sugar
The heat level can be largely moderated by how much chili garlic sauce you add. As written, it’s on the mild end of spicy, so add more or less chili garlic sauce depending on how spicy you like things.
Thai Basil vs Sweet Basil
If you can find Thai basil, it is exceptional here. (I usually grow it in my minimalist garden every year, just for recipes like this.) It adds distinctive earthy, anise flavored notes that compliment the simple ground meat and green beans perfectly.
Regular, sweet basil (like the kind used in pesto or Italian dishes) can be subbed for the Thai basil. The flavor will be a bit different – less pungent and more herbal and ctirusy – but still delicious.
Either way, fresh basil really does elevate this dish to something special.
The finished dish isn’t overly saucy, but wow, that sauce definitely packs a major flavor punch. I think more sauce could easily overpower the other ingredients (and make everything too salty), but you could try doubling the sauce if you want more of it.
We’ve been eating this meal on repeat. And I have been hoarding the leftovers, not even going to lie about that. BEST LUNCH.
I’m not sure why everyone insists they still need to eat dinner in the summer months when it’s a million degrees and dinnertime is weird and I want a break from all things related to cooking dinner (be aware, I still want to EAT dinner, but I doth not want to COOK dinner).
Thank goodness for meals like this. It checks all the boxes: fast, easy, healthful and delicious. And because it is on the table in 30 minutes and requires very little brain power, my will to live can continue on until the next dinnertime comes around.
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Thai-Style Ground Turkey and Green Beans {20-Minute Meal}
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup oyster or hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 ½ pounds lean ground turkey or ground chicken
- 12 to 16 ounces fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup fresh Thai or sweet basil, chopped or torn into small pieces
Prevent your screen from going dark
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In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the broth, oyster or hoisin sauce, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, and brown sugar. Set aside.
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In a 12-inch skillet set over medium heat, add the ground turkey with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes. Off the heat, drain excess grease.
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Return the skillet to medium heat. Whisk the sauce to recombine and add to the skillet. Give the meat and sauce a quick stir.
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Add the green beans. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the beans are crisp-tender (add additional time for more tender green beans).
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Add the basil. Give everything a good stir to bring the sauce up from the bottom of the pan. Serve immediately. It is delicious on its own or served over hot, cooked rice with flatbread or naan.
Sauce: the finished dish isn’t overly saucy, but the sauce definitely packs a major flavor punch. More sauce could easily over power the other ingredients (and make everything too salty), but you could try doubling the sauce if you want more of it.
Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 159kcal, Carbohydrates: 7g, Protein: 28g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 62mg, Sodium: 695mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g
Recipe Source: inspired by a recipe in the Food Network Magazine June/July 2024 (changed sauce recipe, reduced basil, increased ground turkey and green beans, etc)
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