Thai peanut sauce tossed with ground turkey and cabbage and ready in 20 minutes! These bowls are a lovely mix of sweet and savory peanut butter maple flavors, crunchy cabbage and lean ground turkey in an easy Asian inspired one-pan meal!
Love cozy cabbage dinners? Try my Cabbage Soup Diet Recipe, Purple Cabbage Soup, and Savory Cabbage Salad with Tahini Dressing next.
Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 10 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 20 minutes, one pan
- 🍽️ Serving: 6 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 328kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Sweet and savory peanut butter maple with garlic, ginger, and a hot sauce kick
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, even simpler than my healthy hamburger helper
Quick Answer
Whisk together the ginger powder, maple syrup, peanut butter, coconut aminos (or soy sauce), sesame oil, rice vinegar and hot sauce to make the Thai peanut sauce. Cook the ground turkey in sesame oil over medium-high heat, breaking it into small pieces, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, shredded carrots, cabbage, green onions and cilantro and cook about 5 minutes more. Pour the peanut sauce over everything, mix to combine, and garnish with fresh cilantro and purple cabbage.
Jump to:
- Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Substitutions and Variations
- How to Make Thai Peanut Ground Turkey Bowls
- Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Thai Peanut Ground Turkey FAQs
- Other Recommended Cozy Dinner Recipes
- Thai Peanut Sauce Ground Turkey Cabbage Bowls
There is comfort food. And there is HEALTHY comfort food. This my friends, is the healthiest comfort a Thai peanut bowl can come! It is warm and delicious made with nourishing gut-detoxing cabbage and muscle building lean protein!
There is something so yummy about the combination of warm peanut butter with ginger, garlic and soy sauce (or coconut aminos for gluten-free, a savory sauce made from coconut sap that is soy-free and gluten-free!). The blend is a delightful compliment to cabbage, carrot shreds and extra lean ground turkey!
Oh and this garlic... I hope you like garlic because this dish has lots of it!
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- The sauce is a balancing act. Maple syrup sweetness, coconut aminos saltiness, rice vinegar tang, and creamy peanut butter whisk into a dressing that clings to every shred of cabbage.
- Extra lean turkey keeps it light. Breaking it into tiny pieces while it cooks means every bite carries the peanut sauce.
- The cabbage stays crunchy. Just 5 minutes in the pan keeps the cabbage and carrots crisp-tender instead of soggy.
- Garlic goes in with the vegetables. Cooking it until fragrant with the cabbage releases its flavor without burning it.
- Coconut aminos make it gluten-free. This savory sauce made from coconut sap stands in for soy sauce, keeping the dish soy-free and gluten-free.
- The sauce works overtime. Use it as a dressing, marinade, or dipping sauce for anything Pad Thai or over seafood and chicken!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- 20 minutes, one pan. It takes as little as 20 minutes to make, and there is only one pan to wash.
- Lower carb, gluten-free, and incredibly healthy. Nourishing cabbage and muscle building lean protein in comfort-food form.
- That peanut sauce. If you do not have a peanut allergy, you should be making this Thai peanut sauce on repeat for all your Asian inspired dishes!
Key Ingredients
- Extra lean ground turkey - I like extra lean for a low fat meal packed with muscle building protein.
- Cabbage and carrots - shredded for crunch. Cabbage is nourishing and gut-detoxing, and purple cabbage makes a beautiful garnish.
- Cilantro, green onions, and lots of garlic - 5 cloves! I hope you like garlic because this dish has lots of it.
- Peanut butter - use organic peanut butter, drain the oil out first and mix well. Peanut butter contains oleic acid and essential minerals such as B vitamins, folate, magnesium, manganese and copper.
- Coconut aminos or soy sauce - coconut aminos keep it soy-free and gluten-free.
- Sesame oil, rice vinegar, maple syrup, ginger powder, and hot sauce - the rest of the Thai peanut sauce lineup.
As always, please see recipe card below for full ingredient list.
Substitutions and Variations
- Soy sauce or coconut aminos. Either works in the sauce. Choose coconut aminos for a soy-free, gluten-free bowl.
- Control the heat. Start with 2 teaspoons of hot sauce and add up to 3 teaspoons to your desired heat.
- Make it go further. Serve it with a side of brown or white rice, or turn it into an appetizer by scooping it with tortilla chips!
How to Make Thai Peanut Ground Turkey Bowls
Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
1Whisk the Thai peanut sauce. In a medium bowl, whisk together the ginger powder, maple syrup, peanut butter, coconut aminos (or soy sauce), 3 tablespoons sesame oil, rice vinegar and 2 teaspoons hot sauce. Add more hot sauce to desired heat.
2Cook the turkey. In a large saute pan heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up the large chunks into tiny pieces, until cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes.
3Add the vegetables. Add the garlic, shredded carrots, cabbage, green onions and cilantro to the cooked turkey. Cook for about 5 minutes, mixing consistently, until the garlic becomes fragrant.
4Sauce and serve. Pour the Thai peanut sauce on top of the cooked meat and vegetables and mix to combine. Garnish with fresh cilantro and purple cabbage right before serving.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Drain the peanut butter oil. Pour the oil out of the jar and mix well before measuring so the sauce comes out creamy, not greasy.
- Break the turkey up small. Tiny pieces soak up the peanut sauce and cook through in just 3 to 5 minutes.
- Make extra sauce. This Thai peanut sauce doubles as a dressing, marinade, or dipping sauce for anything Pad Thai or over seafood and chicken.
- Choose your peanut butter well. At best, try to use organic peanut butter made from Valencia peanuts because not all peanuts are created equal.
- Garnish at the last minute. Fresh cilantro and shredded purple cabbage go on right before serving for color and crunch.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Want to make the dish go further? Serve this easy Thai peanut ground turkey bowl with a side of brown or white rice, or alongside cozy Japanese ramen noodles for a full Asian inspired dinner night. Or turn it into an appetizer: scooping it with tortilla chips is just as good as eating it alone! Maybe just keep it low carb and eat it in a bowl with all the goodness of ground turkey, cabbage, and that powerful Thai peanut sauce.
Round out the table with a plate of stir fry vegetables, start with a cozy rainbow chard soup or creamy mushroom onion soup, or keep a fresh chopped kale salad on the side. On non-bowl nights we rotate in simple grilled chicken breast with the same peanut sauce drizzled over top.
And since peanut butter is just PLAIN DELICIOUS (who else can't tell me they haven't scooped it with a spoon straight from the jar?), finish dinner with my peanut butter oatmeal cookies, no-bake peanut butter oatmeal cups, or healthy gluten-free peanut butter cookies. For more cabbage love, my oven roasted Brussels sprouts are basically mini cabbages, both belonging to the mustard family!
Thai Peanut Ground Turkey FAQs
This Thai peanut sauce is made with creamy peanut butter, oriental sesame oil, maple syrup, coconut aminos (or soy sauce), rice vinegar, ginger powder, and hot sauce. Whisk it all together and you have a delicious oriental dressing!
Yes, when made with coconut aminos, a savory sauce made from coconut sap that is soy-free and gluten-free. If soy is not a concern, regular soy sauce works in the same quantity.
You control the heat. Start with 2 teaspoons of hot sauce in the sauce and add up to 3 teaspoons for a spicier bowl. The peanut butter and maple syrup keep the heat balanced.
Serve it with a side of brown or white rice to make it go further, scoop it with tortilla chips as an appetizer, or keep it low carb and eat it straight from the bowl.
Yes! This bowl is lower carb, gluten-free and incredibly healthy, made with lean ground turkey, shredded cabbage and carrots, and a peanut sauce sweetened with a small amount of maple syrup.
Make it on repeat for all your Asian inspired dishes! Use it as a dressing, marinade, or dipping sauce for anything Pad Thai, or over seafood and chicken.
Other Recommended Cozy Dinner Recipes
I hope you enjoy these Thai Peanut Sauce Ground Turkey Bowls! Tried them? I'd love to see your creations! Follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for a feature and more recipe inspiration! And don't forget to rate the recipe in the recipe area and leave a comment below.
Thai Peanut Sauce Ground Turkey Cabbage Bowls
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Ingredients
- 1 pound extra lean ground turkey meat
- 1 Tablespoon oriental sesame oil
- 2 cups carrots shredded
- 10 ounces cabbage shredded
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- 8 green onions chopped (about ¾ cup)
- 5 garlic cloves minced
Thai Peanut Sauce
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup organic peanut butter drain oil out first and mix well
- ½ cup coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 3 Tablespoons oriental sesame oil
- 4 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2-3 teaspoons hot sauce
- purple cabbage shredded for garnish
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the ginger powder, maple syrup, peanut butter, coconut aminos (or soy sauce), 3 Tablespoons sesame oil, rice vinegar and 2 teaspoons hot sauce (add more hot sauce to desired heat).
- In a large saute pan heat 1 Tablespoon sesame oil over medium-high heat. When oil shimmers, add ground turkey and cook, breaking up the large chunks into tiny pieces using a wooden spatula or spoon. Cook until the meat is cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, shredded carrots, cabbage, green onions and cilantro to the cooked turkey meat. Cook for about 5 minutes, mixing consistently until the garlic becomes fragrant.
- Pour the Thai peanut sauce on top of the cooked meat and vegetables and mix to combine. Garnish with fresh cilantro and purple cabbage right before serving.
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