Turkey and Quinoa Marinara Skillet

Turkey and Quinoa Marinara Skillet

This easy one pan meal comes together in under 30 minutes and is packed with...

This easy one pan meal comes together in under 30 minutes and is packed with vegetables, protein, fat, and all the essential nutrients for your little ones and your family. 

Turkey and Quinoa Marinara Skillet

Turkey and Quinoa Marinara Skillet

What I’ve found through toddlerhood with my son and my friends is that meats can be tough at this age. It’s a consistency thing, mostly, and they tend to refuse most meats. Then, you’re left worrying, “Well, what about protein?” There are so many non-animal sources of protein (beans, lentils, quinoa for starters), but if you want to incorporate more meat into your child’s diet to make sure they’re getting enough iron, I have a new recipe that may be a winner in your house!

This easy, one pan meal has a 80-90% success rate with my son, so whenever I feel like he’s been low on protein, I whip this up and I’m always amazed by how much of it he can actually eat. I always say to my husband, “He eats an adult portion!” Seriously, though, almost! Luca will easily eat almost a full cup, especially now that we switched over to these Kiddobloom utensils that he’s loving.

Turkey and Quinoa Marinara Skillet

The key here is that the quinoa (a complete protein!) helps the turkey and peas bind together with the marinara sauce, so that the meal is easy to spoon. Typically, I use very finely chopped broccoli, but I was out of broccoli and tried peas here and Luca gobbled them right up (you can see the before and after here!)

You can switch up the ground meat here – chicken or beef will do fine as well, if those are meats you want to incorporate more of. As for the marinara sauce, I usually heat up frozen cubes of the sauce, because I always have a batch in the freezer. You can grab that recipe here or use your go-to marinara sauce.

The quinoa can be subbed in for brown rice, millet, or couscous. This is a truly customizable meal, based on your family’s preferences!

Turkey and Quinoa Marinara Skillet

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound ground turkey or preferred ground meat
  • pepper
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 2/3 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 cup marinara sauce

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is shimmering, add the turkey and season with pepper and oregano. Immediately start breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon. Cook until the meat is no longer pink on the inside, about 7 minutes. Stir in the peas and cook for 3 minutes or until no longer frozen. Fold in the quinoa and marinara sauce and stir well to combine. Serve.

Turkey and Quinoa Marinara Skillet

with love, Ali

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