This spicy turkey stew is a fragrant dish with lots of spice and healthy vegetables too, but made without tomatoes. It's a hearty meal that works perfectly as a weeknight dinner, or equally for a more special occasion if you are hosting guests. A one-pan easy weeknight dinner that is dairy-free, gluten-free and low histamine.
If you're looking for more recipes without tomatoes, do check out my tomato free pasta sauce ideas!
If you like a hint of spice, but without curry, chilli or tomatoes, then you may like to see my spicy turkey lettuce wraps and rosemary chicken fillets which are made without those ingredients.
And for a light turkey recipe that feels super cosy, check out my turkey quinoa soup which is perfect for a weekend lunch.
This turkey vegetable stew is a spicy, almost curry (kind-of!) dish, made with turmeric, sweet paprika and cardamom. With all those delicious spices you won't find it lacking in flavour!
Jump to:
⭐ Why you'll love this recipe
- Full of flavour. It has lots of spice, and of course add a pinch more if you like even more heat!
- One pan meal. My mum and I debated whether you could make stew in a skillet, and figured that hey, it's a one pan turkey stew so why not make it in a skillet! Less clean up after too, which is always a win . . .
- Easy to make. A simple recipe, with all the steps set out below.
🦃 Ingredients
This may look like a long ingredients list, but most are pantry staples with the oil and spices, and you will find them on my shopping list page. You will need:
- Turkey: I use turkey fillets and then dice into smaller pieces. Use the quantity that suits your appetite that evening!
- Onion and garlic: the standard ingredients for the base of a stew. If you are a garlic fan, then increase the number of cloves.
- Sweet paprika: this is used in place of regular or smoked paprika as it is low histamine. I like the Szeged sweet paprika.
- Turmeric: just a touch, this spice has a lot of reputed health benefits too.
- Ginger: I use fresh ginger, but you could also use a pinch of ground ginger.
- Cardamom: just a tiny amount, this spice is quite pungent!
- Apple juice: for a hint of sweetness that goes so well with the turkey and vegetables.
- Vegetable broth: either homemade or store-bought. Check ingredients for store bought if you follow a low histamine diet.
- Sweet potato: to make the stew a bit more hearty.
- Bell pepper: I tend to use red bell peppers, but yellow and green are good too!
📖 Variations to the recipe
If you don't follow a low histamine diet, and want a little extra heat then you can use regular or smoked paprika instead of sweet paprika.
🔪 Step by step instructions
This homemade turkey vegetable stew is very simple to make, and only uses one pan. I think we all love less clean-up after cooking!
STEP 1
Fry the diced turkey in a little olive oil until is cooked through, and has some colour. You want an internal temperature of 165F / 75C at its thickest part if using a meat thermometer.
Once cooked through, remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.
STEP 2
Fry the onion and garlic in the same pan, adding a little more olive oil first if needed, until they are softened. Add the spices, and stir well to combine. Then add the sweet potato and bell pepper.
STEP 3
Pour the chicken or vegetable broth, as well as the apple juice, into the pan and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and cook on a light simmer for 10 minutes.
STEP 4
Add the turkey back to the pan and cook for a further 10 minutes. The sauce should reduce slightly. If it is too thick for your preference then add a little more broth, apple juice or water to the pan.
To serve, add to your plate or bowl with rice and season with salt and pepper (if using). Sprinkle on some fresh coriander or parsley to taste.
🍽 How to serve this turkey stew
Personally I always think that stew is best served with rice. As this is a spiced version, I like to use basmati rice, but any other rice would work well too (other than risotto rice!).
Now if you ask my sister however, she swears by serving stew with pasta . . . So if that's your thing then serve it up with some fusilli or penne!
A side of potatoes is another idea, and mash is always a favourite in my home. My creamy potato cauliflower mash is a good option!
🐓More tasty chicken and turkey recipes
As well as my spicy turkey lettuce wraps and grilled herb turkey kabobs, you may like to enjoy these tasty chicken recipes:
I’m always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes. And please do leave a star rating if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Spicy Turkey Stew (without tomatoes)
Ingredients
- 2 turkey fillets (size for preference for 2 people)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ white onion diced
- 1 garlic clove minced or finely diced
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1 cm fresh ginger diced
- 1 medium sweet potato cubed
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1.5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- ⅓ cup apple juice
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper optional
- small handful fresh coriander / cilantro diced
Instructions
- In a large skillet, fry the turkey in a little olive oil until thoroughly cooked through (internal temperature of 165F). Set aside the turkey on a plate.
- In the same pan, add a little more olive if required and fry the onion, garlic and spices until the onion is softened, about 5-6 minutes. Add the sweet potato and bell pepper, vegetable or chicken broth and apple juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a light simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the turkey to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. If the sauce seems too thick add a little more broth or apple juice.
- Serve the turkey stew with rice, season with salt and pepper (if using) and sprinkle on some coriander. Enjoy!
Notes
- Be sure to brown the turkey in a pan before adding the other ingredients.
- Cut the vegetables into bite-size pieces.
- If you prefer extra spice, then add more ginger or cardamom. Go easy on the cardamom as it is quite pungent.
- Please note that nutritional information is offered as a courtesy. It is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- ginger, which scores 1.
- garlic, which scores 1.
- chicken / vegetable broth will vary depending upon ingredients.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
Katharina Lundquist says
Thank you so much for all your lovely and creative recipes! I found out last year that I need a low histamine diet. Its pretty hard to find good recipes where I live (Sweden) so Im really glad for this!
Love,
Katharina
Claire says
You're welcome Katharine, and it's lovely to hear that you are enjoying the recipes 🙂
Christina says
Gonna try this tonight!
Claire says
Hope you enjoy!
Kathy says
Loved this recipe! Was so nice to have a colorful, flavorful meal as we are beginning this low histamine diet. Thank you for the life line of having a resource for delicious creative recipes! The only thing I changed was substituted chicken broth for apple juice and I also dusted turkey filets with cassava flour which seemed to brown nicely and maybe thickened the sauce a bit. We will be making this recipe regularly!
Claire says
So glad you liked it Kathy! I'll have to give it a try with the cassava flour step - sounds good!