Full of flavor, these turmeric turkey breast fillets are so delicious and packed with healthy ingredients. Enjoy with sides of your choice for an easy dinner all the family will love!
Have a peek at my air fryer chicken mini fillets for another quick dinner idea for a busy day!
Quick and easy poultry recipes are always perfect for a busy weeknight dinner, and this turmeric turkey breast is no exception! It's packed with flavor from fragrant spices, and can easily be grilled on the BBQ for a summer meal too.
Looking for more turkey recipes? Then check out my popular spicy turkey stew and my spicy turkey lettuce wraps!
For flavorful ideas perfect for BBQ season, my grilled herb turkey kabobs and rosemary chicken fillets are both so juicy and such crowd-pleasers!
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
Packed with flavor. These turkey breast fillets are marinated in the best spice combination of turmeric, ginger and sweet paprika, giving a gentle hum of heat.
Versatile. Serve these spiced turkey fillets with salads in the summer, hot sides in the colder months, or make a tasty turkey sandwich!
Easy skillet recipe. No need to turn the oven on, and this recipe has all simple steps!
🦃 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Turkey - I use mini fillets for this recipe, but you can also use turkey breast and cut into smaller pieces.
- Ginger - I like to use fresh ginger, but you can swap out for ground ginger if you don't have any to hand.
- Garlic - as with the ginger, using fresh is ideal, but garlic powder is a swap if required.
- Sweet paprika - this is the less hot variety of paprika and not smoked. It can usually be found in larger stores or if you have trouble, it's available online.
📖 Swaps and substitutions
Dice turkey breast into fillets. If mini fillets aren't available where you are, you can easily dice turkey breast into 2-3 fillets. Cut lengthways for longer fillet pieces.
Swap sweet paprika for smoked paprika. If it works for you (likely not my low histamine readers) then using smoked paprika would be so flavourful. Reduce the quantity a little as it is quite pungent!
Add extra spice. For more ginger flavor, you can rub the turkey fillets in a small amount of ginger powder and turmeric before adding to the marinade.
⏲️ Equipment needed
Tupperware container or zip-lock bag - to marinate the turkey in.
Skillet - to fry the turkey breasts.
Meat thermometer - to check the internal temperature of the turkey.
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making this spiced turkey is so easy to do, and requires very little 'hands on' time. Just a bit of marinating time and a quick fry!
Step 1
Finely dice (or mince) the garlic and ginger (image 1).
Step 2
Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl or tupperware container, the garlic, ginger, turmeric, sweet paprika, apple juice, olive oil, salt and black pepper. Stir well to mix together (image 2).
Step 3
Add the turkey breast fillets to your bowl or container and use a spoon (or your hands!) to coat them in the marinade (image 3). Cover and set aside in the fridge for at least an hour (low histamine readers see below).
Step 4
Drizzle a little olive oil in your skillet, then at a medium heat fry the turkey fillets for 4-5 minutes each side (cook time will vary depending upon the size of the fillets) (image 4). Use tongs to turn, and ensure that the turkey is white throughout and has an internal temperature of 165F at its deepest part.
Then serve with sides of your choice and enjoy!
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Cut fillets to an even size. If you are cutting turkey breast into fillets, make them a roughly even size so they have a similar cook time.
- Adjust spice to preference. This isn't a 'hot' marinade as we aren't using curry powder or chilli, so if you like extra heat then I suggest a little more ginger and garlic.
- Ensure the turkey is thoroughly cooked. Using a meat thermometer is the easiest way to know if the turkey is cooked through. It should also be white meat throughout.
📋 Frequently asked questions
Turkey fillets can be grilled on the BBQ. Oil the grate first, then use tongs to cook on the BBQ. They will likely take a little longer to cook on a BBQ rather than in a skillet.
Yes, adjust the amount of spice to taste preference.
Marinate turkey for at least an hour, or up to 12 hours.
🥗 What to serve with turkey fillets
- These turkey fillets are delicious served with hot sides such as my creamy potato cauliflower mash and honey roasted vegetables.
- For a summer option, salads such as my roasted vegetable pasta salad and kale apple slaw are lovely for outdoor BBQs and picnics.
🍽 More flavorful turkey recipes
Turkey can be enjoyed in so many different ways, from a cosy bowl of turkey quinoa soup in the winter to turkey pasta salad for a summer picnic. Some recent recipes to try out:
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
Turmeric Turkey Breast Fillets
Equipment
- Tupperware or zip-lock bag
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 8 mini turkey breast fillets or equivalent turkey breasts, cut into fillets
For the turmeric marinade
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon ginger diced, adjust amount to preference
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- 2 tablespoon apple juice
- 1 garlic clove minced or finely diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil + more for frying the turkey
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper optional
Instructions
- If you are using turkey breast, slice into smaller fillet-sized pieces.
- Finely dice (or mince) the ginger and garlic.
- Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Add the turkey fillets and stir so the marinade is coating them. Cover and place in the fridge for at least an hour (low histamine readers see the note below).
- Heat olive oil in a skillet and use tongs to add the turkey breast fillets. You may need to do in batches. Alternatively, they can be cooked on your BBQ. Fry the fillets for 4-5 minutes each side, or until they are browned, and have come to an internal temperature of 165F at their deepest point.
Notes
- If using turkey breast, cut into roughly similar sized fillets for a more even cook time.
- Adjust the amount of spice to taste preference. For extra heat you can add a touch of ginger powder also.
- Marinate for at least an hour, or longer if you have the time.
- My low histamine readers may wish to skip the marinating time, and cook straight away.
- To check they are thoroughly cooked, look for an internal temperature of 165F at the deepest part of the turkey fillets using a meat thermometer.
- Please note that nutritional information is offered as a courtesy. It is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- garlic, which scores 1. There is a note, 'In small amounts, usually well tolerated after cooking'.
- ginger, which scores 1. There is a note 'small amounts are well tolerated'.
- black pepper, which scores 2. There is a note 'small amounts are tolerated'.
jgf says
Great
Claire says
Glad you enjoyed it!
Steve says
Have you tried this in an air fryer?
Claire says
I haven't, no. But I would think it would work well! Let me know how it works out if you give it a try 🙂
Terry says
What can I replace the apple juice with?
Claire says
I haven't tried it without the apple juice, but it should be fine with just water (although will not have the slightly sweet flavor it gives).
Terry says
Thanks for that Claire. Made this evening in air fryer - very tasty, will do again.
Claire says
So glad you liked it!
Leanne Borg says
This recipe is legit amazing!
I blended the mixture so that the garlic and ginger form a paste. It helped to marinate the turkey breast fillets and get an even coating of all the ingredients.
I used the airfryer instead of frying them in a pan to avoid the extra oil.
We had the turkey fillets as turkey burgers- in burger buns with lettuce, tomatoes and onions.
Truly exceptional. 100% amazing 🤩
Claire says
Hi Leanne! So glad you liked the recipe so much! Great idea to have them as turkey burgers, love it!