A lighter and easier take on the popular Pinterest dish, this Firecracker Ground Turkey is the perfect combo of sweet and spicy. And it comes together in just 15 minutes!
Years ago, there was a recipe for Firecracker Chicken that was all the rage on Pinterest. I made it multiple times and absolutely loved it, but it definitely wasn’t light by any means. The original recipe calls for lots of sugar, along with breaded chicken that is sauteed in quite a bit of oil.
Don’t get me wrong–it’s a fantastic recipe. But it’s not something that I can make regularly and still stay on track.
Lightening it up
My first task was cutting back on the sugar to lower the points. If you’ve read my blog for a while, you know that I love to use unsweetened applesauce to sweeten things naturally, which is great since it’s zero points on WW. It’s the key ingredient in my Naturally Sweetened BBQ Sauce (0 SP).
I also needed to cut back on the oil. You can find plenty of recipes on my site with breaded chicken, and I did think about doing that here. But I had some ground turkey that I needed to use up, so I tried it out with that. I didn’t miss the breading at all!
Keeping It Simple
Another advantage to using ground meat (you could use ground chicken breast instead) is that it significantly cuts back on the prep and cook time.
The original recipe would usually take me around 45 minutes to make. This one clocks in at 15 minutes!
The key to making the ground turkey look kind of like chicken is to smoosh it together a bit with your hands before placing it in the skillet. I mean, it will still taste the same if you don’t take this step, but I like the way it looks when I do it.
Another advantage to going with ground meat? You don’t have to dirty up a bunch of equipment!
This is a one-pot, 15-minute meal that will be on rotation here quite a bit! It’s the perfect quick dinner or lunch prep.
VEGETABLE Add-Ins
Firecracker Ground Turkey makes A LOT of sauce, so I like to throw in some frozen veggies towards the end to bulk it up. As you can see here, broccoli works really well.
Any mixed veggie blend would be delicious as well. Toss in some fresh sliced zucchini. Or mushrooms. Get creative with it!
More recipes like Firecracker ground turkey
If you’re looking for more quick and delicious meals with Asian flavors, check out these other great recipes:
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! If you make it, be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook (@litecravings) and use the hashtag #litecravingsrecipes. I sometimes miss a tag here or there, but I always check in on the hashtag.
Firecracker Ground Turkey
Ingredients
- 1.25 lbs 99% fat free ground turkey
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1 small bunch green onions, chopped (about green onions)
- (optional) 2 cups frozen or fresh veggies of choice
FOR THE SAUCE
- 1/3 cup buffalo sauce, like Frank's Red Hot
- 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- (optional) add in 1/4-1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes if you want some extra spice!
Instructions
- Heat cooking spray in a large skillet over medium, high heat.
- Mix meat around with your hands, forming small pieces. Place those pieces in your skillet. Season meat with garlic powder, ginger powder, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and no longer pink in the middle, about 5-7 minutes.
- While meat is cooking, mix together sauce ingredients and chop green onions. Set aside.
- When meat is no longer pink, add in sauce and half of the green onions. Bring to a boil, then simmer until sauce has thickened and coated the meat, about 5 minutes. Add in a splash or two of water if the sauce gets too thick.
- In the last few minutes of cooking, add in your frozen veggies and cook until just defrosted, about 3-4 minutes. If using fresh veggies, you may need to add them in earlier in the process to ensure that they cook through.
- Garnish with remaining green onions.
Can you use ground chicken for this recipe in place of the ground turkey? Thanks!
Absolutely! Just make sure it is ground chicken breast so that the meat will still be 0 SP.
I’m making this for dinner tonight and a little confused about points. If I had 1/2 cup of just meat would it be 4 points ? How do you measure it if vegs are added as amount may vary? Thank you!
Hi there! If you don’t add veggies, it comes out to 2 SP for about 2/3 a cup of meat and sauce. That was what 1/4 of the recipe was for me anyway. Hope that helps!
I am not a great cook, don’t like to cook so anything that is flavorful and I can make a good supply of works for me. This is delicious, easy to make, and WW points are terrific! Going to try your chicken tiki marsala next! Thank you!
That means so much to me, Ruth! Thank you so much.
Do you pack the brown sugar or loosely measure it?
I gently pack it, if that makes sense. I don’t pack it in hard.
wonderful recipe So quick and healthy. My kind of meal Thanks Geri
You’re so welcome, Carla!
Made this tonight, it was great! My wife even liked it, will make again for sure!
That’s great to hear, Randy!
The whole family loved this! Thank you!
So good to hear, Amy!
Could I use Lakanto brown sugar substitute instead?
Sure! I haven’t tried it that way, but I bet it would still be great.
This was excellent! Delicious and very quick and easy! I used fresh sugar snap pea pods along with a frozen veggie mix of corn, carrots, and asparagus and it was a great combo!
Love hearing this! And that veggie mixture sounds so good!
Can this be meal prepped and reheated
Absolutely! I do it all the time.
I haven’t tried the recipe yet but I wonder if it’s slow cooker adaptable for increased flavor.
I bet it would be great in the slow cooker! I would probably double it, though.
As a newer cook this recipe took me a little bit longer than 15 min, but it was delicious! I used whatever veggies I had in the fridge. Everyone enjoyed it and it even tastes great reheated.
So good to hear! I love the leftovers, too.
This recipe really hit the spot! I loved the spiciness, it was so well balanced! Thanks, Geri!
I love the recipe but my sauce always comes out liquid-y, doesn’t thicken on the skillet. Any advice?
Hmm maybe a little more cornstarch?
I love this recipe but I’m going to make it for some people who dont like spicy at all. Could you suggest a different way to sauce it up that’s not spicy?
Hmmm, I don’t think a sauce substitute would work for this recipe. It really is all about that hot sauce! You could maybe use a teriyaki sauce, though it would be a completely different flavor.
this is literally my go to meal!! I love it so much!!!!