Slow Cooker Turkey Taco Bowls

For these Turkey Taco Bowls, ground turkey cooks in the slow cooker with red and green bell peppers and a little brown rice. You can make the taco bowls with ground beef if you prefer, and see ideas below to make a version that’s lower in carbs.

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Turkey Taco Bowls made in the slow cooker are something I worked on for a few weeks with both Jake and Kara before we had a version we thought was ready for prime time. In this keeper version, ground turkey, chopped red bell pepper, chopped green bell pepper, and chopped onion are cooked quickly on the stove before they go into the slow cooker. Then you add chicken stock, a little bit of uncooked brown rice, and spices, and let the slow cooker work its magic for about 2 hours while you do something else.

We served the Turkey Taco Bowls with avocado-tomato salsa with a generous amount of lime juice, and we loved this combination of flavors. And if you do make this I highly recommend the salsa, but this would also be tasty with just sour cream and grated cheese if that’s more of a winner at your house.

And this taco bowl recipe only adds one cup of brown rice to make four servings, but see tips below if you’d like to make a version of taco bowls that are even lower in carbs. I hope you try this recipe soon!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• ground turkey
• red bell pepper
• green bell pepper
• onion
• brown rice, I used Ben’s Original Whole Grain Brown Rice (affiliate link)
• canned chicken broth (affiliate link), or use homemade chicken stock if you have some
• Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning, or use your favorite taco seasoning blend)
• Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), or use another all-purpose seasoning blend
• Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) for serving, optional
• avocado
• lime juice, I used my fresh-frozen lime juice
• cherry tomatoes
• green onions
• ground Cumin (affiliate link)
• salt to taste

How many carbs are in the Turkey Taco Bowls?

These delicious taco bowls made in the slow cooker have 21 net carbs and 34 grams of protein.

How to make Turkey Taco Bowls that are lower in carbs:

This recipe only uses one cup of whole grain brown rice for four servings, but here are some options for even lower carbs.

• You could use half as much rice and double the amount of turkey, for a turkey taco bowl with just a hint of rice.
• You could use one more red bell pepper and half the amount of rice if you’re a fan of red bell peppers.
• I wouldn’t cook cauliflower rice in the slow cooker, but if you wanted to make this on the stove you could simmer the browned turkey, onion, peppers, spices and broth and then stir in cauliflower rice and cook briefly before you serve it. (Use less chicken broth if you’re not cooking the rice in the slow cooker.)
• Or check out these taco bowls made with Ground Beef and Cauliflower Rice for a recipe with similar flavors that’s lower in carbs.

What other toppings can you use for the taco bowls?

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making avocado salsa (or want to cut down the carbs) this slow cooker taco bowl meal would be delicious simply topped with grated cheese and sour cream, and maybe a little purchased salsa.

How to make Slow Cooker Turkey Taco Bowls:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Cook the ground turkey until the water is evaporated and the meat is browned; then add to the slow cooker.
2. Saute the red pepper, green pepper, and onion briefly in the same pan, then add it to the slow cooker.
3. Add the brown rice, chicken stock, Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning (or taco seasoning of your choice and Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) or another all-purpose seasoning blend.
4. Cook on high for about 2 hours. (If your slow cooker cooks hot, I would start to check after 90 minutes.)
5. When the rice is nearly done chop avocado, cherry tomatoes, and green onions and toss with the lime juice and spices to make the salsa.
6. Put a few scoops of the rice mixture in each serving bowl and top with a couple of spoonfuls of salsa.
7. And most definitely I would serve this with Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link)!
8. You could top the Slow Cooker Turkey Taco Bowls with sour cream, grated cheese, or bottled salsa as well if desired.

Want more ideas for Bowl meals?

Check out Amazing Low-Carb Bowl Meals for lots more tasty ideas for meals served in a bowl!

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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Yield: 4 servings

Slow Cooker Turkey Taco Bowls

Prep Time 35 minutes

Cook Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes

Slow Cooker Turkey Taco Bowls are so tasty, and you can double the amount of turkey if you prefer a lower-carb version.

Ingredients

Taco Bowl Ingredients

• 4 tsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped in half inch dice
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped in half inch dice
• 1 small onion, chopped in 1/4 inch dice
• 1 cup brown rice (see notes)
• 2 cups Chicken broth (see notes)
• 1 1/2 T Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning (or use your favorite taco seasoning blend)
• 1 tsp. Spike Seasoning (or use another all-purpose seasoning blend
• Green Tabasco Sauce and other toppings of your choice, for serving

Salsa Ingredients

• 2 small avocados, diced into 3/4 inch dice
• 3 T lime juice
• 3/4 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 1 tsp. Spike Seasoning
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• salt to taste

Instructions

Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, add the ground turkey, and cook until the turkey is nicely browned and any released water has evaporated, about 8 minutes.

Add the browned turkey to the slow cooker.

Heat the other 2 tsp. of olive oil and briefly cook the chopped red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and onion; then add that to the slow cooker.

Add the brown rice, homemade chicken stock , Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning,  and Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) to the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for about 2 hours, or until the rice is done to your liking. (If your slow cooker cooks hot, I would start checking the rice after 90 minutes.)

When the rice is nearly done, dice the avocado and toss with the lime juice in a small bowl.

Chop tomatoes and slice green onions and add to the bowl.

Stir ingredients together with Spike Seasoning and ground cumin, then add salt to taste.

Put a couple of scoops of the rice mixture into each bowl and top with a little bit of the salsa.

Serve the Turkey Taco Bowls hot. I like to serve with Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link).

This rice mixture will freeze well, and can be reheated in a pan or in the microwave. You’ll need to make fresh salsa when you thaw it; the salsa mixture will only keep about a day in the fridge.

Notes

I'm a huge fan of Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), but use any all-purpose seasoning blend if you don't have Spike.

I use Ben's Original Whole Grain Brown Rice for this recipe.

Just used canned chicken broth or chicken broth from a carton if you don't have homemade stock.

I used a 3.5 Quart Slow Cooker for this recipe.

Recipe created by Kalyn with lots of help from Jake and Kara for numerous tests of the recipe!

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 603Total Fat 40gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 28gCholesterol 123mgSodium 1834mgCarbohydrates 31gFiber 10gSugar 6gProtein 34g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
These turkey taco bowls with brown rice would be limited to Phase 2 or 3 for the original South Beach Diet. This may be a bit high in carbs for a low-carb eating plan, although if you use one of the suggestions above for making a lower-carb version you can make a taco bowl that’s pretty low in carbs. And low-carb dieters might want to make this with ground beef.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Slow Cooker Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2015. It was updated with more information in 2021, including several options for making a turkey taco bowl that’s lower in carbs. It was last updated with more information in 2025.

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