Turkey spiced with spices and chiles is enrobed in a creamy egg mixture. This turkey egg bake is perfect for holiday brunches.
I was never a huge fan of ground turkey as a kid. My mom started buying it The Year We Stopped Eating Red Meat. For a whole year our family ate nothing but turkey or chicken. Or at least that’s how it went down in my mind.
It could have been a month. Who knows?
Two of my dad’s brothers had some health issues that were attributed to an overconsumption of red meat. So, we kicked it to the curb in a panic to prolong our lives and preserve all our organs.
I’ve been a reluctant ground turkey fan since then. My editors are the ones to request turkey recipes in the The Cookbooks, so I’ve obliged. Over time, I’ve realized that I like it.
Reading Salt, Sugar, Fat, and finding out that the cautions of red meat are not just a figment of my dad’s imagination has made me reconsider. And now that I’ve tried Trader Joe’s ground turkey that has only two ingredients: ground turkey and rosemary extract, the latter being a welcome change to 5% strangeness solution.
What Ingredients Do I Need For This Turkey Egg Bake?
This egg bake was an experiment with turkey. My kids are seemingly hungry all the time, so I wanted to provide a breakfast that stuck to the ribs and gave them staying power. This was it: an egg casserole stuffed with meat, chiles, and pepper jack cheese.
FishBoy13 who typically resists all egg dishes said something like, “You know, I don’t typically like egg dishes, but that one was actually pretty good.”
There you have it, folks, out of the mouths of babes!
For this dish you will need:
- Ground Turkey (but sausage or beef would also work!)
- Onion
- Taco Seasoning
- Chiles
- Jack Cheese
- Eggs
- Heavy Cream
- Toppings: Salsa, sour cream (or greek yogurt)
If you’re looking for a dish to make an egg dish hater into an egg dish lover, this may be the one. Be sure to serve it with fresh tomato salsa. It’s really not that spicy, but you can use regular jack cheese if you prefer.
I normally would have served it with sour cream as well, but we were out, so I used Greek yogurt. Apparently, we’ve found a new favorite. Since the girls pile their plates high with sour cream, I consider it a welcome change.
How To Make This Turkey Egg Bake
Make Ahead: If you want to make it ahead, cool the meat before adding the other ingredients. Then either stash in the fridge overnight or freeze it to bake at a later date. Simply thaw completely before baking.
What Can I Serve With This Turkey Egg Bake?
This egg bake is a perfect brunch recipe or to just to serve for a weekday breakfast and would be great with a fruit salad .
How can I make this recipe economically?
This recipe isn’t expensive to make, even from scratch. However, there are things that you can do to make your sweet treat even better.
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When you see a good price on ground turkey, cheese, and eggs, stock up and stash for later.
- Use up leftovers. This is a great recipe for using up whatever you have left from other meals: obviously leftover turkey, and shredded or crumbled cheeses, but also chopped onion and cooked veggies. You can swap out the turkey for leftover ground beef or sausage if you have it.
How I make this recipe easily:
This recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.
Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:
- stainless steel mixing bowl – I’m not sure you have too many of these.
- silicone spatula/spoon – I have two or three of these – so convenient!
- wire whisk – be sure to get one with a sealed barrel so that dish water won’t get stuck in the crevises.
- 9×13 baking dish
- plastic cutting boards – I have blue boards for veggies and white boards for meat.
- Ergo Chef chef’s knife – I’ve had my set for several years and they work well.
Spicy Turkey Egg Bake
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey you can use sausage or beef, if you prefer
- 1/2 onion chopped for 1/2 cup
- 1 tbsp Taco Seasoning Mix
- 2 tbsp green chiles (chopped)
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese (shredded)
- 6 egg beaten
- 1 cup whipping cream
- toppings for the egg bake such as sour cream, Greek yogurt, and salsa, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the turkey and onion, about 5 to 7 minutes. Season with the taco seasoning mix. Spread in the prepared pan.
- Sprinkle the chiles over the meat.
- Sprinkle the cheese over the chiles.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and cream. Pour that over the layers in the pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until puffy and browned in spots.
Notes
Nutrition
Make-ahead meals can make your month! Grab this month’s meal plans to take it easy and enjoy great home-cooked meals.
Tiffany R says
Thanks for the recipe. We have family coming this weekend and I was planning on making something similar to feed them for breakfast. I am not an egg eater so I will probably have oatmeal instead.
We eat almost exclusively chicken and ground turkey since I found that I can’t digest red meat as easily. I will have to try the ground turkey at TJs, the rosemary extract sounds delish!
Jessica Fisher says
It’s super tender, not dry. I was surprised.
Sue R says
Yum! Can’t wait to try this!
Joshua Hampton says
We are all egg eaters in my family so this would be a lovely addition to our meal rotation. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Ellen says
I almost never buy heavy cream. Any chance I could sub in sour cream and 2% milk instead? Or Greek yogurt and milk?
Jessica Fisher says
I’m not sure about the yogurt, I’ve never used yogurt in egg dishes. You could use a bit of milk and maybe a few extra eggs. I’ve done that.
Amber Dixon says
I got a similiar recipe from a friend, and I always substitute whole milk for the cream and it still turns out great.
Jessica Fisher says
Thanks for the input!
Dawn says
What do you freeze your freezer (casserole) meals in? Glass pyrex or disposable aluminum trays or plastic bags?
Jessica Fisher says
I prefer glass with plastic lids.