Meat and poultry

Ground turkey nutrition, by serving and by method.

4 oz of raw ground turkey comes to 170 calories. Protein accounts for 21 g of what is there. USDA files this under “Turkey, ground, 93% lean, 7% fat, raw”, and that is the record used here. Preparation shifts it more than most tables admit, from 150 calories per 100 g at the low end to 213 at the top. Choose how much you are eating and the panel does the arithmetic from there.

By Alen Yaco · Updated 20 September 2026

Source data is USDA FoodData Central (172850, 174492, 172851). The sums run on your device and nothing leaves it.

Calories in ground turkey, serving by serving

4 oz of raw ground turkey is 170 calories. Per 100 g it is 150. USDA publishes the serving weights below, so these are measured portions rather than rounded guesses.

What ground turkey offers in protein

The protein count for 4 oz of raw ground turkey is 21 g, equal to 42 percent of the Daily Value. Measured by calories, ground turkey is 50 percent protein: enough to build a meal on.

Looked at as a share of calories: carbohydrate 0 percent, fat 50 percent, protein 50 percent.

Does the method change ground turkey?

Per 100 g, pan-browned ground turkey carries 42 percent more calories than raw — 213 against 150. The difference is water leaving, which concentrates everything that remains.

Weight is fixed at 113 g throughout, so the rows differ only in how the ground turkey was prepared.

Kitchen notes on ground turkey

Ground turkey comprises minced breast meat, dark thigh meat, or a combination of both. Look for packages labelled as breast meat if you want a pale colour and minimal moisture. Packages labelled as dark meat offer a deeper pink hue and a richer flavour. Avoid packages with pooled liquid at the bottom.

This meat dries out quickly because it lacks the internal moisture of minced beef. Overcooking is the most common error, turning the mince chalky and crumbly. Cook it gently over moderate heat. Stir constantly to break up clumps. Adding spoonfuls of stock or grated onion helps retain moisture during browning.

Ground turkey absorbs surrounding flavours readily. In Italian cooking, it suits herbaceous tomato sauces with plenty of oregano and garlic. For Asian-inspired dishes, stir-fry the mince with ginger, soy sauce, and spring onions. It also pairs well with cumin and chilli in spiced fillings for tortillas.

The complete ground turkey breakdown

Measured against FDA Daily Values, the strongest lines for 4 oz of raw ground turkey are vitamin B12 at 57 percent of a day, selenium at 39 percent of a day, niacin at 38 percent of a day. Adjust the panel at the top and these rows recalculate.

How far ground turkey goes in a day

Budget-wise, 4 oz of raw ground turkey costs 9 percent of a 2,000 calorie day and pays back 42 percent of the day’s protein. The TDEE calculator and macro calculator will tell you what those percentages look like against your own targets.

Three ways to cook ground turkey

Each of these comes from the Calorie Counter Team, and each carries nutrition worked out from its ingredients’ USDA entries rather than estimated from the finished dish.

Breakfast · British

Turkey and Spinach Breakfast Patties

Spiced ground turkey patties with spinach, pan-fried for a high-protein breakfast.

15 min · serves 2

239kcal

24gprotein

16gfat

1.2gcarbs

Ingredients

• ground turkey 250 g
• raw spinach 50 g
• salt 3 g
• black pepper 1 g
• olive oil 10 g

Method

1. Mix the ground turkey, spinach, salt, and black pepper in a bowl.
2. Shape the mixture into four equal patties of approximately 75 grams each.
3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
4. Cook the patties for 5 minutes on each side until the internal temperature reaches 74 degrees Celsius.

5 USDA records went into this total. It describes the ingredients as weighed, not the dish after cooking losses.

Lunch · Asian

Turkey and Broccoli Stir-Fry

A quick stir-fry combining ground turkey and broccoli florets in a ginger and soy sauce seasoning.

20 min · serves 2

303kcal

31gprotein

18gfat

6.4gcarbs

Ingredients

• ground turkey 300 g
• broccoli florets 150 g
• soy sauce 15 g
• sesame oil 10 g
• garlic 6 g
• ginger root 5 g

Method

1. Heat the sesame oil in a large frying pan over high heat.
2. Add the ground turkey and cook for 5 minutes, breaking it into small pieces with a spatula.
3. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and broccoli florets.
4. Pour the soy sauce over the mixture and cook for 4 minutes until the broccoli is tender.

Nutrition per serving, calculated across 6 USDA ingredient records. Expect small differences once cooked.

Dinner · Italian

Turkey and Tomato Pasta Sauce

A slow-simmered tomato and ground turkey sauce suitable for serving over pasta or vegetables.

35 min · serves 3

283kcal

27gprotein

17gfat

8gcarbs

Ingredients

• ground turkey 400 g
• canned tomatoes 400 g
• onion 100 g
• olive oil 15 g
• salt 4 g
• dried oregano 2 g

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat and cook the onions for 5 minutes.
2. Add the ground turkey and cook for 7 minutes until browned.
3. Pour in the canned tomatoes, salt, and dried oregano.
4. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce for 20 minutes.

6 USDA records went into this total. It describes the ingredients as weighed, not the dish after cooking losses.

Calorie Counter Team, food critic

One meal, costed: ground turkey

What a meal containing ground turkey comes to, using USDA numbers for every part of it.

Ground turkey beside its neighbours

Here is how ground turkey sits among its neighbours per 100 g; the form column keeps raw and cooked apart.

Ground turkey: common questions

How many calories does 4 oz of raw ground turkey have?

The USDA figure is 170 calories, or 150 per 100 g. It is taken from the record “Turkey, ground, 93% lean, 7% fat, raw”, FDC 172850.

How much protein is in ground turkey?

19 g per 100 g, so 4 oz of raw ground turkey supplies 21 g. Against the Daily Value that is 42 percent.

Does cooking change the calories in ground turkey?

Yes. At 113 g, raw is 170 calories and pan-browned is 241. The table above compares each preparation of ground turkey covered on this page.

Does ground turkey fit a calorie deficit?

It can fit any calorie target; no single food decides the outcome. What matters here is that 4 oz of raw ground turkey costs 170 calories and returns 21 g of protein, so 50 percent of its energy is protein — a strong ratio for staying full on fewer calories.

Why does ground turkey sometimes look grey?

Exposure to oxygen causes the outer layer of the meat to turn greyish-brown. If the meat smells fresh and is within its use-by date, this colour change is normal. The interior should still show a pinkish hue.

How do you keep turkey burgers from falling apart?

Bind the mixture using egg or fine breadcrumbs before shaping the patties. This compensates for the loose texture of minced poultry. Chilling the shaped patties in the fridge helps them hold their form during cooking.

Sources

• Turkey, ground, 93% lean, 7% fat, raw — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 172850
• Turkey, ground, 93% lean, 7% fat, patties, broiled — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 174492
• Turkey, ground, 93% lean, 7% fat, pan-broiled crumbles — USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 172851
• Daily Values for nutrition labelling, 21 CFR 101.9