Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Taco Squares

Coworker Amy has brought these for lunch many times and I'm so glad I finally asked for the recipe! I adjusted it to be gluten-free and added my own tweaks--now GF and 155 calories per square, they are a light yet filling dinner and make great leftovers as well. Oh, and I may have been excited to eat them and forgot to take a photo of the baked version. Oops!

What you'll need:


  • 1 pound ground turkey breast (You can use ground turkey but it won't be as lean. This is just our preference.)
  • Taco seasoning of choice (I use a different combo each time. Usually a mix of cilantro, pepper, salt, chili powder, garlic, and cumin. Experiment! )
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (we use Bob's Red Mill GF Flour)
  • 1 Tbsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp butter (yes, real butter!)
  • 1/2 cup green or pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped (optional. my hubby isn't a huge fan...)
  • 3/4 cup sour cream (we use Organic Valley)
  • 1 14oz can of tomatoes (or freshly chopped tomatoes)


The how-to:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  2. Grease a 9x13 baking dish
  3. Chop vegetables
  4. Brown the turkey breast, onions, and peppers, mixing in taco seasoning as you brown (I forgot to add the veggies as I browned--I think I was in too much of a hurry!) 
  5. Set cooked mixture aside
  6. Pour 1 cup of the flour, baking soda, salt, and butter in a food processor and pulse until completely mixed (I found chopping the butter beforehand really helped this process)
  7. Combine the processed mixture with leftover flour in a large bowl and add 1/2 cup water, mixing with a wooden spoon until dough forms (you may need to add extra water)
  8. Press dough into the baking pan, going up about 1/2" on all sides
  9. Layer cooked turkey, then tomatoes, on top of the crust, and add sour cream, spreading around as much as you like (I've seen dollops; I like it to be evenly spread--suit yourself!)
  10. Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges of the crust are brown
  11. Cut into 12 squares and serve with any taco toppings you'd like (guacamole?)
  12. Voila!
For a serving of one square, this works out to about 152 calories, 3 grams of fat, and a whopping 13 grams of protein! Great choice!


Adapted from bettycrocker.com, reducing from 330 calories per square