Kirkwood Fresh Ground Turkey
Ground turkey is one of the most common types of meat I purchase for cooking at home, right alongside fresh chicken. Ground turkey has some health advantages compared to ground beef, and I use it for everything from homemade turkey burger patties to chili to taco meat. I typically always have at least a pound or two in my deep freezer, ready to thaw and cook for various meals.
Aldi sells several different types of fresh ground turkey, with varying amounts of calories and fat, and which package you buy may depend on your personal tastes or dietary needs. (Aldi also sells 85% lean frozen ground turkey for $2.49 per pound at my local Aldi in early 2025 — cheaper than any of the fresh ground turkey options — but that’s a post for another day.)
These are all products of the U.S., and none of them contain preservatives.
As of January of 2025, Aldi sells three different package options when it comes to ground turkey:
- 85% Lean 15 % Fat Fresh Ground Turkey
- 93% Lean 7% Fat Fresh Ground Turkey
- 99% Fat Free Fresh Ground Turkey Breast
Keep reading for a closer look at each option, including prices.
85% Lean 15% Fat Fresh Ground Turkey:
Aldi sells a 3-pound (48-ounce) package of 85% lean 15% fat ground turkey, which I paid $8.79 for in my local store. That’s around 18 cents per ounce or $2.93 per pound.
This is the cheapest ground turkey option at Aldi. It also has the most calories and fat. From a flavor standpoint, this might be the best choice if you’re making turkey burgers, since it has the highest fat content of any of the ground turkey packs at Aldi, but that’s also a matter of personal taste.
The fact that it’s sold in a 3-pound package potentially makes some extra work if you don’t intend to cook and serve this all at once. When I buy this package, I usually divide it into three portions and freeze what I’m not cooking right away, so freezer bags or other freezer-friendly containers are useful if you buy this.
Ingredients are turkey and natural flavoring.
One 4-ounce serving contains 240 calories, 17 grams of total fat (22% DV), 5 grams of saturated fat (24% DV), 115 mg of sodium (5% DV), no carbs or dietary fiber or sugars, and 21 grams of protein.
As I mentioned earlier, I like to use this specific ground turkey to make turkey burgers. We like these so much that I haven’t bought beef burgers or made homemade beef burgers in months. My favorite turkey burger recipe calls for mixing bread crumbs, dried onion flakes, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and salt into the raw ground turkey, and then shaping it into patties. We typically grill these, but one time when our grill and our patio were both covered in ice and snow, we cooked these in our everything pizza grill from Aldi and they turned out good.
93% Lean 7% Fat Fresh Ground Turkey:
Aldi also sells a 19.2-ounce package of 93% lean 7% fat ground turkey, which I paid $4.39 for. That’s around 23 cents per ounce, $3.68 per pound.
This is a mid-priced ground turkey option at Aldi. Nutrition-wise, it has fewer calories and less fat than the 3-pound pack of the 85% lean turkey, but it has more calories and fat than the all-breast ground turkey option. I’ve made turkey burgers with this, and they always turn out fine. This leaner option is also good for casseroles, chili, and other dishes.
I feel like the size of this package is odd. It’s one pound and 3.2 ounces, but most recipes that call for ground meat like this use just one pound. Also, one serving is listed as 4 ounces, but you cannot divide this package up evenly into 4-ounce servings. With the other ground turkey options at Aldi being sold in either 3-pound or 1-pound packs, I don’t quite understand this one. When I make taco meat with this, I tend to just treat the package like it’s one pound, and I haven’t had any problems with my taco meat not tasting seasoned enough.
Ingredients are turkey and natural flavoring.
One 4-ounce serving contains 160 calories, 8 grams of total fat (10% DV), 2.5 grams of saturated fat (12% DV), 85 mg of sodium (4% DV), no carbs or dietary fiber or sugars, and 22 grams of protein.
For this review, I cooked this ground turkey with diced onion in a skillet and then added it to my slow cooker with all the fixings for chili. It was delicious.
99% Fat Free Fresh Ground Turkey Breast:
Finally, Aldi also sells a 16-ounce package of 99% fat free ground turkey breast, which I paid $4.99 for. That’s around 31 cents per ounce.
This is the most expensive ground turkey at Aldi, and that’s due to the fact that this is made only with turkey breast and not other parts of the turkey. It’s the lowest-calorie ground turkey at Aldi, and it has very little total fat and no saturated fat.
Ingredients are turkey breast (made with all white meat turkey) and natural flavoring.
One 4-ounce serving contains 120 calories, 1 gram of total fat (1% DV), no saturated fat, 55 mg of sodium (2% DV), no carbs or dietary fiber or sugars, and 28 grams of protein.
I cooked this and seasoned it with homemade taco seasoning, then served it with corn tortillas and crunchy taco shells. It’s a bit drier than some other ground turkey options at Aldi, which I expected, but it was fine for tacos, especially when combined with toppings such as cheese, salsa, diced tomatoes, and sour cream. This would be a good ground turkey to use in meals with more liquid, like chili or soup.
Cooking Instructions:
The package cooking instructions are identical across the three types of ground turkey here. It should all be cooked to 165 degrees.
For patties or burgers, shape the meat into 4-ounce patties, approximately half an inch thick, and season as desired.
To cook burgers on a skillet, preheat a nonstick or lightly oiled skillet over medium heat, about 350 degrees. Add patties, arranging them so they don’t touch. Cook 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked through and a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees throughout the patty.
To cook burgers on the grill, preheat a lightly oiled grill to 500 to 600 degrees. Add patties, arranging them so they don’t touch. Cook 4-5 minutes per side until cooked through and a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees throughout the patty.
For ground turkey crumbles (for tacos, casseroles, chili, etc.), preheat a nonstick or lightly oiled skillet over medium heat, about 350 degrees. Crumble in a single layer in the skillet and stir constantly for 7-8 minutes, until cooked through and a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. (The package says to measure the temperature of crumbles, place the crumbles in a mound and insert a meat thermometer into the center, being careful not to touch the skillet.)
The Verdict:
Kirkwood Fresh Ground Turkey comes in several varieties: 85% lean 15% fat ground turkey, 93% lean 7% fat ground turkey, or 99% fat free ground turkey breast. They all have different calorie and fat amounts, so what type you buy depends on what you’re cooking and what your dietary preferences are. These are all products of the U.S.
