4.9 50 Published Oct 03, 2023, Updated Nov 14, 2023 It’s hearty, filling and always serves a crowd. Comfort food in a bowl! It doesn’t hurt that it’s super easy to throw together and packed with healthy ingredients.
Why You’ll Love This Turkey Chili
This turkey chili stands out for all the right reasons:
Flavor-packed: With a blend of spices like chili powder, cumin, and paprika, each bite is a burst of flavor. Nutritious: Lean ground turkey and a variety of beans make this a protein-rich and fiber-filled option. Adaptable: Prefer a vegetarian twist or different beans? This recipe can handle it. Topping Freedom: Whether you like your chili topped with shredded cheese, avocado, or a dollop of sour cream, this dish works as the perfect base. One-Pot Magic: Simple to prepare and even easier to clean up, it’s the ideal weeknight or meal-prep dish.
Healthy Turkey Chili Ingredients
ground turkey – traditionally ground beef is used for chili, but we’re keeping things on the lighter side with ground turkey for this version. vegetables – yellow onion, garlic and frozen sweet corn chicken broth or vegetable broth – chicken or vegetable broth are great options. I recommend using low sodium so you can control the saltiness of the soup. diced or crushed tomatoes – adds a great savory flavor to this chili. beans – I like to keep things easy and used canned beans (drained and rinsed), but you can certainly cook your own beans from scratch if you have the time. I used a blend of red kidney beans and black beans, but you can use different beans if needed. olive oil – to sauté the vegetables and ground meat in for the stovetop method. Avocado oil works as well. seasonings and spices – chili powder, paprika, cumin, dried oregano, cayenne pepper, sea salt and pepper optional toppings – avocado, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), shredded cheese, green onion, cilantro, jalapeño, etc.
How to Make
As I mentioned above, making this turkey chili recipe is so easy. Here’s how to make it: Sauté – Start by heating the oil in a large pot or dutch oven on the stove top over medium heat. Once warm add the onion and garlic and sauté, stirring frequently until the mixture is fragrant and the onion is translucent. Add the ground turkey, salt and pepper and cook until the turkey is browned evenly and cooked through. Simmer – Add the stock, tomatoes, beans, corn and spices and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve – Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve the chili warm with your favorite chili toppings. I love serving mine with avocado, sour cream and cornbread.
How to Make Turkey Chili in the Slow Cooker
How to Make Turkey Chili in the Instant Pot
Customize Your Turkey Chili
The best part about chili is how versatile it is! Here are some ideas on how you can customize this chili:
Vegetarian or vegan option – ditch the meat and add more beans to this chili. Or you can follow my vegetarian chili recipe. Different meat – feel free to swap the ground turkey for a different meat of choice. This chili would be delicious with ground chicken or ground beef. Different or more vegetables – add extra vegetables to your chili for added flavor and nutrition! Bell pepper, zucchini or carrots sound delicious to me but you really can’t go wrong. Spice – if you wish to add more spice you could add a chopped jalapeño or crushed red pepper flakes to this chili.
How to Serve Chili
I recommend topping this chili with shredded cheddar cheese, cilantro, sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and avocado, but you can top it with anything you’d like! It’s a filling meal on its own, but if you want to pair it with some sides here are some suggestions:
With bread: I love eating chili with my pumpkin cornbread muffins or vegan cornbread. It’s also delicious served with crusty bread (like sourdough bread), crackers (I love my almond flour crackers) or even tortilla chips. Side salad: add some fresh veggies with a side salad. I have a ton of salad recipes to choose from, but something light and fresh like this garlicky kale salad or spinach salad would be perfect. With grains: if you want more volume, you can serve this chili over quinoa or brown rice. I find that when I serve over a grain, I need less chili overall to feel full. You could also add cauliflower rice for more veggies.
How to Store Leftovers
Let the chili cool completely before storing in an airtight container. The chili will last 3-4 days when stored in the refrigerator and can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. If freezing, make sure to thaw in the fridge overnight before serving. You can reheat in a pot on the stove over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or in the microwave for 1-2 minutes if you’re in a rush.
More Chili Recipes to Try
Healthy White Bean Chicken Chili Easy Vegetarian Chili Butternut Squash and Turkey Chili Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili No-Bean Chili (Beef Chili) Vegetarian Green Chili
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Be sure to check out all of my soup recipes and all of my ground turkey recipes here on EBF!
