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Turkey Chili Recipe [3 Ways]

Name: Turkey Chili Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 2 Tbsp Olive Oil; 4 cloves Garlic (minced); 1/2 large Onion (diced (1 cup)); 1 large Celery Stalk (diced (1/2 cup)); 1 large Bell Pepper (diced (1 cup)); 1 lb 93% Lean Ground Turkey; 1 15 oz can Diced Tomatoes (keep juice); 1 15oz can Tomato Sauce; 2 cups Chicken Broth (or water); 1 15 oz can Red Kidney Beans (drained and rinsed); 1 15 oz can Great Northern Beans (drained and rinsed); 1 15 oz can Black Beans (drained and rinsed); 1 cup Corn (fresh or frozen); 3 oz Tomato Paste; 2 Tbsp Chili Powder (or 1/4 cup for bigger chili flavor); 1 tsp Kosher Salt; 1 tsp Pepper; 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin; 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

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Delectable Turkey Chili loaded with fresh vegetables, lean ground turkey, beans, and rich chili flavor. This easy turkey chili recipe is a favorite in the soup/chili collection for Instant Pot, stove, or crockpot.

turkey chili in white bowls on textured background with red pepper and green onion garnish and blue napkin

This Turkey Chili is loaded with fresh vegetables, lean ground turkey, and three different beans. It's customizable, easy to make, and perfect for busy weeknights or game day grub. When we want to feed an army for family dinners or game day, it's one of our favs! It's also easy to freeze and reheat on busy weeknights.

What's in a healthy chili recipe?

In my book, the vegetables and beans will greatly outnumber the meat in a healthy chili recipe. Since ground turkey has 4% less saturated fat than beef, turkey chili is often viewed as the healthier choice over beef.

Turkey chili recipe ingredient list

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olive oil
garlic
onion
celery
bell pepper
93% lean ground turkey
diced tomatoes
tomato sauce and tomato paste
chicken broth (or veg broth or water)
kidney beans, northern beans, and black beans (or any beans)
corn
chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes, and cumin
salt and pepper

Instant pot turkey chili instructions

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Saute vegetables.
Add ground turkey and saute until cooked through.
Add all remaining ingredients.
Pressure cook 2 minutes with a 10 minute natural pressure release.
Release steam, open lid, and serve warm.

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Slow cooker turkey chili

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Saute vegetables and ground turkey in a skillet.
Transfer them to a slow cooker.
Add all other ingredients.
Cover and set the slow cooker on HIGH for 2 hours or LOW 4-8 hours.
Serve warm.

Classic turkey chili on the stove

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Saute vegetables and ground turkey in the soup pot.
Add all other ingredients.
Boil then simmer chili until it cooks down to desired consistency.
Serve warm.

turkey chili in large stainless soup pot with red, green, and yellow garnish on textured beige surface

How to make turkey chili thick

Chili naturally thickens as it cooks. By heating it, the liquid evaporates, which reduces the sauce, causing it to thicken and build all that chili flavor we love!

If you're cooking your turkey chili on the stove and it's not thick enough at the end of the cooking time, remove some of the liquid with a spoon/ladle and continue simmering. Repeat as needed until you reach your desired consistency.

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Chili topping ideas

avocado
tortilla chips or corn chips
Serrano or jalapeno peppers
sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese
green onions
crushed up crackers or potato chips
hot sauce

Healthy chili secret ingredients

There are two secret ingredients we often use for our chili recipes here at TKG headquarters.

cocoa powder (about 1 tsp per quart of chili)
dark beer (12oz bottle per 2-3 quarts of chili in place of chicken stock.)

Jeff and I have been doing this for years. Somehow, I got the idea to add cocoa powder and Jeff's wanted to add beer. Daym people...just YUM!

If you do one or the other...or both, it might just become your secret weapon! Trust me on this one, guys!

turkey chili in white bowls with blue napkin on textured beige background with red pepper and green onion garnish

What to do with leftover chili?

Sky's the limit, but we'll take leftover chili any day of the week and turn it into:

chili mac and cheese - chili and mac and cheese together, forevah!
chili dogs - chili and hot dogs (grilled or pan-fried, not boiled)
chili covered Totchos (Tater Tot Nachos)
loaded chili potatoes - chili topped baked potatoes with ALL the fixings
cheesy chili fries - french fries with chili and cheese, and hot sauce
Shepherd's pie - because mashed potatoes and chili together are divine
scrambled eggs and chili

Can you freeze turkey chili?

Yes, we freeze this turkey chili every time we make a batch because the recipe yields 3 quarts, which is more than we can eat in one week.

To freeze turkey chili, allow it to cool completely, then package into desired sizes of airtight containers, plastic freezer bags, or vacuum sealer packaging.

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