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This hearty turkey chili recipe uses lean ground turkey, tender beans, tomatoes, and chili seasoning, all simmered into a saucy chili fit for any appetite.
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Why you'll love my turkey chili recipe
- Ground turkey chili is as flavorful and comforting as a classic beef chili.
- It uses simple, budget-friendly ingredients.
- This easy recipe was created for beginner home cooks.
- Methods include the stove, slow cooker, or Instant Pot.
- Customize it to your liking - see variations below.
- Freeze and reheat for convenience.
- Great for busy weeknights, family dinners, and game day gatherings.
Ingredient for the best turkey chili
- Olive oil - You can use your preferred cooking oil.
- Onions - Use white, red, or yellow onions for this recipe.
- Garlic - Fresh garlic cloves are a priority for any chili recipe. Use as much as your heart desires.
- Ground turkey - I prefer 93% lean ground turkey, but any fat content will work for this recipe.
- Chili seasoning - You can never go wrong with the ample amount of chili powder, cumin, and paprika in this recipe. Of course, feel free to customize!
- Salt and pepper - These bring all of the flavors together, especially salt, so I recommend adjusting it to taste by adding more before serving.
- Canned crushed tomatoes - Use any canned tomatoes such as whole tomatoes or diced tomatoes (keep juice and add it as the same time).
- Tomato paste - This helps thicken the chili and adds a deep tomato flavor.
- Chicken broth - Any cooking liquid can be used.
- Canned beans - Beans add volume, flavor, fiber, and nutrition. Use my three-bean combination or go with classic kidney beans. It's customizable!
How to make turkey chili
Enjoy these step-by-step stove method photos. The turkey chili recipe below includes instructions for the Instant Pot and slow cooker.
First, you'll want to sauté the onions and garlic over medium-high heat until golden brown and tender, stirring as needed. This adds so much flavor to the chili. Then add ground turkey and sauté until it's cooked through, stirring as needed.
Next, stir in chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper. Sauté this mixture until the ground turkey is well-coated and chili seasoning is fragrant, stirring as needed. You'll love this pro hack for deepening the chili flavor!
Next, stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, and broth. Increase heat to HIGH and bring the chili to a boil for a few minutes, stirring as needed. Reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer the chili until it thickens to your liking, stirring as needed.
Serve turkey chili warm. Of course, it's even better with homemade cornbread. Add your favorite toppings and devour!
Recipe testing notes
- The longer you saute onions, the more colorful and flavorful they'll become. This is one of my flavoring secrets for the best turkey chili.
- I find that cooked ground turkey yields very little excess grease, regardless of fat content, which makes for easy cleanup since you likely won't need to drain it off.
- The total cook time varies by method. Stove and Instant Pot turkey chili take about 35 minutes, whereas the slow cooker method takes 2 hours at minimum.
Turkey chili recipe variations
- Add more volume, texture, and flavor to this chili by dicing and sauteing 2 celery ribs and 1 bell pepper with the onions.
- I love the combination of kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans in this recipe. Of course, any beans can be used in turkey chili.
- Using corn in turkey chili adds texture, volume, and a hint of sweetness. Add 1 ½ cups canned, fresh, or frozen corn at the same time beans are added.
- Create an even more complex chili flavor by adding 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder along with the other seasonings.
- Substitute ¾ cup of broth with a 12-ounce beer. Note: dark beer creates a beautiful, dark colored chili.
- Make this turkey chili spicy by adding 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper with the other chili seasonings. Of course, these can also be added to taste upon serving.
Can you freeze turkey chili?
Yes! In fact, freezing turkey chili is a great make-ahead strategy because it's so convenient to have homemade comfort food on hand at all times! To do so, allow the chili to cool completely and freeze in airtight containers or ziptop freezer bags for up to 90 days or longer in vacuum sealer bags.
Recommended chili recipes
Chili lovers! Check out this scrumptious white chicken chili. It's so good, it appeared in a celebrity chili cookbook! If you're looking for a meatless alternative, this lentil chili and 3 bean vegetarian chili will satisfy the whole family, especially on busy weeknights!
📖 Recipe
Easy Turkey Chili Recipe
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Video
When scaling the recipe 2x or 3x, the gray ingredient note stays the same. Adjust quantities accordingly.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 medium Onion, diced
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 pound Uncooked Lean Ground Turkey
- ¼ cup Chili Powder Blend, *Not pure chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 (28-ounce can) Crushed Tomatoes, or other canned tomatoes
- ½ (6-ounce can) Tomato Paste
- 3 (15-ounce cans) Beans (any kind), rinsed and drained = 4.5 cups beans
- 2 cups Chicken Broth, or preferred cooking liquid
Instructions
Stove instructions (see footnotes for Instant Pot and Crockpot methods)
- Heat OLIVE OIL in pot on medium-high heat.
- Add ONIONS and sauté until tender. Stir in GARLIC and sauté until fragrant, stirring as needed.
- Add GROUND TURKEY and continue sauteing until turkey is mostly cooked through, stirring as needed.
- Stir in CHILI POWDER, CUMIN, PAPRIKA, SALT, and PEPPER. Saute a few minutes until ground turkey is coated and seasonings are fragrant.
- Add TOMATOES (with juice), TOMATO PASTE, BEANS, and BROTH. Stir everything to combine.
- Increase heat to HIGH long enough to bring chili to a boil for a few minutes, stirring as needed.
- Reduce heat to low. Partially cover and simmer until chili thickens to your liking, stirring as needed.
Storage and Reheat Instructions
- Store chili in an airtight container up to 5 days in the refrigerator and up to 3 months in the freezer.To thaw, transfer frozen chili from freezer to refrigerator 24-48 hours before reheating and serving.Reheat chili via microwave in a heat-safe container, or on the stove. Add a little water to the chili if it's too thick.
Equipment
- 4-quart soup pot or 6 quart Instant Pot
Rex McDowell says
I made this the first time about 2 months ago and have since made it 3 more times. In that same time period, I tried two other chili recipes just to compare and - nope. This one is terrific. I don't need to look for any more chili recipes ever again.
Traci says
Wow, that means so much! I love that you put it to the test and kept coming back to this one. So glad it’s your go-to chili now. Thank you for sharing! xoxo
Rolf Hesse says
Your Easy Turkey Chili recipe calls for 1/4 cup of chili powder. A 1/4 cup is a lot of chili powder. That must be a mistake. I used 1/2 teaspoon.
Traci says
Thanks for your feedback! The recipe does call for 1/4 cup of chili powder, but it refers to the chili powder blend commonly found in grocery stores, not pure chili powder, which would definitely be overpowering. I’ve added a note to the recipe to clarify this for others as well—thank you for pointing it out. Hope you enjoyed the chili! xoxo
Monica says
Excellent chili!
Traci says
Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for trying my recipe and for leaving this feedback 💟
Jessica says
I have been looking for easy healthy recipes, being almost 9 months pregnant the more convenient, the better! This was fantastic. I added the corn, cocoa powder, and chili flakes as suggested and tossed in some frozen mushrooms. So good, will be a keeper recipe!
Traci says
Yayy!! I'm so glad you discovered my recipe and please help yourself to many more! I'm always here for helping you in any way I can. Thanks for this feedback. I'm honored. Enjoy! xoxo
Jon says
Fantastic! This recipe really surprised me! Everyone in my house loved it and couldn't get enough!
Traci says
Yay! I'm so glad everyone loved it! Thanks for trying my recipe and for taking the time to leave this feedback. Glad you enjoyed! xoxo
Christine Smith says
I know you listed a serving size as one cup but how many servings in total (roughly) does this recipe make?
Traci says
Hiya! You'll see the recipe yield (10 cups) listed under my recipe description that's at the top of the recipe card. Let me know if I can help you with anything else. Thanks and enjoy! xoxo
Emma Gordon says
It was good! The only thing I’d change is not adding the tomato paste, I think the crushed tomato’s were enough! I had to add more broth to cut down the tomato taste but other than that the recipe was so good and easy to follow!
Traci says
Thanks for trying my recipe and I'm glad you enjoyed it! Leaving out the tomato paste is a great way to adjust the flavor. Adding more broth sounds like a perfect fix for your taste. Thank you for this feedback! xoxo
Carrie Holt says
This was easy and my family loved it. I used one can each of kidney, canellini and black beans. I also added 2 chopped carrots and celery stalks. Finally, I didn't have regular chili powder so I used Kashmir chili powder. The filished product was delicious. Thank you!
Traci says
Sounds great! I'm glad you enjoyed! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. xoxo
Carol says
I really liked it and am glad to find this recipe ! Thanks! I made it without beans but added well chopped bell pepper, carrots, and celery and sautéed them along with the onion after it had started cooking. I used half the chili powder so it wasn’t too spicy for my husband. He liked it and chose to have his over spaghetti. I added more spice in my own bowl and that worked well. I also used the cocoa and also less broth. It was all very good together. I appreciate a recipe that is still good with needed dietary changes.
Traci says
Hiya! Yes, I kept this recipe very basic so that you could customize to your liking. Sounds like you did! Thanks for sharing your experience! Enjoy!
Rose says
Used 2/3 cup beer & 1 cup chicken broth
A dash of cinnamon
Used pack of chili seasoning instead of the seasonings listed.
Traci says
Thanks for sharing your customization tips! Cheers!
Chrissy says
Great flavor, made in my slow cooker. Nice addition of the smoked paprika. We like the consistency as it's not too thick. I did add one can of tomato soup. It's been my secret chili ingredient forever and I couldn't help but use it. Served with avocado, tortilla chips and cheddar.
Traci says
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed and I definitely need to try your secret trick. Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback - much appreciated. Cheers!
Jay Bee says
This really is the best turkey chili recipe! It’s simple and flavor-packed. Honestly resembles a classic chili yet super easy to substitute turkey or beef. Thanks for the new favorite!
Traci says
I'm so glad you love it as much as I do. Thanks for sharing your experience! Enjoy!
Kristen castillo says
Did you change this recipe? I remember I made it with celery and bell pepper as well....delicious!
Traci says
Hiya! Great memory 🙂 Yes, I moved a few things around to make the recipe resemble a more classic version, but with options 🙂 You'll find those beloved ingredients you mentioned listed in the Recipe Variations section of the blog post. Apologies for any inconvenience. Let me know if I can answer any more questions for you. Enjoy!
Ned says
Dang that was delicious! Hearty, filling and I loved the turkey instead of the more traditional beef. Thank you for helping me mix it up and make a yummy meal for the family.
Traci says
Aww of course!! Glad it could be enjoyed and thanks for sharing your experience 🙂
justine says
Great way to make a lower fat version of our favorite dinner.
Traci says
Thanks! So glad you enjoyed 🙂
Anjali says
This chili was hearty, filling and so flavorful! We served it up with some cornbread and it was a hit!
Traci says
Yay! So glad to hear it. Thanks for sharing your experience 🙂
Dana Sandonato says
And our Traci comes in with a winner once again! This turkey chili is amazing. Honestly, beefy chili is great but gives me mad heart burn. Not this, and it tastes JUST as good!
Traci says
Awww you're so sweet 😍 I really do love turkey chili as much as any other - glad you're enjoying it too!