Ground Turkey Chili with 3 Beans

Mouthwatering Ground Turkey Chili recipe loaded with fresh vegetables, lean ground turkey, three beans, and rich chili flavor. Feed your army for days with this turkey chili recipe made for Instant Pot, crockpot, or stove!

Ground Turkey Chili is loaded with fresh vegetables, lean ground turkey, and three beans. It's customizable, easy to make, and perfect for busy weeknights or game day. When we want to feed an army, it's budget friendly too! It's also easy to freeze and reheat on busy weeknights.

I have more chili recipes for you! Crockpot white chicken chili is in a class of its own with creamy Southwest vibes! Lentil chili and 3 bean vegan chili recipe will make your whole family happy on any given night.

What's in a healthy chili recipe?

In my book, the vegetables and beans will greatly outnumber the meat in a healthy chili recipe. Ground turkey chili is often viewed as a healthy alternative to a classic beef chili because ground turkey has 4% less saturated fat than beef. Ultimately, you get to decide what is considered healthy for your diet.

Turkey chili recipe ingredients

Ingredient amounts are included in the printable recipe below.

• olive oil - You can use your preferred cooking oil.
• garlic, onion, celery, bell pepper - This is the perfect combination of aromatics when making the best ground turkey chili.
• ground turkey - I use 93% lean ground turkey.
• canned diced tomatoes - You can substitute these with other canned tomatoes such as whole tomatoes or crushed tomatoes.
• tomato sauce and tomato paste - I recommend and unflavored tomato sauce so you can flavor the chili exactly to your liking.
• chicken broth - Any cooking liquid can be used.
• 3 beans - I prefer to use kidney beans, northern beans, and black beans for this recipe. You can use any beans you like.
• corn - Use canned, frozen, or fresh corn.
• seasonings - My go-to chili seasonings include chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes, cumin, salt and pepper.

How to make chili with ground turkey

You can make turkey chili in the Instant Pot, slow cooker, or on the stove. Here's a quick summary to give you an idea how easy each method is, but the full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe below for each method.

Instant Pot instructions

First, sauté the vegetables and ground turkey using the sauté setting on the Instant Pot. Add remaining ingredients, secure the lid, and pressure cook 2 minutes on HIGH, followed by a 10 minute natural pressure release. Release remaining steam.

Crockpot instructions

Sauté the vegetables and ground turkey in oil over medium high heat on the stove. Then, transfer to a slow cooker, add remaining ingredients, cover, and slow cook turkey chili 2 hours on HIGH or 4-6 hours on low.

Stove cooked instructions

Sauté the vegetables and ground turkey in oil over medium high heat on the stove. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook about an hour, or until chili cooks down to desired consistency.

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! To speed up the reduction process, ladle out some of the surface liquid and simmer the chili to reduce the liquid that can't be removed.

Topping ideas

• avocado - Diced avocado is a great addition to ground turkey chili because it adds color and nutrition.
• tortilla chips or corn chips - Crumble and serve over turkey chili for a texture treat.
• Serrano or jalapeno peppers - I like to use fresh peppers but pickled or canned will work perfectly too.
• sour cream or plain Greek yogurt - This can help cool down any spiciness in the chili.
• shredded cheddar cheese - or any shredded cheese
• green onions or chives add a pop of color to ground turkey chili
• crushed up crackers or potato chips - another texture ingredient that makes turkey chili more interesting
• hot sauce - Use your favorite hot sauce to spice up this mildly seasoned chili recipe.

Not-so-secret ingredients to add flavor

There are two secret ingredients we use to add depth of flavor and color to ground turkey chili.

1. cocoa powder (add about 1 Tbsp to this recipe)
2. dark beer (add a 12oz bottle in place of chicken stock)

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 - add chili to mac and cheese. YUMM!
• 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.

Easy soups and chili recipes

• Italian Sausage Orzo Soup
• Lasagna Soup for Instant Pot or Stove
• Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup
• White Chicken Chili
• Crockpot Chicken Vegetable Soup
• Vegetarian Chili for Instant Pot, Stove, or Crockpot