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This award winning Turkey Chili is thick and hearty and bursting with flavor. This healthier chili recipe is loaded with tender beans, lean ground turkey, and the perfect blend of spice.
All about this healthy Turkey Chili
This is my all time favorite recipe when it comes to chili. I love the ease of my Ground Beef Chili with no beans, but I think I love the combination of flavors and textures in this chili even more.
This is the same base that I use in my Easy Chili Recipe, except in here we’re using some lean ground turkey.
Ingredients Needed
Let’s Make Turkey Chili
- Add the lean ground turkey, and onion to a medium size skillet. Cook over medium heat until the onion is soft and the turkey is completely cooked. Add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds. Remove this from the heat and add the cooked turkey to the crockpot.
- Add in all the other ingredients including the tomatoes, beans, green chiles, and spices. Stir to combine. Cook over low heat for 4-6 hours.
The recipe card below also includes stovetop instructions!
Recipe Tips
- Cut the sugar: You can leave out the brown sugar if desired, to cut out sugars of course. I do like adding the sugar because it helps cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Another option would be to use honey instead, or substitute with a coconut sugar.
- Sneak in some Vegetables: add in some additional veggies if you want! Some great options are corn, peppers, diced zucchini, diced sweet potato, or butternut squash. If adding in fresh veggies, add them in the last 30 minutes of cooking in the slow cooker, that way they don’t get too mushy.
Favorite topping ideas
One of the best parts about any chili recipe is being able to customize with your favorite toppings! When serving a large pot of chili for dinner for the family, or if you’re expecting company, creating a topping bar is a great idea. This way everyone can top their bowl with what they enjoy. Some ideas are:
- Cheese: of course, shredded cheese is a must when having chili! Some mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, pepperjack, or Monterey Jack are all great options.
- Sour Cream/Greek Yogurt: the cold creamy tang of either of these options contrasts with the warm heat of the chili and is typically welcomed!
- Onions: chop up some white onion or slice some green onion to go on top for a fresh flavor.
- Cilantro: always a win with Tex Mex lovers.
- Chips: some fresh homemade tortilla chips, or Fritos pair perfectly with this thick chili.
- Tortillas: I personally love having a fresh stack of flour tortillas with my chili.
- Avocado: another creamy option that helps take off some of the heat of the chili
- Hot sauce: for those that need even more heat!
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Award Winning Turkey Chili
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup yellow onion diced
- 1 (15 ounce can) tomato sauce
- 1 (14.5 ounce can) diced tomato
- 1 (7 ounce can) diced green chiles
- 1 (15 ounce can) kidney beans drained, rinsed
- 1 (15 ounce can) black beans drained, rinsed
- 1-2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp brown sugar
Toppings
- sour cream
- cheese shredded
- green onion sliced
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- Add the lean ground turkey, and onion to a medium size skillet. Cook over medium heat until the onion is soft and the turkey is completely cooked. Add the garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.
- Remove from heat and add to the crockpot.
- Add in all the other ingredients, stir to combine. Cook over low heat for 4-6 hours.
Stovetop
- Add the meat to a large pot or dutch oven. As the turkey is cooking, add the chopped onion to cook and soften.
- Once the meat is cooked and the onion is softened, drain any excess moisture. Add the garlic and allow it to cook for an additional 30 seconds.
- Add all the other ingredients. Bring the chili to a simmer and allow to cook for about 10-15 minutes. Serve and top with all your favorite toppings!
Video
Equipment
Notes
- Chili Powder: Start with 1 tbsp and add more to taste.
- Ground Turkey: this can be substituted for ground chicken or beef if needed.
- Green chiles: these add a very mild flavor. If you would prefer more heat in your chili you can use a jalapeno instead.
- Black beans & kidney beans: canned beans work great in this recipe. You can always swap out the beans for another kind if you would prefer.
- How to Freeze this turkey chili: let the chili cool to room temperature. Add to a freezer safe container. Store in the freezer for 3-4 months. To reheat, thaw the chili in the refrigerator overnight, pour into a large pot and heat over medium heat for 20 minutes, until warmed through.
- Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Serve this chili with:
- Tortillas: I personally love having a fresh stack of flour tortillas with my chili.
- Cornbread
- Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread Muffins
FAQ’s
Yes, absolutely. You can substitute the turkey for a ground beef, pork, or chicken.
Yes! In this case the meat would already be cooked, so you would just need to sauté the onion and start from there. Add the shredded or cubed meat in with all the other remaining ingredients and cook until heated through.
More Chili and Soup Recipes
Recipe first posted November 21, 2014. Updated on February 27 with new photos and video. Recipe is unchanged, but instructions for stovetop were added.
Amazing chili! This will be my go-to chili recipe from now on. Easy to prepare, healthy, and delicious. The first time I made it, I made it exactly as written (with about 1.5T of chili powder + grated cheddar on top), and it was fantastic. The second time I made it, I basically made it as-written except with the full 2T of chili powder + extra minced garlic + heaping tablespoons/teaspoons of the other seasonings and added 1 red bell pepper and about half of a medium zucchini, with grated cheddar and green onions on top, and then it was NEXT. LEVEL. Can’t wait to make it again!
I have never made chili in my life! A friend shared your recipe with me for the “Award Winning Turkey Chili”. Although it tastes delicious, I question the nutritional totals. I made it as your recipe dictated, omitting the brown sugar. If the “whole” pot equals 5 servings, the nutritional content per serving is way off. What am I missing?
This is my go-to chili recipe – it always comes out great. I tend to just do 1 whole medium onion, I don’t really measure that part. I just made it for Christmas this year – so cozy and casual for a laid-back celebration! It was a hit!
Delicious 😋
I have tried so many turkey chili recipes and this one is excellent. I did add some sliced jarred jalepenos for extra heat and frozen corn. Really delicious.
Love this recipe! I make it all the time.
I was wondering how much to adjust the cooking time in the instapot and using dried beans that have been soaked overnight?
This recipe is the best turkey chili….period! Thanks for sharing this.
Blessings!
BEST CHILI EVER!!!
Made it as written. I slow cooked for 4 hours. I normally cannot eat spicy foods, but with some toppings and cornbread, it was mild spicy for me and enjoyable. I will definitely make it again.
It doesn’t look like broth is added for slow cooker directions, isn’t it needed? Can’t wait to make this!
No, there is no broth used in this chili.
Big hit with the wife and teens. I added some white corn (good but could have done without) and also about 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (highly recommend). If you don’t have that you can use apple pie spice or allspice.
Made a “chili bar” on our kitchen island with about 6 or 7 toppings to choose from: (Freshly shredded cheddar, fine chopped white onion, cubed avocado, green onion, Fritos, sour cream, Texas pete).
Also served with warm Jiffy cornbread muffins and butter.
This chili is a hit in our house, easy to make in the slow cooker and tastes delicious! Thank you for sharing.
That’s wonderful! So glad y’all enjoy it. I definitely recommend trying our buttermilk cornbread as a side dish the next time you make it 🙂 https://houseofyumm.com/cornbread/