This easy Turkey Chili recipe is full of warm spices, hearty beans, sautéed vegetables and lots of lean ground turkey meat! It's a classic one-pot meal that comes together quickly which makes it perfect for weeknight dinner!
Ingredients Needed
Chili recipes are extremely versatile and can be made lots of different ways. For your typical recipe you only really need a few standard ingredients and a really good chili seasoning mix for great flavor. Here's what you'll need:
- Ground Turkey - I like using lean ground turkey meat, but you can certainly use ground beef or ground chicken instead.
- Beans - Beans are definitely a star ingredient in chili. I used canned kidney beans and pinto beans, but you can use any combination of beans you like.
- Veggies - A few chopped veggies sautéed and simmered will give your chili great flavor.
- Tomatoes - You can use regular diced tomatoes or for more flavor try fire-roasted tomatoes! I also include a can of rotel tomatoes mixed with green chilis!
- Warm spices - This homemade chili seasoning recipe is what really makes this chili so good. A combination of chili powder, cumin, oregano and smoked paprika gives it a delicious smoky flavor.
How To Make Turkey Chili
Full instructions are included in the recipe card below, but here’s a quick overview:
Step One: Crumble and cook your ground turkey (or ground beef) in a large pot. Once meat is cooked, add your chopped veggies to the pot and sauté for a few minutes.
Step Two: Add the spices to the pot and stir them in with the meat and sautéed vegetables.
Step Three: Now add in the tomato paste, beans and diced tomatoes. You can add the tomatoes with the juice directly in the pot. But for your canned beans, make sure they have been drained & rinsed.
Step Four. Time to add your liquid. You can certainly use water, but broth gives the chili a lot more flavor! Stir everything together. Once all of the ingredients are combined, allow the chili to simmer for about 30 minutes.
Chili Topping Ideas
- Shredded Cheese: Fresh grated shredded cheese from a block tastes a lot better than pre-shredded cheese and it melts better in the chili.
- Sour Cream: You use regular, lite, or your favorite dairy-free sour cream.
- Ripe Avocado: I recently started adding avocado to my chili as a topping and I love it! It's mild, creamy, and compliments the heat of the chili perfectly.
- Jalapeños: If you want to add even more spicy flavor, add a few sliced jalapeños on top!
More Cozy Comfort Food
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Chicken Sausage Stir-fry
- White Chicken Chili
- Black Bean Quesadillas
- Chicken Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner
- Chicken Fajitas
Best Turkey Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 15 oz. can red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
- 1 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained & rinsed
- 1 14.5 oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 10 oz. can Rotel*
- 2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups chicken broth*
Instructions
- In a large pot crumble and cook the ground turkey until no longer pink.
- Add a tablespoon of olive oil then add the diced onion and bell pepper to the pot. Stir and sauté for 2 minutes. Next add the minced garlic to the pot. Sauté for an extra 30 seconds.
- Add the tomato paste to the pot and 2 tablespoon of water to smooth out the paste.
- Now stir in your chili powder, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper.
- Next add in both canned beans that have been drained and rinsed, fire-roasted tomatoes, Rotel tomatoes, and the chicken broth. Carefully stir all the ingredients together.
- Place a lid on the pot and bring the chili to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer the chili for 30 minutes. Be sure to check and stir the chili every few minutes as needed.
- Serve chili with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- I used the "Original" Rotel tomatoes which are a little of spicy. If you want less heat, use the "Mild" Rotel. You can also buy the generic diced tomatoes with green chilies.
- You can substitute the chicken broth with beef broth, vegetable broth or water.
Mary says
This is the BEST Turkey Chili recipe!!!
Brenda L Britt says
I am enjoying your blog and Youtube channel. Does this recipe serve 1 to 2 people? Is that what you mean by scale? How do I adjust for 4 people? Thanks.
Marsha says
Hi Brenda. Thank you so much! This recipe will serve 4-6 people. No need to adjust anything. Hope you enjoy!
Marissa says
This has been my go-to meal! So simple and easy. Thank you!
Marsha says
Yay! I'm so happy to hear that. You are so welcome! 🙂
Keisha Brady says
Omg!!!! This is best turkey chili!!! It has become a staple at my house especially during the winter months. I love it because I want my family to eat less beef and pork and the amount of veggies it has in one meal.
Marsha says
Yay! I'm so glad you like it Keisha! It really is perfect during the cold winter months! 🙂