Hearty and packed with flavor, my Turkey Chili is the easy-to-make comfort food you need to try this week! Ground ancho and chipotle chiles combine with the turkey, black beans, and kidney beans for a flavor so rich you’ll never miss the beef!
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The easier, quicker chili
As much as I love classic beef chili, sometimes I want something a little easier, in less time. Since turkey is leaner than beef, my turkey chili needs less time to cook.
But rest assured, it’s still every bit as flavorful as beef chili, and similar to all of our soups, stews, and chilis, this one tastes even better the next day, making it an excellent choice for make-ahead dinners!
In our home, we always serve chili with condiments, like sour cream, diced white or green onion, hot sauce, and shredded cheddar. A side of tortilla chips (and guacamole) wouldn’t hurt either!
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Turkey. I used 95% lean ground turkey for this recipe, but you could use a ground turkey with a higher fat percentage if you’d like.
- Chiles. I used a combination of dried ancho and chipotle chiles, plus chili powder to create a deep, smoky flavor that really complements the flavor of the turkey. I also use a touch of cayenne, to taste, at the end. You could also use Anaheim, pasilla, or guajillo chiles in place of the anchos if need be. And if you can’t find whole chiles, simply increase the amount of chili powder from 2 to 5 tablespoons.
- Beans. Lots of people criticize when I use beans in chili, but I like them so I use them in my turkey chili! I love the texture and added heft the kidney and black beans add to this chili.
- Tortillas. Crushed tortilla chips add enough coarseness to help grind the dried chiles.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
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How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Toast the ancho and chipotle peppers in a pan, then toast the chili powder and cumin.
- After toasting, place the peppers, chili powder, cumin, and tortilla chips into a food processor or spice/coffee grinder and blend until fine.
- Saute the onion in a large Dutch oven over medium heat with 3 tablespoons of olive oil until soft.
- Add the ground turkey and saute until browned while breaking up with a spoon or meat masher.
- Cook the spice mixture with 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat until fragrant.
- Once fragrant, add a 1/4 cup of water to the pan.
- Add the spice mixture to the turkey, cook for 1 minute, then add the tomato paste and cook for 3 minutes while stirring. Add the garlic powder and mix again.
- Add the chicken stock and beans and bring to a boil, then stir and turn the heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until the chili thickens. Taste test, and if it’s too spicy, add the optional honey and mix to combine. Serve in bowls with your favorite condiments and enjoy!
Top tips
- Chiles > chili powder. The best tip I can give you is to use whole dried chiles. The flavor will be vastly superior to any chili powder. Now, I completely understand that not everyone can access dried chiles, so if you can’t find them you can use chili powder in their place. Use 5 tablespoons total, instead of the 2 already accounted for in this turkey chili recipe.
- Adjust the heat. Adding honey helps to reduce the heat and the frequent bitterness of the chiles, while adding cayenne will increase the heat. Since we all have different palates and tolerance for spice, the best thing you can do is taste test at the end and adjust the honey or cayenne as needed.
- Let it sit. You can absolutely eat your turkey chili the night you make it, but the flavor will continue to improve if it sits in the fridge overnight.
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The Best Turkey Chili
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 pounds ground turkey
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 16-ounce cans kidney beans drained
- 2 16-ounce cans black beans drained
- 2 cups low sodium chicken stock
- cayenne pepper to taste, see notes below
- 1 tablespoon honey see notes below
For the ground spice mixture
- 3 dried ancho chiles stems and seeds removed
- 1 dried chipotle chile stems and seeds removed
- 2 tablespoons chili powder If not using whole dried chiles increase to 5 tablespoons
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1/4 cup crushed tortillas
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Instructions
For the ground spice mixture
- Remove the stems and seeds from the dried ancho and chipotle peppers. Toast the chiles in a dry pan over medium heat for 30 seconds per side or until fragrant. Remove chiles from the heat to a plate then add the chili powder and cumin to the pan and toast for 1 minute stirring frequently.
- Place the peppers along with the chili powder, cumin, and tortilla chips into a food processor. Blend until a fine powder is formed.
For the chili
- Heat a large Dutch oven to medium heat with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and saute the onion until soft (about 5 minutes).
- Add the ground turkey and saute until browned while breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
- Meanwhile, heat a pan to medium heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil along with the prepared spice mixture. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until very fragrant. Once fragrant add a 1/4 cup of water to the pan.
- Once the turkey is browned add the spice mix to the turkey and continue to cook for another 1 minute stirring to incorporate.
- Add the tomato paste to the pot and cook for 3 minutes stirring well to combine. Next, add the salt and garlic powder and mix well.
- Add the low-sodium chicken stock and beans, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, give it all a stir then turn the heat down to low. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until the chili is nice and thick. If you like it on the thinner side cook simmer with the lid partially cracked and/or add more chicken stock.
- Add the optional honey and mix to combine. Taste test the turkey chili and adjust salt, spice, and honey levels to taste. An easy way to bring up the spice level quickly is with cayenne powder to taste. Serve in bowls topped with sour cream, diced raw onion, cheddar cheese, or whatever you like. Enjoy!
Notes
- Improve the flavor. The single most important thing you can do to improve turkey chili is to make it one day in advance and refrigerate overnight! The flavors will be so much better.
- Spice level. The amount of cayenne or omitting completely will depend on the spice level of the dried chilis and commercial chili powder you use. For this reason, it’s recommended to wait until the end before adding any cayenne.
- Honey. I find that some of level sweetness is often needed to balance out the chile peppers. Adjust according to taste.
- Different chile peppers. Anaheim, Pasilla, or Guajillo can be substituted for the Ancho chiles.
- Ratio of chili powder. 3 dried ancho chiles equal approximately 3 tablespoons of chili powder and 1 dried chipotle equals approximately a 1/2 tablespoon of chili powder. If using just ground chili powder increase from 2 to 5 tablespoons total.
- Leftovers. Turkey chili can be saved for up to 3 days and can be reheated on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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People who complain about beans in chili know not what they talk about. Chili without beans is nothing more than a condiment for a hot dog. Real chili emanated from cattle drives in Texas and had beans!!
Thanks for that comment, Gerry! We love beans in our chili!
Giving this a 5 star because you are using turkey. My family has recently decided…that they are vegans. Yeah, great…. So, this at least gives me something to present to them. 😉