Easy Turkey Chili – Slender Kitchen

Easy Turkey Chili that you can make in under 35 minutes for a delicious weeknight meal.

Normally when I think about chili I think of a slow weekend meal where the chili simmers on the stove or in the slow cooker all day, but in real life sometimes a girl is craving chili and needs a quicker solution. Enter this dreamy Turkey Chili. The whole thing is ready in about 30 minutes but you would never know it from the deep flavor. It tastes like a chili that spent all day on the stove. They key to getting a nice deep flavor is starting out by sauteing all the veggies to bring out and deepen their flavor. Then the turkey and spice are added. Adding the spices early helps deepen thier flavor as well. Finally the tomatoes, broth, and beans are added to create a thick, rich chili.

In terms of making this recipe your own, you can personalize it in all sorts of ways. My personal favorite is through the toppings – I am a toppings person. I pile on the cheese, avocado, cilantro, some baked tortillas chips, a dollop of Greek yogurt, and tons of fresh lime juice. But you could also switch up the beans – using black beans, cannelini beans, or even chickpeas. You could also add some diced sweet potato or butternut squash to add some sweetness to the dish. Lastly, and perhaps the most unexpected twist, you could add some cinnamon to the spices. It adds a delicious, surprising flavor to the chili, that I personally love.

Tips for making Easy Turkey Chili

• This chili can be made with any kind of ground meat or even vegetarian crumbles. I have made it successfully with beef, chicken, and even turkey sausage. I use whatever I have at home. Same goes for the beans! You can use anything.
• Want some veggies? Add in some diced butternut squash or cauliflower, Your family won’t even notice that there are added veggies.
• If you don’t like things too spicy, you can leave out the jalapeno. Try to use at least some of the chipotles since the adobo sauce adds a nice smoky flavor to the chili.
• For a zero point option (if you are on Weight Watchers), eliminate the olive oil and use fat free beef broth.

Looking for more healthy chili recipes? 

This post was originally posted in January 2017 but has been updated to include new tips and updated serving sizes.