Truth: about 10 years ago, I stopped eating red meat. When the average person hears this, they typically give me a horror-stricken look, and then ask me how I can live without cheeseburgers. Fair enough. However, just because I no longer partake in red meat does not mean that I can’t enjoy some of the same delicious meals that I used to, like this turkey chili!
One of my favorite (and easy) meals to whip up is turkey chili. It takes only a few minutes to prepare, and makes a large enough batch for Justin and I to enjoy for a few meals!
Turkey Chili
- 1½ lbs lean ground turkey breast
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 can (15oz) petite diced tomatoes
- 2 cans (15oz each) tomato sauce
- 1 can (15oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 3+ tbsp chili powder (to heat preference)
- 1 tbsp cumin
- salt and pepper
- Warm a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a deep skillet/pot to medium-high heat. Add diced onion and garlic and saute until tender.
- Add ground turkey breast: season with salt/pepper and cook through, about 6 minutes.
- Add petite diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and black beans.
- Add chili powder and cumin to taste.
- Reduce heat to medium-low. Add green pepper.
- Simmer 10-15 minutes, until green pepper is tender.
- Serve with shredded cheese (and I also suggest serving with a dollop of guacamole and cilantro!).
You could definitely use regular ground turkey, ground chicken, or another meat to create this dish. However, I prefer to use ground turkey breast since it is a lean choice. I typically serve the chili with tortilla chips and fresh guacamole: yum!
***The spices in this recipe are for a relatively mild chili. If you like your chili with a kick, I would definitely recommend adding more spice to your taste! I typically end up adding a bit more chili powder to mine if my husband isn’t around (he can’t handle heat!).
Also – if you would like your green peppers to be a bit softer, I’d add them in with the onions at the beginning of the recipe. I like a bit of difference in texture in comparison to the soft tomatoes, beans, and turkey, so adding them towards the end is just a personal preference!
For more chili recipes…
I’m not a chili person at allllll but B might be um, INSANE over this!?! I will be sharing with him!
Yum – it looks delicious! Thanks for sharing!
I’ve never tried turkey chili! Thanks for the idea. I just might make that….but probably not till it gets a little colder out. It seems like more of a winter treat than something to eat at 95 degrees plus…I’ll keep it in my list of things to make! Thanks!
i love turkey chili, and this looks like a tasty, easy recipe–thanks!
Yum. I’m totally making this now. Maybe this weekend.
This sounds delish! I am bookmarking it for fall! My Chili season! 🙂
How come you stopped eating red meat?
I actually had just one experience where my steak was barely cooked at all, and I decided to not eat red meat for a week or so. The week turned into a few months, which turned into years…and I’ve never gone back!
I made this recipe last night and it was delicious! My husband and I always make an easy turkey chili recipe, but use a packet of McCormick chili seasoning and canelli beans, so it was nice to use black beans for a change along with my own seasoning. We will definitely make this again!
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I made this tonight, and it was simply uh-may-zing! I added just one can of tomato sauce, and used 1 red bell pepper and 1/2 a green one cooking with the onions, it was to die for!