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    Home » Recipes » Poultry

    Home » Recipes » Poultry

    Turkey Chili

    By Chula King · April 18, 2017 · Updated April 9, 2021

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    Turkey Chili is a perfect dish to serve for Cinco de Mayo. It’s easy to make, and spicy to taste. Top it with cheddar cheese, or mound it on lettuce for an awesome taco salad. What’s even better is that it makes incredible leftovers!

    Turkey Chili

    Contents show
    1 Ingredients for Turkey Chili
    2 Making Chili:
    3 Finishing the Turkey Chili:
    4 Turkey Chili
    4.1 Ingredients
    4.2 Instructions
    4.3 Chula's Expert Tips
    4.4 Nutrition

    Ingredients for Turkey Chili

    I used the following ingredients:  Ground turkey, onion, garlic, flour, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, oregano, Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies, tomato sauce, black beans and a little olive oil for sautéing the onions and garlic.

    Ingredients for Chili

    Making Chili:

    First, I browned the ground turkey in a large Dutch oven, making sure to break the meat up into small pieces.

    Browning the Turkey

    Then, I dumped it onto a colander, and ran it under hot water. Even though the ground turkey is quite lean (I used 93% lean), I routinely do this until the liquid runs clean.  After it had cooled a bit, I broke any large clumps into small pieces with my fingers.

    Crumbling the Browned Turkey

    Next, I added a bit of olive oil to the same Dutch oven that was used for the turkey, Then, I added the onions sautéd them over medium heat for about five minutes or until they were tender but not browned.

    Adding onions

    Then I add the minced garlic and continue sautéing until the garlic was fragrant. This took about 30 seconds.

    Adding the garlic

    I returned the browned turkey to the Dutch oven, and stirred to combine. Then I add the flour to the meat mixture and stirred to combine. The reason for the flour is that it helps to thicken the Turkey Chili.

    Adding the flour

    Next, I added the chili powder, cumin, salt, freshly ground pepper and oregano. Both the Rotel tomatoes and the tomato sauce had no salt added. In addition, the black beans were reduced sodium.  Therefore, I adjusted the taste by adding a bit more salt than my original recipe called for.

    Adding the spices for the Chili

    After everything was well combined, I added the Rotel tomatoes and the tomato sauce. In the past, I had only used one can of tomato sauce, but both Susan and I thought that the mixture looked a bit dry. Therefore, I added a second can.

    Adding the tomatoes

    I stirred the Turkey Chili, heated it to a boil, and then covered the pan. I lowered the heat to medium low and cooked the chili covered for about an hour.

    Stirring the Chili

    Finishing the Turkey Chili:

    Meanwhile, I poured the black beans into a strainer, and rinsed them well. After an hour, I added the black beans to the meat mixture and gave it a good stir. I covered the pan, and cooked the chili for an additional 30 minutes.

    Turkey Chili

    I corrected the seasonings, and voila – an incredible turkey chili!

    Turkey Chlli

    For dinner, I served the chili topped with some shredded cheddar cheese, and garnished it with chopped chives. On the side, I served a green salad, some tortilla chips and a chilled Chardonnay.  What we didn’t eat went into the freezer for another delicious meal.Yum!

    Turkey Chili

    Turkey Chili

    Turkey Chili is a perfect dish to serve for Cinco de Mayo. It’s easy to make, and spicy to taste. Top it with cheddar cheese, or mound it on lettuce for an awesome taco salad. What’s even better is that it makes incredible leftovers!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin
    Course: Cinco de Mayo, Main Course
    Cuisine: Cinco de Mayo, Mexican
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
    Servings: 6 servings
    Calories: 288kcal
    Author: Chula King

    Ingredients

    • 1 ¼ pounds lean ground turkey*
    • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 large onion chopped
    • 3 cloves garlic minced
    • 2 Tablespoons flour
    • ¼ teaspoon oregano
    • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
    • 3 Tablespoons chili powder
    • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
    • 20 ounces (2 10-ounce cans) Rotel diced tomatoes and green chilies
    • 8 ounces tomato sauce
    • 16 ounces (16-ounce can) black beans, drained and rinsed well
    • Chopped green onions or chives for garnish if desired
    • Tortilla chips
    • Shredded cheddar cheese

    Instructions

    • Cook and crumble ground turkey in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until browned. Pour into colander and rinse with hot water until water runs clean. Take handfuls and rub between hands to crumble into fine pieces. Rinse again.
    • Heat olive oil in the same Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic; sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add browned turkey, flour, chili powder, cumin oregano, freshly ground pepper and salt. Stir to mix well. Add Rotel tomatoes and green chilies, and tomato sauce; mix well. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Add black beans; cover and simmer an additional 30 minutes.
    • Serve Chili in bowls topped with shredded cheddar cheese, chopped green onions, and tortilla chips on the side. (Yield: 6 servings)

    Chula's Expert Tips

    *May also use ground beef in place of the turkey.
    Variation: Serve warm chili on a bed of shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes to make a taco salad. Garnish with chopped onions, crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheddar cheese.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 288kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 1018mg | Potassium: 859mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1540IU | Vitamin C: 15.3mg | Calcium: 107mg | Iron: 5.2mg
    Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment below and/or give this recipe a rating. On Instagram? Take a picture and tag @pudgefactor or #pudgefactor.

    Filed Under: Cinco de Mayo, Poultry, Soups

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