Delicious Ground Turkey Chili recipe

Ground turkey chili is a healthy and frugal dinner idea. Toss this together in minutes on busy weeknights for a great meal your family will love.

Ground turkey chili

Some people are afraid of ground turkey and I just don’t understand why. It is so easy to make and your family won’t even realize it is turkey and not beef.

We love to cook with ground turkey because it is not only healthier for you, but it is much cheaper too. The ground turkey takes on the flavor of all the other ingredients and makes a delicious chili recipe.

Can I substitute ground turkey for ground beef in chili?

Now if you are still afraid to go all ground turkey then double this recipe and cook with 1 pound ground turkey and one pound lean ground beef.

The ground turkey will take on the flavor of the beef, so your family will never notice. That is an easy way to save some money without your family even noticing.

You might also like Crockpot Creamy Chicken Taco Soup Recipe for a delicious twist on traditional chili! It’s so good!

More ideas to try:

Our secret to adding more flavor and more health benefits is by shredding zucchini and adding it in the chili. Now you will want to invest in a mini chopper, like the one I have here.

You will place your chunks of zucchini in the food chopper and it will make it into tiny pieces.

Add it into your chili after you have browned the turkey and the zucchini almost disappears. However, the flavor doesn’t.

The zucchini ads the most delicious flavor to this chili. You definitely don’t want to miss out on that.

Trust me… your kids won’t even notice it in there. It is a great way to get them to eat more veggies without even realizing!

This recipe can be made on the stove top like we did or you can easily toss it all in the crockpot. In fact… this makes a very easy freezer meal idea too! See all our other Crock pot recipes here.

Ground turkey chili ingredients:

• Ground Turkey
• Olive Oil
• Zucchini Shredded
• Onion Diced
• Cans of Kidney Beans Do not drain
• Cans of Crushed Tomatoes
•  Chili Powder
• Cumin
•  Garlic Salt
• Pepper
•  Chicken Broth

Bell peppers are also delicious. Sometimes we also add green bell pepper and black beans. You can also add cayenne pepper for more heat.

Diced tomatoes are also delicious. As you can see, this recipe is versatile and one of our favorite turkey chili recipes.

How to make ground turkey chili:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.

Then add in the turkey and brown the ground turkey. Add in the shredded zucchini and onion.

Cook until translucent.

Add in the remaining ingredients.

Cook on low and allow it to simmer for about 20 minutes to let all the flavors combine.

You may need to add more water or broth if you don’t want the chili to be as thick.

What to serve with turkey chili?

Cornbread is so good with chili.  It is so yummy to crumble up the cornbread and mix it into the chili.  Delicious!

Here are a few delicious options that you can choose from.

• Easy Homemade Cornbread Recipe
• Sweet Honey Cornbread Recipe
• Corn Bread Muffins
• Cheddar Jalapeño Cornbread Recipe
• Gluten Free Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Recipe

Did you know that I also make my own homemade cornbread mix to make preparing cornbread even easier?  I love having these cornbread mixes on hand so I can whip up some delicious cornbread in no time at all!

Topping ideas for easy turkey chili:

• shredded cheese
• chives
• sour cream
• hot sauce
• diced jalapeno peppers
• saltine crackers
• corn chips
• tortilla chips
• cornbread
• cilantro

Time saving tip:

Another time saving tip is to use a small food chopper or food processor to quickly and easily chop onions.

If you do not have one of these, I highly recommend them. They are such a time saver and you make cooking so fast and easy.

I usually just chop the entire vegetable and freeze what I don’t need. It’s so nice to be able to just take the diced onion out of the freezer for recipes.

This is how I meal prep. It’s so quick and easy and helps get dinner on the table fast.

Learn and  how to freeze onions and also how to freeze peppers to save so much time in the kitchen! Lots of the recipes we cook call for onions and peppers so this is such a great time tip that we use frequently.

You will love having peppers and onions all ready to go! It is quick and easy.

CAN YOU FREEZE CHILI?

I love to freeze this chili to have for quick lunches. It’s so handy to have individual portions on the freezer.

You can also freeze larger portions for dinner for the family.

I prefer to freeze this chili in freezer bags so I can stack them easily. It takes up less space and I  can stack several bags.

While it is optional, I love to use  JOKARI Hands-Free Baggy Rack Storage Bag Holder. So handy!

Ground turkey is about $1 – $2 per pound cheaper than ground beef. Just by making this recipe you will save your family money. However, check the freezer section for the tubes of frozen ground turkey. It tends to be much cheaper in the frozen section. I like to buy my ground turkey at Aldi.

Make lasagna the easy way when you make this amazing Crock Pot Ground Turkey Lasagna Recipe. 

Print this easy ground turkey chili recipe below:

Print

Turkey Chili recipe

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

30 mins

 

Try this easy ground Turkey Chili recipe where you can sneak in veggies in too! Our family doesn't even know we are eating ground turkey or zuccini!

Course: Chilis, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Turkey Chili recipe

Servings: 6

Calories: 237 kcal

Author: Eating on a Dime

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground Turkey
• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Zucchini Shredded
• ½ Onion Diced
• 2 Cans of Kidney Beans Do not drain
• 2 Cans of Crushed Tomatoes 15 oz.
• 2 tbsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Garlic Salt
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 2 cups Chicken Broth

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.

2. Then add in the turkey and brown the ground turkey. Add in the shredded zucchini and onion.

3. Cook until translucent.

4. Add in the remaining ingredients.

5. Cook on low and allow it to simmer for about 20 minutes to let all the flavors combine

6. You may need to add more water or broth if you don't want the chili to be as thick.

Nutrition Facts

Turkey Chili recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 237 Calories from Fat 27

% Daily Value*

Fat 3g5%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Cholesterol 42mg14%

Sodium 625mg27%

Potassium 1122mg32%

Carbohydrates 30g10%

Fiber 9g38%

Sugar 9g10%

Protein 27g54%

Vitamin A 478IU10%

Vitamin C 30mg36%

Calcium 88mg9%

Iron 5mg28%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Try these other easy chili recipes:

• Crock Pot Vegetarian Chili Recipe
• Crock Pot Chili Mac Recipe
• One Pot Tex-Mex Chicken Chili Recipe
• Crock Pot Frito Chili Pie Recipe
• Vegetable and Beef Chili Recipe
• Crock Pot Vegetable and Beef Chili Recipe
• Easy Keto Chili Recipe
•  Crock Pot Chipotle Chili Recipe
• White Chicken Chili Recipe
• Crock Pot Chili Mac and Cheese Recipe
• Crock Pot Taco Chili