Easy Chipotle Turkey Chili packs in so much flavor! Everything you could ask for in a hearty, filling chili recipe — and did I mention: Easy?
Who’s in the mood for a hearty batch of chili featuring ground turkey and two kinds of beans? This Easy Chipotle Turkey Chili hits the spot, and is so full of flavor that even the avowed ground turkey hater in this house couldn’t tell it wasn’t beef! Where’s the beef? Not necessary! 😉
Ground turkey often goes on sale at ALDI. When they have a 3 lb pack on their weekly meat specials, enjoy this filling turkey chili recipe one night — then either freeze the rest, or try it in other ground turkey recipes such as:
- Italian wedding soup with turkey meatballs
- Egg roll in a noodle bowl
- Southwest salsa turkey burgers
- Sheet pan balsamic BBQ turkey meatloaf
- Ground turkey stir fry with cauliflower rice
… and so much more. The chipotles in adobo here just add enough smoky spice to balance out the blander ground turkey, but your chili doesn’t end up overly spicy. (If you’re very sensitive to spice, though, just use 2-3 chipotle peppers rather than the four I used here.)
Easy Chipotle Turkey Chili
Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 lb ground turkey
4 chipotle peppers (from a can of chipotles in adobo), chopped
1 Tbsp of the adobo sauce
Two 14.5 oz cans fire roasted diced (and/or crushed) tomatoes*
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 cup water
1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Sea salt, to taste
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then add onion, garlic, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. Saute for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened.
Add turkey, chipotles, and adobo sauce and continue to cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the turkey as you go, until turkey is cooked through.
Stir in tomatoes, beans, water, cocoa powder, and sea salt, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer partly covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve with your favorite chili toppings!
Note: I used one can of crushed tomatoes and one can of diced; for a more soupy chili you could instead use one can of diced tomatoes and one can of sauce. I also used my little Ninja food chopper to chop the onions, garlic, and chipotles — it’s quicker and much less messy than trying to chop the peppers by hand.
That’s a 45 minute pot of turkey chili
How easy is that? The chipotles alone do half the work of spicing up the chili for you here — I swear, they’re nothing short of a miracle ingredient sometimes.
I just topped my easy turkey chili with some shredded cheese and chopped green onion, but you could also do sour cream, avocado, crushed tortilla chips, or other chili toppings of choice. Chipotle turkey chili is naturally gluten free — and any leftover chili is great on baked potatoes, nachos, and more.
Easy Chipotle Turkey Chili, printable recipe
Chipotle Turkey Chili
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 4 chipotle peppers (from a can of chipotles in adobo), chopped
- 1 Tbsp of the adobo sauce
- 2 14.5 oz cans fire roasted diced and/or crushed tomatoes
- 1 can black beans, drained
- 1 can kidney beans, drained
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- Sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then add onion, garlic, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. Saute for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened.
- Add turkey, chipotles, and adobo sauce and continue to cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the turkey as you go, until turkey is cooked through.
- Stir in tomatoes, beans, water, cocoa powder, and sea salt, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer partly covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve with your favorite chili toppings!
Notes
Recipes in the real world
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Neal says
I was just wondering how spicy it is,
thanks
Neal
rachel says
It’s not super spicy. If you are very sensitive to spice, you can cut down to 2-3 peppers rather than the four I used, however.
kelsey says
Hello! Could you make this with leftover Thanksgiving turkey?
rachel says
I’ve never tried, but in that case I’d just stir in the chipotles, broth, etc right after sauteing the onion and garlic, then add chopped cooked turkey in at the end after everything simmers and just cook until heated through. Let me know if you try it, how it turns out. 🙂
Lindsay says
Made this and really liked it – especially enjoyed that unique chipotle flavor coming through.
Question: is there any reason you couldn’t do this as a slow cooker recipe?
rachel says
Sure — although it’s a 30 minute recipe so I’ve never tried. You’d want to still pre-saute the onion and brown the ground turkey, though.
Kathryn says
This was very tasty, and very spicy! We are not sensitive to spice, but I would only make it with 2 chipotle peppers next time. It was too spicy for my 12 year old and definitely at the upper level of my tolerance.