The Best Healthy Turkey Chili - Chipotle Turkey Chili

Once the weather turns cooler, I love making a good, hearty chili. Not only does this freeze amazingly, but this hearty chipotle turkey chili is a filling and delicious dish that keeps you satisfied. I love having this in my freezer for an easy dinner. I swear, this is the best healthy turkey chili recipe you'll try.

This healthy turkey chili is layered with smoky flavors from the smoked paprika, ancho chili powder, and chipotle chili in adobo. It is packed with flavor and vegetables making this a well rounded and freezer friendly chili.

While I love having this chili on its own, I love serving this on baked potatoes or with a side of my lighted up cornbread, light biscuits, or my cornbread waffles.

Easy Turkey Chili

This turkey chili is so easy to make. It requires very minimal chopping. In fact, you can actually find frozen pepper and onion blends in most grocery stores. If using frozen peppers and onions, you'll want to cook them a little longer before adding turkey. Once peppers are soft and onions are translucent, continue as written.

Now, there are "dump chili" recipes where you open up a few cans, dump them all together, and cook in a slow cooker. This isn't that easy, but the few extra steps and fresh ingredients really make this healthy turkey chili shine.

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili Crock Pot Recipe

One question I always get is "can this be cooked in the slow cooker?" Yes and no. Every slow cooker turkey chili recipe I have found still requires cooking on the stove first. Any recipe that has you putting raw ground meat directly in a slow cooker without browning is a huge red flag. To me, any slow cooker recipe should begin and end in the slow cooker.

That being said, this recipe can be made in a slow cooker after some browning in a pot. What is great about this, however, is that you can do the chopping and browning the day before and set up the slow cooker the next day. This makes a great chili for football parties, entertaining, or chilly nights.

What toppings go with chili?

My perfect chili toppings are cheese, hot sauce, jalapeno, cilantro, red onions, extra lime juice, sour cream, and sliced avocado. My other favorite chili toppings include:

• Chopped Tomatoes
• Tortilla Chips
• Guacamole
• Fritos
• Greek Yogurt
• Pico de Gallo
• Queso Fresco
• Toasted Corn Bread
• Tater Tots
• Goldfish Crackers

Low Calorie Turkey Chili Recipe - Weight Watchers Turkey Chili Recipe

For those that count calories or macros, each serving is 252 calories, 4g Fat, 32g Carbs, 4g Sugar, and 23g of Protein. For those that follow Weight Watchers, you'll recognize that this recipe utilizes a lot of the zero point ingredients including black beans, corn, and ground turkey. If you are on WW, you can directly track this turkey chili recipe here.

If you are looking for a great meal prep chili dinner, this freezes fantastically in individualized portions. My healthy cornbread waffles also freeze well and are only 121 calories making the pair a filling and delicious under 400 calorie entree packed with protein and vegetables.

Yield: 16 cups

Hearty Chipotle Turkey Chili

Print

This hearty chipotle turkey chili is a filling and delicious dish that keeps you satisfied during those colder weather months. It is smoky and a little spicy, and freezes so well.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
• 1 tablespoon Smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon Cumin
• 1 tablespoon Oregano
• 2 teaspoon Chili powder (I use ancho chili powder)
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 lb 99% lean ground turkey or chicken
• 1 teaspoon olive oil (or use cooking spray)
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 3 Garlic cloves minced
• 2 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups beef stock
• 2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups of frozen corn (I love the Trader Joe's roasted corn)
• 1 can fat free refried beans I love the Trader Joe's brand
• 2 bay leaves
• 1-2 tbsp chipotle in adobo chopped finely (see step 4 about heat preference)

Instructions

1. Combine the spices (first six ingredients) in a bowl. Season ground turkey with 1 tablespoon of seasoning blend and reserve the rest.
2. Heat pot on medium heat (this recipe makes 16 cups) and add olive oil. Once oil is shimmering, add onions, peppers, and a pinch of salt and cook until peppers are tender and onions are translucent (about 5 minutes).
3. Add minced garlic and seasoned ground turkey. Cook until turkey is browned (it is okay if it is a little undercooked).
4. Add all remaining ingredients. If you are sensitive to heat, hold off in the chipotle chili peppers. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. If sensitive to heat, wait until chili is simmering to taste before adding chipotle peppers.
5. Simmer chili for one hour, stirring occasionally.
6. Before serving, remove bay leaves and enjoy.

Notes

Slow Cooker instructions: After step three, transfer all ingredients to a slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on low.

For those in WW, you can track this recipe directly in the app by clicking: https://cmx.weightwatchers.com/details/MEMBERRECIPE:61d8c7f86f2b937b47df152a

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

2 cups
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 252Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 1053mgCarbohydrates: 32gNet Carbohydrates: 28gFiber: 4gSugar: 4gProtein: 23g