This Healthy Turkey Chili Crockpot Recipe is the most flavourful chili, filled with beans, veggies and turkey, then loaded with toppings.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil such as avocado or grapeseed oil.
- Ground turkey – you can make this chili with ground chicken, beef or pork instead.
- Yellow onion – white onion or shallots would also be good.
- Celery stalks – carrots would add a bit of crunch to your chili if you’re not a fan of celery.
- Green pepper – swap out for any colour bell pepper of your choice like red or yellow pepper.
- Corn – feel free to use another kind of veggie like peas.
- Kidney beans and navy beans – great northern, black, pinto and mixed soup beans would all be yummy in this dish.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Chili powder – if you don’t have chili powder, use a combination of paprika, cumin and cayenne.
- Cumin – double up on the coriander if you don’t have any cumin.
- Paprika – cayenne is a good substitute for paprika but is a bit spicier.
- Coriander – use some more cumin instead.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Diced tomatoes – canned crushed tomatoes would also work.
- Beef broth – vegetable broth would be the best substitute for beef broth.
Topping ideas
- Shredded cheddar cheese – swap out for another cheese of your choice like Monterey Jack.
- Scallions – garnish with green onions or red onions instead.
- Cilantro – leave this off altogether if you’re not a fan of cilantro.
- Tortilla chips – tortilla strips would also add a bit of crunch to your chili.
- Sour cream – non-fat sour cream is a healthier option.
- Sliced jalapeno peppers – swap out for some poblanos instead.
- Sliced avocado – leave this off if you’re not a fan of avocado.
How to make turkey chili in the crockpot
Step 1: Prep your ingredients.
Step 2: Brown the turkey.
Saute the ground turkey in a skillet until lightly browned.
Step 3: Add everything to the crockpot.
Add the cooked ground turkey and the rest of the ingredients (minus the toppings) to the crockpot.
Step 4: Cook the chili.
Cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours.
Step 5: Add on your toppings.
Serve chili in large bowls, then add your toppings of choice.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!
How to customize your chili
Looking for different ways to make this chili your own? Here are a few ways you can customize your slow cooker turkey chili:
- Adjust the spice level: Add more or less chili powder to your chili depending on your spice tolerance. You can also add in some jalapenos if you're a fan of spice!
- Try out different toppings: I love topping my chili with cheese, jalapenos and cheddar cheese, but feel free to add on any toppings of your choice.
- Add in more flavour: For an extra burst of flavour in your chili, try adding in some beer, cocoa powder or unsweetened chocolate, brewed espresso or black coffee, turmeric, smoky paprika, sweet potato or balsamic vinegar.
- Make it vegetarian: You can easily make this chili vegetarian. Just swap out the ground turkey for another can of beans.
Frequently Asked Questions
For this turkey chili crockpot recipe, you’ll need to sauté the ground turkey until it’s lightly browned before adding it to the crockpot. You shouldn’t add the turkey to the crockpot raw or it won’t cook properly.
This chili will provide you with plenty of protein and vegetables, but that doesn’t mean you have to use it as your complete meal. Try serving it with some corn bread, white or brown rice, onion rings or a side salad.
This recipe is a great hands-off dinner idea. You can cook it on low for 6 hours, then leave it on the ‘keep warm' setting for a couple hours after that.
The key to making an amazingly flavourful chili is the spices you add! For this recipe, I used a combination of chili powder, cumin, paprika and coriander, but feel free to add in more spices for a burst of additional flavour.
If you have a bunch of cooked leftover turkey, feel free to use it to make this yummy chili! Instead of cooking it alongside the rest of the ingredients, you'll stir it in at the end during the last 10 minutes of cooking time. This will warm up the turkey without overcooking it.
Storing and reheating
This turkey chili crockpot recipe is a great meal prep recipe. You can make a big batch on the weekend then store the leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just reheat it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes or bring it to a simmer in a pot on the stovetop.
Can you freeze turkey chili?
Yes! This crockpot turkey chili will last in the freezer for up to 3 months in freezer-safe glass containers or Ziploc bags. When you’re ready to enjoy, you can let it defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat or reheat from frozen in the microwave for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
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More healthy slow cooker recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on refrigerating the leftovers.
- I get all my free-range ground chicken and turkey from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Use these Ziploc bag holders if you're freezing the leftover chili in Ziploc bags.
- You can also freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
Healthy Crockpot Turkey Chili {So Easy!}
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey or ground chicken
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 cup corn
- 2 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 can navy beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 796 ml diced tomatoes
- 2 cup beef broth
Topping ideas
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Scallions, sliced
- Chopped cilantro
- Tortilla chips
- Sour cream
- Sliced jalapeno peppers
- Sliced avocado
Instructions
- Heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add ground turkey, seasoning generously with salt & pepper, and saute for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned.
- Add turkey to Crockpot along with the rest of ingredients (minus the toppings). Cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours.
- Serve chili in large bowls, then add toppings of choice. Serve and enjoy!
- STORAGE: Chili will last in fridge up to 5 days, and can be reheated in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. It can also be frozen up to 3 months in glass bowls. Reheat from frozen for 6-7 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Comments & Reviews
Nael says
Is the nutritional info per serving?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes
Michelle Donovan says
can I ask you what type of ground turkey did you use? Was it the breast?
Taylor Stinson says
I buy packages of ground turkey that say “lean ground turkey” but do not specify breast. You can use any type of ground turkey you’d like and it wouldn’t impact the recipe too much.
Sarah says
Excited to try this! Quick question – does the nutritional information provided include the toppings for this recipe? Thank you!
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Sarah! No it doesn’t unfortunately, this is to account for the fact that everyone will add a custom amount of toppings and not always add all of them either. Hope that makes sense!
Taylor says
Made this tonight for dinner, it turned out AMAZING. Thank you 🥰
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed!
Tayler says
This recipe was delicious and simple! I am a bit confused though, as when I used 2 cans of each beans as directed, there was nowhere near enough room in my crock pot. Maybe I used too big of cans?
Deighton says
Hi Taylor in your recipe you say 2 cans of each beans but you out 1 of each in your video. So what should I use and if it’s only 1 can or each is it 1 cup of broth?
Many thanks
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Deighton – I recently updated the recipe to provide a greater yield (ie 6 servings instead of 4), so that’s why there are 2 cans each and 2 cups of broth. You can use 1 can of each bean and then 1 cup of broth if you’d like a smaller serving amount (ie 4 servings). Hope that helps!
B says
Hi
I enjoy your recipes. And your blog.
But I am curious with this chili recipe, why is the sodium so high 1131 mg. ?
Thanks
B
Taylor Stinson says
Nutritional values are a best estimate and depend on the individual ingredients used. If I had to guess it comes down to the beans and canned tomatoes as canned items have a higher sodium content. You can use low sodium canned items and rinse the beans well to get the sodium count down.
Julie Rotenberry says
what is the serving size on this?
Taylor Stinson says
There are 4 servings – you will need to divide the recipe in 4 and each portion is a serving 🙂
JULIE ROTENBERRY says
perfect! It came to 2 cups per serving! So the nutrition information that you listed is still the same for me, right?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes it is 🙂 As long as you divided equally into 4 servings!
Mita says
Taylor,
I love your YouTube channel and of course your blog. You should have a million subscribers. The pictures on the blog/thumbnail images on YouTube are so colorful and vibrant, draws one to them right away. I found you only a month or two ago and I have to say your channel is one of my favorites on YouTube. The recipes are delicious, most importantly easy to make and you make everything look so easy. I always look forward to your videos. Simple ingredients, bold flavors…that is what I love about your recipes. You are simply put, awesome.
Taylor Stinson says
Mita you are so sweet, thank you so much for your kind comment! You’ve really made my day!!! Please let me know if you ever have any requests 🙂