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This healthy turkey chili is hearty, flavorful, and it’s made in the slow cooker! Made with ground turkey, fire roasted tomatoes, kidney beans and more. It’s great for game day, meal prep, and it’s sure to become your favorite turkey chili!
If you love slow cooker recipes, be sure to try my slow cooker beef barbacoa, slow cooker green chile chicken enchilada soup, and slow cooker mashed potatoes.
This post and recipe have been updated since it was originally published on 1/25/2016
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Healthy Turkey Chili
- Ingredients for Turkey Chili
- How to Make Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
- Substitutions and Variations
- Toppings for Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
- Storage, Freezing and Reheating
- More Chili Recipes
- Did you make this healthy slow cooker turkey chili? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
- Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey Chili Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Healthy Turkey Chili
Slow cooker – This chili is made in the slow cooker, which means once it’s prepped you can set the timer and forget about it.
Hearty and healthy – Chili is a great dinner to make on a cold night. Not only does it warm you up, but it’s super filling and full of protein and fiber.
Perfect for a crowd – Chili is a great meal to make for big gatherings. Set out an assortment of toppings and let people customize their bowl. It won’t disappoint!
Leftovers are even better – Chili is one of those meals that tends to taste better the next day. All of the flavors have time to sit and meld together.
Freezer-friendly – Chili is a great meal to make ahead of time and freeze. It also makes a large amount so you can freeze half for another time.
Ingredients for Turkey Chili
- Ground turkey – Avoid using extra lean ground turkey. The fat gives keeps the turkey from drying out and gives it flavor. I use 93% lean.
- Onion, poblano pepper, garlic – The flavorful aromatics. Saute them for the best flavor and texture.
- Chili powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, smoked paprika – This flavorful blend of dried spices gives the chili tons of flavor. Be sure the chili powder is mild, I don’t recommend using a spicy chili powder.
- Fire roasted tomatoes – Fire roasted tomatoes give the chili a rich smoky tomato flavor.
- Green chiles and fire roasted corn – Both are a nod to the southwest flavors I absolutely love. The corn is also a great way to add a bit of sweetness to balance the heat.
- Kidney beans – A great source of fiber.
- Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce – Spicy, smoky, and a little tangy from the adobo sauce.
- Chicken broth – Use low sodium so the chili doesn’t get too salty.
How to Make Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Saute the onion, poblano, and garlic in a skillet until they’re soft. Add them into the slow cooker. In the same skillet crumble and cook the ground turkey.
Add the turkey to the slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients. Stir everything together and cover with a lid. Cook on low heat for 6-7 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.
Substitutions and Variations
- Poblano chile peppers are mild, but feel free to substitute with a red or green bell pepper.
- For a less spicy chili, omit the chipotle pepper and just use the adobo sauce.
- Kidney beans can be swapped with black beans or a combination of both.
- If you don’t like beans in your chili, omit them and add an extra 1/2 pound of ground. turkey and reduce the chicken broth by a 1/2 cup.
- Ground turkey can be substituted with ground chicken or ground beef.
Toppings for Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
- Tortilla chips are a great topping, plus they’re great for scooping up the chili.
- Avocado slices or chunks
- Cheese such as cheddar, monterey jack, colby jack or pepper jack are all good choices.
- Greek yogurt or sour cream are a great way to add something cool and creamy to the chili.
- Cilantro and green onions for freshness and crunch.
- Jalapenos or pickled jalapenos for an extra spicy kick.
Storage, Freezing and Reheating
Storage – Chili will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. It’s a great option if you meal prep.
Freezing – Once the chili has cooled completely, store it in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight before reheating it.
Reheating – If you’re in a hurry, you can always microwave the chili in the microwave. If you’re reheating a large amount I like to do it in a saucepan or pot on the stove. Heat it over medium heat until warmed through. If it’s too thick, add a little chicken broth to loosen it.
More Chili Recipes
- Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili
- White Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker Italian Turkey Chili
- No Bean Chili
- Slow Cooker Bison Sweet Potato Chili
- Lentil Sweet Potato Chili
Did you make this healthy slow cooker turkey chili? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 poblano pepper, seeds removed and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey, I use 93/7%
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 finely chopped chipotle chile + 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
- 4 ounces diced green chiles
- 1 cup fire roasted corn, or regular sweet corn
- 28 ounces crushed fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 15 ounces kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- shredded cheese, green onions, cilantro, and Greek yogurt or sour cream for topping the chili
Instructions
- Preheat a skillet with a tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot add in the onion, poblano, and garlic. Saute until the veggies have softened, about 3 minutes. Dump the veggies into the slow cooker.
- Add the ground turkey to the skillet and crumble it. Season with salt and pepper and cook until it's browned and cooked through. Dump it into the slow cooker.
- Add the remaining ingredients into the slow cooker and stir everything together. Cover with the lid and set on low for 6-7 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- Serve the chili topped with shredded cheese, avocado, cilantro, tortilla chips, and plain Greek yogurt or sour cream if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Mine’s in the slow cooker right now! WOO! It’s 85 degrees here (SoCal) but my husband and I are trying to eat healthy and I’m pretty sure this is going to be a GREAT alternative to our meal prep boxes (I’m so sick of brown rice and broccoli) !
Looking forward to it!
Thanks Monica, I hope you enjoyed the chili!
Oooh I LOVE me a chunky chili and your’s is sure to hit the spot! Also love your subs of turkey, diced green chiles and coriander!
Thanks Shashi! I always love adding in some Southwest spice to my food!
This chili looks amazing. Seriously, your photography is so beautiful! I love making chili, it is one of my favorite meal prep staples because it is good all week long. I love the changes you made – slow cooker chili is the best!
Thanks so much Les! I think my favorite part about chili is the leftovers and how they taste even better than the day you made it!
I LOVE slow cooker chilis and how chunky yours turned out. Time for me to bust out the slow cooker to make this!
Thanks Lisa! I’m so happy someone was genius enough to create the slow cooker!
I love how customizable chili is!!! And I love how thick and chunky yours looks! That’s how I like it too!!!
Thanks Jocelyn! Chunky chili is the best!
This cold weather has been killing me! (Yes, it’s been in the 20’s and 30’s here.) I just want to curl up on the couch with a big bowl of this turkey chili. I will definitely have to add this to my slow cooker this week!
Whoa girl, that is pretty cold! You definitely need a bowl of chili. Stay warm!
Perfect comfort food!!
Thanks Rachel!
Dear Danae, Your chili bowls look so good! They are calling to me this morning…I would love to dig right in. Sounds like the perfect meal to me. xoxo, Catherine
Thank you Catherine!