Slow cooker turkey chili is a hearty, comforting meal made with ground turkey and plenty of nutritious vegetables. The perfect dinner for a cold fall day and easy to reheat all week for meal prep!
Recipe summary
Flavor: Hearty and comforting with mild spice.
Key ingredients: Ground turkey, tomatoes, beans, peppers, zucchini, corn, and seasoning.
Serves: 6 people
Slow cooker size: 3-4 quart
Serve with: Zucchini Cornbread
Similar to: Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup, Vegetable Orzo Soup
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Ground turkey - Can be substituted with your favorite ground meat, like ground beef, ground bison, or ground chicken.
- Tomatoes - 28 ounces of canned diced or petite diced tomatoes are ideal. Crushed tomatoes will give your chili a smoother, more tomato sauce like texture once cooked down.
- Beans - You'll need one can of kidney beans (or your preferred canned beans) for this recipe. Do not use fresh, uncooked beans in the slow cooker. Your beans need to be cooked first before adding them to this recipe.
- Corn - One can of corn kernels, or about 1 cup of frozen corn works in this recipe.
- Onion - Adds depth of flavor to your chili.
- Garlic - Adds depth of flavor to your chili. Two garlic cloves can be substituted with ½ teaspoon of garlic powder if needed.
- Zucchini - You'll need about one medium zucchini or yellow squash. The zucchini will cook down almost entirely, along with the tomatoes. If you'd like your zucchini to maintain some texture, add them in the last 2 hours of cooking instead.
- Pepper - One bell pepper, any color, or 2-3 jalapenos work well in this recipe. Feel free to adjust to suit your preferred spice level.
- Seasoning - Chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, red pepper flakes, and cayenne pepper add flavor and heat to your chili. As written, this chili has a mild to medium amount of heat. For more heat, feel free to double the amounts of red pepper flakes and cayenne, or add diced jalapenos with the seeds.
- Tomato paste (not shown) - Adds a savory, umami flavor to your chili and thickens the chili slightly.
Variations
Want to substitute some of the listed vegetables with what you have on hand? Here are a few more vegetables that are good in chili:
- Yellow summer squash
- Jalapeno peppers
- Poblano peppers
- Cauliflower
- Carrots
- Butternut squash
- Sweet potato
- Mushrooms
How to make turkey chili
- Add all ingredients to your slow cooker.
- Stir to combine.
- Cover with a lid and turn the heat to low.
- Cook for 8-9 hours, or until chili is cooked down to your liking.
Tips and tricks
Stir sparingly - Food in a slow cooker doesn't need to be stirred repeatedly. Once during the last half of cooking is enough.
Resist the urge to remove the lid - Removing the lid releases heat and steam, slowing the progress of your cooking food.
Zucchini texture - Zucchini is a tender, quick-cooking vegetable. It will cook down almost entirely in the chili. If you'd prefer firmer bites of zucchini, add it in the last 2 hours of cooking.
Frequently asked questions
Any 3-4 quart slow cooker works for this recipe as written. To double this recipe, use a 6 quart slow cooker. When using a slow cooker, make sure it's about ½ to ¾ full to allow food to cook evenly.
Sour cream, shredded cheese, diced red onion, crumbled cotija cheese, or fresh chopped chives make great chili toppings.
Leftover slow cooker turkey chili keeps for 3-4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
Yes, chili can be frozen in a tightly sealed, freezer-safe container for up to 4 months.
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 16 ounces ground turkey
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices
- 15 ounces canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces canned corn kernels, drain
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- In a sauté pan over medium heat, add olive oil and crumble ground turkey into pan, cooking until browned.
- Add cooked ground turkey to a 3 quart slow cooker along with the rest of your ingredients. Stir to combine.
- Cook on low heat for 8 to 9 hours, or on high for 5 hours. Stir sparingly (once or twice is enough).
- Optionally, top with sour cream, cheddar cheese, chopped red onions, chives, or crumbled bacon. Serve warm.
Recommended Equipment
Notes
- Yield: Chili makes four hearty servings on its own, or six average servings with toppings and/or a side dish. Serve chili with cornbread, breadsticks, garlic bread, a side salad, or a baked potato.
- Storage: Leftover chili keeps for 3-4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
- Freezing: Chili can be frozen in a tightly sealed, freezer-safe container for up to 4 months.
- Texture: Zucchini will cook down entirely in the chili. To keep zucchini intact, add in the last 2 hours of cooking on low, or in the last 1 hour on high.
Hi! Is it necessary to brown the meat first?
While the meat doesn't have to be browned first, it adds flavor to the chili, which is why I include the step in the recipe.
Thank you! Fresh ground turkey was out at the store today, so I used ground chicken. I was feeling lazy and wanted to skip a step, but I did brown the meat first. It smells amazing and am looking forward to lunch this week!