Turkey chili
A thick, smoky pot of chili that gets even better the next day and freezes beautifully.
- 55 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $3.16 a serving
- 470 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup shredded cheddar (optional)
- ¼ cup sour cream (optional)
- 2 stalks green onions, sliced (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
Each serving has about 470 calories, 37 g protein, 50 g carbs and 15 g fat, and costs about $3.16 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No red bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
- No ground turkey? Ground chicken works.
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No tomato sauce? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No kidney beans? Pinto beans work.
- No black beans? Pinto beans work.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or mexican blend cheese or monterey jack cheese works.
- No sour cream? Plain greek yogurt works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion and bell pepper into small pieces and the garlic. and both cans of beans.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Heat the oil in a large pot or over medium, add the onion and pepper, and cook 6 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft.
Dutch oven. A Dutch oven is a heavy pot, usually enameled cast iron, with a tight-fitting lid. It holds heat evenly, so it’s great for soups, stews and anything that simmers a long time.
How you’ll know: Any large, heavy pot with a lid does the same job if you don’t have one.
Medium heatTimer: 7 min
Turn the heat to medium-high, add the turkey, and break it into small . Cook 5 to 6 minutes, until no pink is left.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Food safety: Ground turkey and ground chicken are done at 165°F, with no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano and salt and cook 1 minute, .
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: Toasting the spices for a minute is what makes chili taste like it cooked all day.Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, both cans of beans and the broth, stir, and .
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Turn the heat to low, set the , and 25 minutes, stirring every so often, until thick.
Lid ajar. Lid ajar means resting the lid on the pot slightly off-center, leaving a small gap. Some steam escapes, so the sauce thickens and doesn’t boil over, while most of the heat stays in.
How you’ll know: A thin wisp of steam drifts out of the gap, and the pot bubbles gently without spilling.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 25 min
Dolly’s tip: Small, lazy bubbles are right. If it’s spitting at you, turn it down a notch.Taste and add salt if it tastes flat, then ladle into bowls and top with cheese, sour cream and green onions.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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