This slow cooker turkey chili is the perfect balance of smoky warm spices, pinto beans, kidney beans, Rotel tomatoes, and chipotle peppers. It is so tasty, easy to make, and with ground turkey, slightly lower in calories and saturated fat.
Cooking with ground turkey can be flavorful when you use the right spices, and use ground turkey, not ground turkey breast.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients on the recipe card below.
- Ground turkey: Use ground turkey that has both white and dark meat. Turkey breast is too lean, and it will taste bland and dry.
- Smoked paprika: Not to be confused with sweet paprika. The red peppers are smoked over an oak fire before grinding.
- Beef broth: Preferably low-sodium.
- Diced tomatoes: I prefer fire-roasted, but any diced tomatoes will work.
- Rotel tomatoes: Rotel now has fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles. If you can not find them, use regular mild or hot Rotel tomatoes with green chiles if you like things a little spicier.
- Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce: Chipotle peppers are aged, dried, and smoked jalapeno peppers. You can find them canned with adobo sauce in the Hispanic food section. Adobo sauce is a slightly sweet, tangy, rich sauce made with ground ancho and guajillo chiles.
How To Make Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
This is a summary version; for the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please refer to the recipe card below.
- Brown the ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat.
- About halfway through the browning process, add the onion and cook until the turkey browns and the onion is soft.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, chili powder, ground cumin, dried marjoram, smoked paprika, salt, onion powder, and black pepper. Cook while stirring for a minute.
- Transfer the mixture to a crockpot. Add the beef broth, tomato paste, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, Rotel tomatoes, pinto beans, kidney beans, brown sugar, chipotle pepper, and adobo sauce.
- Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
Preparation Tips
- Adjust the seasonings to your taste. This chili is moderately spicy. If you want it mild, reduce or eliminate the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. Likewise, if you like it spicier, add more chipotle peppers and adobo sauce.
- If you want more veggies, add bell peppers, sweet potatoes, celery, or carrots.
- Add a little more beef broth if the chili becomes too thick.
Customize It
Customize with your favorite toppings, such as pickled jalapenos, crispy bacon, sour cream, green onions, avocado, chopped cilantro, and tortilla chips. Or try pepitas (pumpkin seeds), pickled red onion, shredded cheddar cheese, corn chips, and lime wedges.
Serving Suggestions For Turkey Chili
Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
This crockpot turkey chili is the perfect balance of smoky warm spices, pinto beans, kidney beans, Rotel tomatoes, and chipotle peppers.
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Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 163kcal
Ingredients
- 20 ounces ground turkey
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 (15-ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 (10-ounce) can Rotel fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles
- 1 (16-ounce) can Pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (16-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1-2 chopped chipotle peppers
- 1-2 tablespoons adobo sauce
Instructions
- Brown the ground turkey in a large skillet over medium heat.
- About halfway through the browning process, add the onion and cook until the turkey is browned and the onion is soft.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, chili powder, ground cumin, dried marjoram, smoked paprika, salt, onion powder, and black pepper. Cook while stirring for 1 minute.
- Transfer the mixture to a crockpot. Add the beef broth, tomato paste, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, Rotel tomatoes, pinto beans, kidney beans, brown sugar, chipotle pepper, and adobo sauce.
- Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Reheat on the stovetop over low heat or in the microwave at reduced power.
Nutrition
Calories: 163kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 1188mg | Potassium: 615mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1079IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 2mg
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Sienny
Ohh wow… I’m really missing the taste of this turkey chili. Thanks so much for sharing this delicious recipe with easy steps to follow. I made it this past weekend and everyone loved it.
Beth Pierce
You are most welcome, Sienny! So happy that everyone liked it.