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This is my favorite turkey chili recipe. As a white chili, it’s not the most colorful dish but it has great flavor due to the interesting spice blend that includes cumin, cloves, allspice, oregano, and chilies. The recipe calls for shredded turkey so it’s perfect for Thanksgiving leftovers. In my house, we also like to make it on Halloween. I can’t remember how the tradition got started but I’ve kept it going for at least 5 years now. We eat turkey chili, drink Pumking pumpkin ale, and watch a scary movie marathon. If you are looking for a great white chili or something to do with Thanksgiving leftovers, try this easy turkey chili!
Notes on Easy Turkey Chili
This recipe calls for shredded turkey. When I don’t already have leftover turkey on hand, I usually just roast a turkey breast. This will take an hour or two depending on the size of the breast. I usually follow this cooking method. I like to mix the butter with a tablespoon of allspice before rubbing it on the breast. You can always roast a whole turkey too.
This chili uses dry beans so it needs to simmer for around 2 hours. I think this cooking approach achieves the best flavor. If you don’t have that long you can use canned beans. I’m sure you could also speed up the process of cooking dry beans with an instant pot.
Turkey Chili
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 120 minutes
- Total Time: 135 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 yellow onions (diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (peeled and diced)
- 2 4 oz cans green chilies
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- 6 cups chicken or turkey stock
- 1 lb great northern beans (dry beans)
- 2 lbs cooked turkey
- 2 cups monterey jack (shredded)
- chopped cilantro and sour cream for garnish
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add spices (cumin, oregano, cloves, and cayenne) and green chilies and cook another minute.
- Stir in beans and broth. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer 2 hours or until beans are tender, stirring occasionally. Add additional broth if needed
- Once beans are tender, stir in turkey and 1.5 cups of cheese. Heat through
- Serve with sour cream, cilantro, and remaining shredded cheese.
Notes
I sometimes soak the beans for 4-8 hours before cooking. Supposedly this helps make them easier to digest (i.e., reduces flatulence associated with beans). It also can shorten the required cook time. This article provides a nice run down of several soaking methods and their impact (if any) on flavor/texture.
It’s possible to substitute canned beans for dried beans. I think the flavor is better when you use dried beans and let them simmer for 2 hours. However, if you are short on time, swap 3 to 4 cans of beans for the 1 lb of dried beans. Simmer the canned beans for 30 minutes before adding the turkey (instead of 2 hours). You will also want to reduce the liquid.
