(With Alternate Stovetop Directions)

~ Our family’s go-to, classic chili recipe! This Healthy Crock-Pot Turkey Chili is boldly flavored without being too spicy (but don’t worry – we’ve got tips for you if you like it hot)! It’s so easy in the slow cooker, or on the stovetop. Make a big, double or triple batch for parties or for meal prep freezer meals! ~

This Recipe Is:   •  Freezable  •  Make Ahead  •

On a chilly evening, it’s hard to beat a comforting, classic bowl of chili!

Yeah, I realize I’m kind of the queen of unique chili recipes. (You’re remembering our contest-winning Pineapple Chili, right? Or our Indian-Spiced Turkey Chili, or even our pumpkin-based Vegetarian Chili?) There’s just something about chili – it begs for creative twists and unique ingredients!

But sometimes, what you really need is a classic. A tried-and-true, don’t-overthink-it, everybody-loves-it, classic.

This is that chili.

A Favorite Chili for Years (Decades, Even!)

This Crock-Pot Turkey Chili is pretty much always on the menu at my twins’ birthday party, year after year. I usually make a big, triple batch – and watch it magically disappear while everyone raves and scoops up seconds. They oooh and aaah and make happy, yummy nosies as if they’ve never tried it before … even though it’s exactly the same as what I served last year … and the year before that. Just always a favorite.

And in fact, it’s got a long, long track record of being a family favorite that dates way back before my kiddos were even born and needed me to throw them a birthday party. Way back to before I was even part of this family!

It’s adapted from a photocopied page out of one of my mother-in-law’s mid-20th-century cookbooks (we’ve debated which one it even was) – a recipe she’s been making practically forever, that she passed along to me. That photocopied page has dog-ears, handwritten notes in the margins, and spills and little food stains – all the sure signs of a well-loved recipe that’s been made a thousand times over.

I didn’t want to mess too much with a beloved classic, but through the ba-zillion times I’ve made it myself, I did manage a few nutrition tweaks (you know I couldn’t help myself there!). And I worked through some suggestions for how to make it in the slow cooker (the way I almost always do … yay – hands-free cooking magic!), as well as offering directions for how to simmer it on the stovetop the way the original recipe suggested.

How I Made This Chili Healthier

So, just how did I wave my health-ification magic wand over this classic chili recipe?

Turkey Chili … or Beef Chili?

I’ve tried this recipe with ground beef (as the original recipe directed) instead of ground turkey, too – and it’s terrific either way. But, with more and more Americans trying to reduce their consumption of red meat, this is a perfect recipe to make with turkey instead. With so many bold, rich flavors going on here, you won’t miss the beef at all!

Regardless of which meat you choose, though, it’s important to read the nutrition labeling carefully to get the leanest ground meat possible.

A lot of people don’t realize that ground turkey – just like ground beef – can vary in the amount of fat it contains. So, using a ground turkey blend that’s, say … 85% lean … is definitely NOT leaner that using a ground beef blend that’s 95% lean.

Be sure to check the labels, so you’re certain about the amount of fat in the meat you’re selecting. (You can dive deeper into ground beef vs. ground turkey nutrition HERE).

More Ingredient Tips

1) Healthier Ketchup: You might be surprised to learn that many ketchups contain high-fructose corn syrup. So, yeah … you could be getting lots of great lycopene from all those tomatoes, but also a hefty wallop of a pretty undesirable sweetener. To be sure you’re avoiding high-fructose corn syrup, choose an organic or all-natural ketchup.

2) Different Beans: The beans in this turkey chili add extra protein, plus nutrition bonuses like fiber. But, you don’t have to stick with regular kidney beans – feel free to try other beans like cannellini beans (sometimes called white kidney beans), light red kidney beans or black beans. Or, if you’re making a double or triple batch, you could grab cans of different bean varieties for a pretty mixture of bean shapes and colors.

3) Tomato Juice: I usually use Campbell’s Tomato Juice. But in a pinch, I’ve tried using extra V8 Original Vegetable Juice (that I happened to have on hand from making our Farmers’ Market Italian Sausage-Tortellini Soup), and it worked just fine, too.

How to Make Spicy Turkey Chili

Serving Suggestions for Our Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

This deliciously nutritious Turkey Chili is so flexible and adaptable and goes great with practically anything!

• Try it cozied up next to cornbread or grilled cheese (mmmmm … how about our killer-good Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches?!?).
• For our big B-day/Super Bowl bash, I normally triple the recipe for our crowd, and serve it alongside Baked Hawaiian Roll Sliders.
• A green salad and some crisp, sweet-tart apple wedges would be great to fill out your menu!

Alternate Stovetop Method

To make this Healthy Turkey Chili on the stovetop, you use a method that’s basically the same as what we do with our stovetop Easy Taco Soup with Ranch: Simply cook the turkey and onion in a large pot or dutch oven, and leave them on the stove, instead of transferring them to a slow cooker after they’re cooked. Just dump in all the other ingredients, and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Super easy! And a great alternative if you don’t happen to have a crock-pot, or if you forget to start the recipe in the slow cooker … and suddenly realize dinner needs to be ready in about half an hour (oh yes … I’ve been there myself a time or two!).

Try this classic chili for an easy family dinner … and for parties or tailgates. It even freezes great and is terrific for meal prep!

No matter how you make it, or how you serve it, it’s always an absolute crowd pleaser!