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Why I Love This Chili Recipe
I’ll always be ready for chili. It’s usually the first soup I make when the weather even flirts with lower temperatures. By low, we’re talking about maybe a 70°F day in August instead of the usual 90°F. Long story short: I love chili!
I’ve also come to terms with the fact that I’m someone who’ll always be making new versions of my favorite recipes. This chili is a perfect case in point. It has all the flavor of a classic chili but with a few twists. Instead of beef, this recipe uses ground turkey. Turkey is lean with healthy protein and offers a lighter but still hearty option. To up the flavor without any additional work, this recipe utilizes my pantry’s secret weapon: fire-roasted diced tomatoes. These canned tomatoes have a fiery, smoky flavor without any spice. They’re perfect!
At the end, quinoa is mixed in and cooked with the soup. The quinoa soaks in some of the liquid and provides a perfect stew-like finish to the chili. It’s nothing short of classic flavors, simply a fresh take!
Turkey Chili Ingredients
- Ground turkey is a great protein to keep in the freezer. This lean meat often goes unnoticed when swapped into soups, especially chili. Turkey is slightly lighter in flavor but works well with the intensity of chili seasonings.
- Bay leaves are usually the butt of the joke when it comes to cooking. Do they actually do anything? They do, in fact! The key is to use fresh leaves that have not been hidden in the pantry for years. Bay offers a base underlying flavor that you won’t pick out but will definitely notice if it’s missing. Trust me.
- Quinoa is a seed that’s packed with healthy omega-3 fats and protein. It adds an ideal texture to the soup and helps thicken the liquid.
- Fire-roasted diced tomatoes will become a favorite canned pantry good for you if you start to use them. Instead of just canning the tomatoes, they’re fire-roasted first, which adds immense flavor.
The full amount of each ingredient can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Turkey Quinoa Chili
Step 1: Brown the turkey – In a large pot or Dutch oven on the stove, add some neutral oil. Once the oil has been heated, add the ground turkey. Using a wooden spatula or spoon, break up the turkey into small pieces and allow it to brown in the pot for about eight minutes.
Step 2: Prepare the vegetables – Chop up the onion into a fine dice and bell peppers into a rough dice. Once the ground turkey has browned, add both vegetables to the turkey in the pot. Add the salt and mix everything together until combined. Let the vegetables soften for about six minutes.
Step 3: Add the spices – Once the vegetables have softened, add the chili powder, dried oregano, cumin, and bay leaves. Mix all of the spices into the vegetable and ground turkey mixture.
Step 4: Add the beans, liquids, and quinoa – To the pot, add the drained and rinsed red kidney beans, diced tomatoes, tomato juice, chicken stock, and quinoa. Mix all of the liquids together with the vegetables and spices.
Step 5: Cook until ready – Once everything is mixed, cover the soup, bring it to a boil, and then let it simmer for 20-30 minutes. Once fully cooked, remove the bay leaves and serve immediately.
Recipe Tips
- Since turkey does not have a lot of fat, cooking the ground turkey in some oil will add some necessary browning and flavor.
- Adding the spices to the cooked vegetables and ground turkey before adding in the liquids of the soup will allow the spices to bloom. This translates into greater and deeper flavor, which would not be quite as noticeable if the spices were added after the liquids.
- Using fire-roasted diced tomatoes will add just a bit of extra flavor to the chili. They’re not a necessity, and regular diced tomatoes can be used, but the fire-roasted ones make everything just a bit better.
- If simmering the soup for longer than 30 minutes, hold the quinoa and do not add until the last 20 minutes of cooking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Simply leave out the turkey and swap the chicken stock for vegetable stock. The flavor will be just as good!
As leftovers, this will last for 10 days in the refrigerator. But a word of caution: quinoa acts just like pasta and continues to soak in the liquid as it sits. The soap will seem thicker the longer it sits. The leftovers can be frozen, but the quinoa will act the same way and absorb additional liquid.
Yes, many chili recipes do not have anything that soaks in liquid. Without quinoa, the chili will still be great!
Most beans will work well. If not using kidney beans, I would recommend using black beans or pinto beans.
More Soup Recipes
Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?
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Turkey Quinoa Chili
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 onion diced
- 2 bell peppers diced
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 15-oz cans red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 2 15-oz cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 4 cups tomato juice (or puree)
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- ¾ cup quinoa
Instructions
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a 6-quart stockpot over medium heat. Brown the ground turkey, breaking it into small bite-size pieces, 8 minutes.1 lb ground turkey
- Add the onion and the bell peppers and allow them to soften, 6 minutes. Add the salt, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and bay leaves. Stir to combine.1 onion, 2 bell peppers, 1 ½ tsp kosher salt, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp cumin, 2 bay leaves
- Pour in the kidney beans, diced tomatoes, tomato juice, chicken stock, and quinoa. Stir and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the soup. Simmer until the quinoa is soft, 20-30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves, then serve.2 15-oz cans red kidney beans, 2 15-oz cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes, 4 cups tomato juice (or puree), 1 ½ cups chicken stock, ¾ cup quinoa
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment below!
I have made many versions of this recipe. I change up the beans, the veggies, the meat with or without, and even the broth and it is amazing. I have shared this recipe with a friend who is vegetarian and told her to just leave the meat out and substitute the broth with a vegetable broth. Thank you for sharing your bougie chili recipe, I am planning on making this again now that the winter weather is starting in Hawaii. Means more rain, cooler weather, and a bit more windy. Not nearly as much sunshine and heat that I prefer.
Love watching y
I love this Chili recipe!! I don’t like beans so I add a bit more quinoa to bulk it out and skip the beans and it comes out perfect every time. It is my go to chili recipe!
Terrific recipe! Have made this many times as per recipe…..but sometimes I make a substitution because I’m out of an ingredient. The recipe never fails to turn out delicious. This week I added about 3/4 can of black beans, only had 1/2 lb ground turkey, and for the juice….used a small can of V-8, small can of tomato sauce, and a small can of diced tomatoes. As always…..everyone loved it.
Going to try ur Chex mix with the herbs.
Want to try ur cranberry roll. I saw ur momma and you going to make cherry cookies but had to go back to work😪missed it.
Just love watching ur videos
Do you have the nutritional info as I was recently diagnosed as pre diabetic.
Watching sugars and carbs… this seem to be good for me. A learning curve 🥸
Made this Dish tonight and another
fantastic recipe and dish. Exactly how you described . The fresh and more healthy ingredients were a spectacular combination. Easy .. and my house smelt fantastic for all that walked in.
It was delicious , as per your recipe, then some in my family added extra spices to their sauce bowls. Tasted theirs , but mine was perfect as is , with the lovely avocado suggestion. Once again you have been marvelous with your recipes.
I LOVE this recipe I haven’t made this yet, but I have made this very similar to yours except not using Quinoa so I will definitely have to try this next time. I was also thinking of trying a Pumpkin chili YUMMY tysvm for sharing with us.
I love and make a lot of you recipes!!!
The one that I make all the time is the zucchini pizza it is so delicious .
Making your chili tonight.
Copley