Turkey Chili Recipe with Seasonal Squash
Lighten up your chili game and fill your home with aromatic scents with this recipe (with turkey swapped in place for the traditional ground beef!) Turkey chili recipe with seasonal squash is a low fat, healthier option than traditional beef chili. Seasonal squash (butternut, acorn or summer squash) adds a healthy dose of vitamins to this stovetop stew, stir in a homemade peppery spice mix and you have yourself a pot of steamy, cozy perfection ready to serve up on a cool autumn night. Double this turkey chili recipe up to feed a crowd at a harvest party, after an apple picking outing or serve it into a crockpot for an easy tailgate offering.
This chili is loaded with ground turkey, kidney beans, bell peppers and seasonal squash. For the fall and winter months I like to use butternut or acorn squash, when the weather turns warmer during the summer I switch the squash to a yellow squash or zucchini. Either way this calorie trimmed chili recipe results in a delicious, hearty, stew that is freezable and has multiple uses beyond a sour cream and cheddar cheese topped bowl of steamy, spiced goodness. This turkey chili recipe uses savory spices with the smallest kick of heat (it is not fiery). If you like your chili “sizzling hot” feel free to sprinkle the cayenne in with a heavy hand.
Aromatic and simmered slow and low on your stove top (or in your slow cooker!) this enticing entree feeds a crowd and is perfect for entertaining. Serve this turkey chili recipe with butternut or acorn squash during the cool Fall and Winter months or with summer squash during the autumnal tail end months of summer.
Ground Turkey is a healthier, low fat choice that is just at home in this recipe as beef any day…
Swapping the ground beef out in this turkey chili recipe is a simple switch that cuts the fat by more than half. Ground beef has on average 25%-30% fat compared to ground turkey which ticks in at about 7% according to Eating Well.com
Looking for more healthy soup swaps? Check out my recipe Green, low calorie Clam Chowder, I cut the fat and add a healthy dose of leafy, vitamin filled greens.
Serve the turkey chili with toppings: making this hardy protein packed soup is only half the fun; topping the chili with melting cheese, dollops of sour cream and fresh green herbs brings all of the slow cooked, layered flavors out even more.
For this recipe I prefer a good cheddar cheese, sliced into large, thin pieces to lay over the still hot bowl with an added spoonful of sour cream and sprinkled with classic snips of fresh green onions or for a twist a couple leaf’s of cilantro herb. If you have smoked cheddar on hand feel free to use that in place of regular cheddar, the smokiness only adds to the already aromatic, cozy taste of this turkey chili. Serve this with homemade cornbread on the side or corn chips for dipping, either one elevates the texture of the stew and is a great accompaniment to this satisfying meal.
Storing and using the leftovers for this turkey chili recipe:
- This chili recipe will store in fridge for 4 days, after that you can freeze for up to 6 weeks in freezer.
- Use leftover chili as a topping for chili dogs: line hotdog rolls with cheese, melt in oven and top with hotdogs and reheated chili, a simple weeknight dinner and a great use of this leftover turkey chili.
- Top nachos: Layer corn chips, leftover turkey chili and grated cheese several times on a sheet pan, bake until chips are toasted and cheese melted, top with your favorite nacho toppings, another easy meal done!
- Filling for quesadillas, as easy as it comes, toss chili into a burrito wrap with some cheese and sliced jalapenos and you have yourself a quick and easy lunch option, top with slices of avocado and finish with squeeze of lime.
- These are a few of my favorite ways to use up leftovers from this turkey chili recipe, but the options are endless with the leftovers.
If you are using a slow cooker with this recipe make sure to brown the meat in a separate pan before adding to your crockpot.
Follow along with the recipe adding all ingredients into your slow cooker, I love the way the aromatic smell of the spices in this recipe fill my kitchen and prefer to cook it on my stove top, but more than once I have been heading into hectic work day and had other obligations after work and needed to get dinner on the table fast, and have tossed this recipe into my slow cooker in the morning before leaving the house. Arriving home the kitchen was redolent with the heavy scent of spices and a hearty, filling meal ready to be spooned into bowls and served.
Turkey Chili Recipe with Seasonal Squash
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil extra virgin
- 2 Bell Peppers
- 1 Onion, Spanish
- 1 Pound Ground Turkey
- 2 Cans 14.5 oz Red Kidney Beans Drained and rinsed in a strainer
- 1-2 Squash Acorn, Butternut or 2 Summer Squash
- 1 Can 28 oz. Crushed Tomato
- 1 Can 14.5 oz Stewed Tomato
- 6 Tbsp Chili Powder ground
- ½ Tsp Cayenne ground
- 1 Tsp Cumin ground
- ¼ Tsp Cinnamon ground
- ½ Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Dark Chocolate optional
Instructions
- First if using Butternut or Acorn squash roast in oven for 45 minutes with a drizzle of olive oil until soft (or spoon able from the shell). Put aside to cool.
- Chop bell peppers and onions into ½ strips, add 1 Tsp. olive oil to sauté pan and bring to medium heat over stove, before adding peppers and onions. *Note: if you are using slow cooker method disregard this step*
- Sizzle chopped onions and peppers for 5-7 minutes, until the peppers are soft and onion is slightly caramelized.
- Remove peppers and onions from pan and add ground turkey. Brown ground turkey an remove to bowl, set aside.
- In a large soup pot or your crockpot add kidney beans, crushed tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, all spices from ingredient list, peppers and onions and stir to combine.
- Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. If using crockpot cook on low for 6 hours and add squash and browned ground turkey now.
- Add spooned out pieces of roasted squash or chopped summer squash. Cook for 10 more minutes. Add dark chocolate if using.
- Mix cooked ground turkey into chili and simmer several more minutes
- Serve chili with your favorite accompaniments, sour cream, cheddar cheese and corn bread.
I’m going to swap the turkey out for impossible burger grounds, and it will most likely find itself blanketed in a layered dip, but I can’t wait to try this out!
This is great this time of year with leftover turkey 😋👍🏼