Ready in about 45 minutes and a breeze to make, this is one of my favorite post-Thanksgiving meals! A warm and comforting chili is one of my favorite ways to enjoy turkey meat on the days after Thanksgiving. During the year, I simply use chicken instead of turkey. While there are many delicious ways to use up leftover turkey, a big bowl of chili is especially appropriate for the season. It’s hot, spicy, and comforting.
Ingredients
The list of ingredients needed to make this recipe isn’t exactly short. But don’t let that deter you! Lots of spices are essential to a good chili. And once you lay out the ingredients, the rest of the recipe is a breeze. For the seasoning mixture: I use chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, crushed red peppers, tomato paste, and minced garlic. Olive oil: This is my favorite oil and I use it quite often in my recipes. But if you’d rather use an oil with a higher smoke point, you can use avocado oil instead Diced onion: I like to use yellow onion, which is a bit milder than white onion. But white onion works too. Diced bell peppers: Sometimes I omit them, as I do in the video below. But they do add nice flavor and texture Kosher salt and black pepper: If using fine salt, you should reduce the amount you use, or the chili could end up too salty. Cooked turkey meat: Diced or shredded. Make sure to remove the skin. It will feel rubbery when cooked in a chili. Petite-diced tomatoes: Or use regular diced tomatoes and give them an extra chop. Dried bay leaves: You can omit these, although they do add a nice layer of flavor.
Instructions
Making this turkey chili is easy! It’s ready in just 45 minutes. Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
Expert tip
I usually use white meat, but you can also use a mix of white and dark meat. Just make sure that the meat is skinless. The skin would taste rubbery in chili.
Frequently asked questions
Variations
I love this recipe as is and almost always make it as written. But in case you’d like to vary the basic recipe, here are a few ideas for you:
Use ghee or avocado oil instead of olive oil.Experiment with your spices. For example, you could try using dried thyme instead of oregano.As mentioned above, chicken works well in this recipe if you’d rather use that instead of turkey.
Serving suggestions
This chili is substantial enough that you can simply serve it in bowls. It’s a complete meal. I think it’s excellent when topped with shredded cheddar, sliced green onions, guacamole, and/or sour cream. If you’d like to serve it with something, try these tasty options:
Keto cheese muffinsAlmond flour cheese biscuitsKeto cornbread
Storing leftovers
Most cooked leftovers, when properly and immediately refrigerated in a shallow airtight container, keep for 3-4 days. But since we’re using leftover meat to cook this recipe, the leftovers could potentially spoil faster. So when figuring out how long you can keep this dish, don’t forget to take into account the number of days that the turkey meat has already spent in your fridge.
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