Quick Chili with Ground Turkey
There’s no question that a slow cooked chili is awesome but sometimes you just don’t have the time to cook your chili all day. There’s no reason why you can’t throw together a Chili with Ground Turkey that rocks and will only get better when reheated.
To make a quick chili I use the same ingredients from the slow cooked Chili recipe just prepared a bit differently. You’ll have a little bit more going on all at once but it all comes together.
For starters you’ll be using a large pot instead of a crock pot. You’ll also par-boil the celery since that is what takes the longest to cook. You’ll have your chili sauce simmering while your ground turkey is cooking.
If you are making for a cookout, you could always cook it the night before and reheat before you bring over or get all your vegetables and spices ready the night before. So you only have to throw things together when you’re ready to cook up your chili.
| Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
|---|---|---|
| 45 mins | 1 hour | 1 hour, 45 mins |
- 1 cup water
- 2 cans Petite Diced Tomatoes
- 2 - 2 1/2 pounds Ground Turkey
- 1 can Dark Red Kidney Beans (low sodium)
- 1 can Small Red Beans
- 4 TBL Corn Starch
- 2 1/2 TBL Water
- 3 TBL Chili Powder
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (heat)
- 1 tsp Cumin (heat)
- 2 TBL Minced Garlic
- 1 TBL Parsley
- 1 Onion chopped
- 4 stalks Celery chopped
- 2 Jalapeno Peppers (seeded and diced)
- 1 Scottish Bonnet Pepper (seeded and diced) **Very Hot**
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
- 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 2 TBL Minced Garlic
- 1 TBL Parsley
- Add Water to a large pot on the stove.
- Set heat to Med-High.
- Add both cans Diced Tomatoes and Minced Garlic.
- Mix in Chili seasonings - Taste - add more if needed. Keep seasonings out to add to Ground Turkey.
- Reduce heat to Medium and Cover.
- Start chopping your veggies.
- Begin with Celery, place chopped celery in a small sauce pan, cover with water, heat on med-high, stirring frequently.
- Cook celery for 10 min once it comes to a boil.
- Remove from heat, drain and add to Chili pot.
- While celery is being par-boiled, dice 1 1/2 of Jalapeno Peppers and 1/2 Scottish Bonnet Pepper, add that to the Chili pot.
- Dice the 1/2 Jalapeno and Scottish Bonnet peppers left over. Set aside to add to the ground turkey.
- Rinse cutting board and wash hands well.
- Chop 1/2 the onion and add to the Chili pot.
- Chop the other 1/2 onion. Set aside to add to the ground turkey.
- In a seperate large skillet coat bottom of pan with cooking spray, set heat on Medium and add the Ground Turkey.
- Sprinkle Ground Turkey with meat spices and the peppers and onions you set aside for the meat.
- Mix it all up, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
- Remove cover, break meat up into small bits, mix around, cover and cook for 10 more minutes.
- Remove cover, mix around, keep uncovered and continue to cook until starting to brown.
- Add both cans of beans (do not drain beans) to Chili pot.
- When meat starts to brown and juices are gone add to Chili pot, mix well and cover.
- Cook on Med-High for 10 min, lower to Medium and cook covered for 30 min or until veggies are cooked.
- Once your veggies are cooked, it's time to thicken up your chili.
- Reduce heat on Chili to Low.
- Mix 4 TBL Cornstarch and 2 1/2 TBL cold water in a small bowl or measuring cup until all cornstarch is dissolved.
- Add your cornstarch slurry to chili, mix well.
- Cook for 10 more minutes on Low and chili is ready to serve.
- Top your bowl of Chili with some Cheddar Cheese and server with a side of Nacho Chips, Hot Dogs or Fries.
Recipe Rating: 5 / 5
The fresh peppers are what will really bring the heat. To raise the heat, you may want to add a hotter pepper or an extra scottish bonnet. You could also increase the cayenne pepper or cumin. Only increase in small increments as these spices can pack quite a punch themselves.
To decrease the heat or for a sweeter heat, use red and green chili pepper and only one jalapeno. Or you could just cut the peppers down to one jalapeno and skip the scottish bonnet. You could also reduce the cayenne pepper or cumin by 1/4 tsp. Be creative, experiment with flavors you like and make the recipe your own.
Important – if you leave out the celery, cut down on your peppers. The celery helps to balance the heat of the peppers and when left out the peppers will become the dominant flavor and set your mouth on fire.