Chipotle Turkey Chili Recipe

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This chipotle turkey chili recipe may seem like a bizarre combination of ingredients at first glance, but all the ingredients really do come together to create an impossibly flavorful, smoky, and magical chili. This unconventional, Southwest cuisine-inspired turkey chili has plenty of nuanced flavors, courtesy of its unusual ingredients, but the end results feels like a hug from a worn vintage cookbook.

As the food blogger behind Thermocookery, I feel like I've cracked the code on making flavorful, filling, comforting chili. Turkey chili often gets an unfair reputation for being bland, but this recipe proves that the right combination of heat and spices fixes that potential issue entirely. In this recipe, we borrow a flavoring technique of Mexican mole: layer enough contrasting flavors and add enough cocoa, and the resulting dish stops tasting like individual components and starts tasting cohesive and unified.

This recipe turns to unsulfured molasses and cocoa powder for color, depth, and richness. Molasses adds a dark, bitter sweetness that helps keep the chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, jalapeños, and Cajun seasoning in check. Cocoa adds color and earthiness, while the beer adds a sour note and a malted background. The end result is a turkey chili that tastes like it took all day to cook, even though it only simmered for an hour.

For the chili itself, you'll need olive oil, ground turkey, diced yellow onions, celery stalks, carrots, pumpkin (you can use fresh, or frozen and thawed), red and green bell peppers, minced garlic cloves, crushed tomatoes, drained and rinsed black and pinto beans, and chipotle peppers in adobo, plus more of the adobo sauce. For the flavorings, you'll need ground cumin, paprika, lager or pilsner beer, unsulfured molasses, unsweetened cocoa powder, Cajun seasoning, salt, and black pepper. If you're unsure of the difference between lager and pilsner beer, or aren't a fan of the brew, you can substitute it with chicken broth or even a natural kombucha. 

For serving with the chili, we recommend shredded sharp cheddar cheese, salsa, diced scallions, diced jalapeños, and chopped fresh cilantro.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.

Brown the turkey in batches, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks, about 8-10 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pot.

Add onions, celery, carrots, pumpkin, and both bell peppers to the pot. Saute until softened, 6-7 minutes.

Add the chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, cumin, paprika, and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant.

Return the turkey to pot along with the crushed tomatoes, black beans, pinto beans, beer, molasses, cocoa powder, Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. The chili should reduce slightly and flavors should meld. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.

Serve the chili in bowls topped with cheddar, salsa, scallions, diced jalapeño, and cilantro.

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This chili has a lot going on, so there are many little changes you can do to make it to your liking. The beer is the easiest swap to start with. If you'd rather skip it, sub with an equal amount of chicken broth for a neutral result. You can also use kombucha if you want to keep some of the sour, fermented notes the beer provides. Because the dish only cooks for 1 hour, the alcohol won't fully cook out, so that may be something to keep in mind if serving for kids.

For the vegetables, pumpkin is the filler of the dish. Feel free to replace it with an equal amount of butternut squash, sweet potato, or even zucchini. All three hold up to the longer simmer and will add body to the dish. If you want more vegetables, adding corn is a great idea that gives it a boost of sweetness. For the beans, you can also add kidney, navy, or heirloom beans. Just make sure your beans are fully cooked before adding them.

If you want to shorten your cooking time or opt for a more hands-off cooking approach, you can switch up the Dutch oven this recipe calls for for an Instant Pot, a pressure cooker, or even the oven or slow cooker. Each method will require some adaptations, so read ahead to find out how to cook this without fail.

For an Instant Pot or a pressure cooker, start by using the saute function to brown the turkey and veggies, working in batches. When all the ingredients have been added, seal the lid, and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then do a quick release. The chili will be a bit more liquidy, so if you want to thicken it further, cook on the saute function with the lid off for another 10 minutes.

If you want to make it in the oven, after completing all the saute steps, transfer everything to an oven-safe dish with a lid (so if you were cooking in a Dutch oven anyway, you should be good to go). Bake at 325 F for 1 hour, removing the lid in the last 20 minutes to let the chili reduce. For the slow cooker option, do all the saute steps on the stovetop as written. then transfer everything to the Crockpot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours, removing the lid in the last half hour to reduce the moisture.

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