Turkey Black Bean & Chickpea Chili Recipe

Fall is in full swing here on Vancouver Island, which means it’s time to pull out the crockpot or the Instant Pot and cook up some delicious comfort foods!

Turkey black bean chili is one of my favorite things to cook up in a big batch, so we can eat it for a few days and have easy meals. After rummaging through my fridge, freezer and pantry, I found everything I need for a good crockpot turkey black bean and chickpea chili.

I made this up as I went along, so my ingredients are approximate (if you’re someone who measures perfectly, you can relax on this one, haha!)

Recipe Details

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time in a crockpot: 8 hours on low
Cooking time in an Instant Pot: pressure cook for 20 minutes on the soup/chili setting

Shopping List / Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground turkey – I used 2 of the ground turkey packages from Costco
• 1 medium onion – chopped
• 3 carrots – chopped
• 3 ribs of celery – chopped
• 1 red pepper – chopped (orange and yellow peppers would be good too)
• 2 cloves of garlic – minced
• 2 cans black beans – drained and rinsed
• 1 can chickpeas – drained and rinsed
• 1 can diced tomatoes – no sugar added
• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp chili powder (If your chili is super spicy, you may want to use less)
• 1 tbsp cocoa (my secret ingredient)
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
• Fresh cilantro (optional garnish) – chopped
• 1 glob of sour cream (optional) – added to each serving when plating, if desired
• Grated cheddar (optional) – added to each serving when plating, if desired

How to Make Turkey Black Bean Chili

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat.
2. Add ground turkey. Cook until the meat is browned (4-5 minutes), making sure to crumble the meat as it cooks.
3. Drain excess fat and transfer to slow cooker.
4. Discard the excess fat and add remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil to the skillet.
5. Add vegetables to the skillet and cook until the onions are soft (about 3 minutes). This process helps release the flavours from the veggies before adding them to the slow cooker. Transfer to slow cooker.
6. Add diced tomatoes, black beans, white kidney beans, and tomato paste to slow cooker.
7. Add oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper to slow cooker.
8. Cook in crockpot on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours.
9. To serve, add a glob of sour cream, some shredded cheddar, and chopped cilantro to each bowl.

NOTE: If cooking in the Instant Pot, use the saute setting to saute the ground meat until browned, then saute all other ingredients together. Once all ingredients have been added, secure the lid, and cook for 20 minutes on high pressure on the chili setting.

Enjoy!

Please comment and share, if you enjoy this recipe!