This slow-simmered ground turkey chili with scallions is spicy & delicious. It doesn’t hurt that the turkey is a bit healthier for you compared to ground beef.
Spicy Turkey Chili with Scallions
This slow-simmered ground turkey chili with scallions is spicy & delicious. It doesn’t hurt that the turkey is a bit healthier for you compared to ground beef.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 3 large white onions ( medium dice)
- 2 red bell peppers (medium dice)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 fresh jalapeno peppers (finely minced, seeds included if you want more heat)
- 2 28oz cans of whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
- 3 lbs ground turkey
- ½ cup whole milk
- 5 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp white granulated sugar
- 2 15oz cans of red kidney beans
- 1 bunch scallions (roughly 6-8 scallions) (green tops removed, remainder sliced thin)
- Salt & freshly-ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook onions in vegetable oil and butter on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until soft & translucent.
- Add the red bell peppers, and garlic cloves and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Add the minced jalapeno peppers, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Season onions, peppers, and garlic with salt & freshly-ground black pepper.
- Blend the whole peeled tomatoes together with the tomato juice in a blender, or mash the tomatoes up with your hands.
- Add the tomatoes and red pepper flakes to the vegetables and cook on medium heat while you prepare the ground turkey, stirring frequently.
- Salt the ground turkey.
- Briefly brown the ground turkey in vegetable oil on high heat in a large saute pan, working in batches.
- *Note: do not cook the ground turkey through at this stage--the meat should be lightly browned in parts, but undercooked overall.
- When the turkey is browned, turn off the heat and pour in the ½ cup of whole milk and bring to a quiet simmer.
- Cook turkey in milk until liquid has been absorbed by the turkey.
- Add ground turkey to the tomato sauce and vegetable mix.
- Add the chili powder, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and white granulated sugar.
- Allow to cook for an additional 3-4 hours at a very gentle simmer, stirring frequently to ensure nothing gets stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Avoiding boiling the ground turkey during this cooking stage.
- Add the cans of kidney beans and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
- Add the sliced scallions at the end, prior to serving.
- Mix through to ensure the scallions are evenly distributed throughout the turkey chili.
- Taste and season one last time with salt & freshly-ground black pepper.
- Serve over cooked white rice.
- Garnish hot chili with shredded cheddar cheese, pickled jalapenos, sour cream, diced red onions, sliced scallions, and your favorite hot sauce.
Notes
Make a large batch and freeze it in freezer-safe plastic pint or quart containers. It can defrost in your fridge overnight, and tastes amazing reheated when you need a quick and delicious meal.