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I couldn’t think of a better chili recipe to kick the month off than this healthy slow cooker turkey and white bean chili. Nothing beats a slowly simmered chili on a cold October day. Made with ground turkey, bell peppers, smoky chipotle peppers, white beans, and served with sharp cheddar cheese and avocado. This bowl of chili is a hearty, healthy and cozy dinner that you can feel good about eating.

overhead photo of Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey and White Bean Chili with beer bread and spoons in photo

Happy October first! It’s the month of all things Halloween and as you can tell from Saturday’s “spooky” Poison Apple Martini I am very, very excited! I love the month of October so much, and I’m looking forward to all that is to come!

I spent the weekend finally getting caught up with work. And while I’m still not where I’d like to be, I am entering the month feeling a little more on top of things and a little more confident. It feels good. My goal for this month is just to take things one day at a time. In an effort to not feel like I’m being pulled in a million different directions, I also want to focus my energy on one project at a time. I put my new mantra into practice over the weekend and so far so good. Fingers crossed I can’t stick with this. My mom always says it’s best to take things one day at a time, so I’m listening to her words of wisdom. After all, it’s true what they say, moms know best.

No real reason in sharing all that, other than a little positive Monday pep talk for us all…

Ok, I’ll go back to writing about what I am good at now, the food.

Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey and White Bean Chili slow cooker bowl

How much do you guys love chili?

It’s always been one of my favorites come the fall, but growing up the only chili I ever knew was Cincinnati style chili. If you’ve never experienced Cincinnati chili, it’s just a thicker chili served over angel hair pasta. It is my mom’s favorite. To this day, the only way she will eat chili is over pasta and topped with cheddar. The only way…so yes, when I gave the family this chili to try, she indeed ate it over pasta.

Anyway, point is, I didn’t grow up eating bowls of chili. So making a soupy style chili feels like something completely new and different to me. I’ll always love Cincinnati chili, but I also love today’s healthier turkey chili probably just as much.

side angled photo of Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey and White Bean Chili with spoons and towel in photo

On to the details…

To start, you’ll want to brown the ground turkey on the stove-top. You can also use ground chicken, both will work equally great. I know that this extra step is a bit of a pain, but trust me, when working with ground meat it’s a step you have to take. On that note, I recently got a slow cooker that can also brown meat before you begin slow cooking. It’s a game-changer. I highly recommend investing in an all in one browning slow cooker if you love slow cooking.

Brown the meat, add all the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker and set for six or so hours. Then come home to the most delicious smells and dinner that’s ready for eating. Does not get better than that.

To bump up the flavors of my chili, I used a mix of chipotle chili peppers, chili powder, and my secret ingredient, apple butter. I know it may seem weird to use apple butter in chili, but the sweetness balances out the spice of the chili. Go with me on this, promise it takes the chili to a who would have known delicious level.

Finish each bowl off with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese, sliced avocado, and green onions. AND serve with the 5 Ingredient Honey Butter Beer Bread from the cookbook. A bowl of chili is not complete without beer bread.

Also, while I am providing you guys with Instant Pot directions, I much prefer this recipe to be made in the slow cooker if time allows. No matter how much pressure cooking you do, nothing will be the same as slow cooking a chili all day long. It gives the chili time to develop flavor and creates the most wonderful smells throughout your house.

I highly recommend making this for Sunday night dinner and then enjoying the leftovers throughout the week. Perfection.

overhead photo of Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey and White Bean Chili with hand in photo dipping bread into chili bowl

If you make this Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey and White Bean Chili, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey and White Bean Chili

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 849 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Slow Cooker

  • 1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook about 5 minutes or until it begins to caramelize around the edges. Stir in the garlic and cook another minute. Add the turkey and brown all over, breaking up the meat as you go, about 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat.
    2. Transfer the turkey to the bowl of your slow cooker. Add in the red bell peppers, chipotle peppers, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in 2 cups chicken broth, the tomatoes, tomato paste, apple butter, and bay leaves, stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. During the last hour of cooking, stir in the beans. If your chili is too thick, add the remaining broth to thin as desired. 
    3. Remove the bay leaves and ladle the chili into bowls. Top with cheddar cheese, avocado, and green onions. Eat!

Instant Pot

  • 1. Set the instant pot to sauté. Add the olive oil and onion and cook about 5 minutes or until it begins to caramelize around the edges. Stir in the garlic and cook another minute. Add the turkey and brown all over, breaking up the meat as you go, about 5 minutes. Turn the instant pot off.
    2. Add in the red bell peppers, chipotle peppers, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in 2 cups chicken broth, the tomatoes, tomato paste, apple butter, and bay leaves, stir to combine. Cover and cook on soup/chili for 25 minutes.
    3. Once done cooking, use the quick release and release the steam. Stir in the beans. Remove the bay leaves and ladle the chili into bowls. Top with cheddar cheese, avocado, and green onions. Eat!
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This post was originally published on October 1, 2018
4.29 from 923 votes (818 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I made this once and it was delish! I left out the chipotle peppers as I am very sensitive to spice. Do you think i need to add any additional spices since i am leaving out the peppers? Thank you!

    Reply

    1. Hi Tara,
      So glad you enjoyed the recipe! I would recommend using some chipotle seasoning in place of the peppers. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

      Reply

  2. 5 stars
    Hello:
    Can you use the adobo chilis in ground form? It is so difficult to find a clean store verision. If so what would be the conversion from 2 chilis to tsp or tbs? thx. we love this by the way.

    Reply

    1. Hi Dee,
      Yes you could use 1-2 teaspoons of ground chilis. Thanks so much for trying the recipe! xTieghan

      Reply

  3. Rainy Wednesday with COVID-19 social distancing called for chili. Wanted to but make my same old recipe. Followed this as much as I can follow any recipe (and in light of the restrictions just used what I had in my pantry) and it was a hit! We didn’t have chipotle peppers and in addition to the ground turkey I added some sweet sausage. I didn’t have apple butter so I added some honey. I served this with a spoon cornbread, sour cream, cheddar cheese, jalapeños and cilantro. Very good recipe!

    Reply

    1. Hi Erin! I am so glad this turned out so well for you and you could use what you already had at home! Amazing! Thank you so much! xTieghan

      Reply

  4. I would like to know what kind of white beans you use for your healthy turkey & white bean chili.
    Thanks! Love your recipes!

    Reply

  6. 5 stars
    Hands down the best chili recipe I’ve made, and I’ve made quite a few! I confess to using ground beef instead of turkey to save a trip to the store but can’t imagine it made that much of a difference in taste. The flavors, slice combo, everything was spot on. I served with baked tostitos. Hit the spot!

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    Wow! Just amazing. I am a huge fan of savory and don’t often like mixing in sweet components (such as apple butter/cinnamon). But I cannot get enough of this!!! The flavors marry so well. And it’s so healthy to boot! This is a must try recipe and one I’ll be making over and over.

    Reply

  8. 5 stars
    This chili is always a winner for me! I’ve probably made it 5-6 times since finding the recipe a few months ago and it never gets old. Every time I bring this to work and heat it up my coworkers flock to the kitchen to ask what I’m making—I’ve brought some in for them to try and they all swear it is the best chili!! Such a staple for me in my weekly meal rotations. I often add chickpeas and spinach to make it a little heartier and usually skip out on the apple butter. Can’t say enough great things about this one!

    Reply

  10. I have some frozen already cooked turkey breast do you think I could use that? If so when would you recommend I add it to the chili?

    Reply

    1. Hey Olivia! I am sorry, I would not recommend swaping the meat. I fear your sauce would be too liquidy if you did so. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan

      Reply

  11. 5 stars
    Not your moms chili!! This is delicious, you can taste all the amazing flavors. I used my instapot because I was short on time. I’ll definitely use the slow cooker next time so my house smells delicious for hours. Kids give 5 stars too

    Reply

    1. Hey Carly, if you crumble up the meat into small pieces and cook an additional hour in the slow cooker I think that should work just fine. Please just make sure the meat is fully cooked before eating. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan

      Reply

  13. 5 stars
    We loved it! The day you reposted, I was about to message you for a ground turkey recipe because got a WooHoo at CityMarket – 3 pounds for 2$.

    Reply

  14. 5 stars
    I rarely leave comments…. This recipe was a HIT tonight for our Halloween Party! I.5x the recipe, I made it the day before and just rewarmed it in the crockpot. So easy. Sub’ed pumpkin butter for apple butter, since I couldn’t find any. I only used one chipotle pepper and it was perfect for the younger kids. My 10 year old said, “out of 10, this recipe is a 30!” Feed 10 adults and 6 kids, absolutely no left overs. YUM! Thank you!

    Reply

    1. HI! I recommend simmer over low heat for 3-4 hours or up to all day stirring occasionally, the longer the chili cooks, the more flavor. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan

      Reply