Turkey and Black Bean Chili is a family favorite! It’s made up of pantry items we always have on hand and the kids love it served with cornbread, cheese and sour cream all year round.
Pantry Turkey and Black Bean Chili
This chili recipe has been our go-to recipe for years! It’s comprised heavily of canned pantry items and ground meat which you can either keep in the freezer or have on hand in the fridge. It’s incredibly versatile and we have switched it up with ground beef, pinto beans and all other sorts of variations based on what we have on hand. It’s perfect served with cornbread or my Easy No-Knead Bread if you plan ahead.
Ingredients in Easy Homemade Chili
- Ground Turkey – this is a nice lean meat and we always keep a pound in the freezer for making chili.
- Onion – I like the flavor of yellow onion in this recipe.
- Fresh Garlic – minced fresh garlic adds so much more flavor than dried however you can use what you have.
- Spices – chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and ground red pepper if you like spice!
- Pantry Items– tomato sauce, black beans, diced tomatoes, chicken broth and green chilies. All great pantry staples!
30 Minute Chili:
Making this chili is simple: saute ground turkey, onion, garlic and spices before adding in canned black beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chilies and chicken stock. Bam! The easiest weeknight chili recipe that comes together in just 30 minutes. Looking for more recipes you can make with canned beans? I have 20 more recipes here!
Variations for this Chili
- Ground Turkey – you can substitute any ground meat you like. Ground beef and ground lamb are also delicious!
- Beans – no black beans on hand? You can use pinto beans, white beans or a mix of whatever beans you have in the pantry.
- Vegetables – we’ve also added lots of different vegetables to this chili. The veggies that work best are diced zucchini, frozen corn and even small diced carrots!
How to Serve this Chili
One of our favorite way to enjoy this chili is to serve it poured right over a slice of cornbread. The way the sweet corn bread soaks up the spicy chili is totally delicious. We usually top our chili with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream and fresh cilantro. Also, if I’m making this for the twins, I will generally make it without the red pepper so that it isn’t spicy for them. This is a family favorite!
More Soup Recipes to Try
- Tortellini Zuppa Toscana
- Big Batch Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Sausage, White Bean, Tortellini Soup

Easy Turkey and Black Bean Chili
This family favorite weeknight chili recipe uses pantry ingredients and comes together in less than 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper (optional if you like spicy)
- 3 - 8 oz cans tomato sauce
- 2 - 15 oz cans black beans, drained
- 1 - 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes, un-drained
- 1 - 13.75 oz can chicken broth
- 2 4 oz cans green chilies, un-drained
- olive oil
Instructions
- Coat a large dutch oven or pot with 1 tablespoon of olive
oil and place over medium-high heat. Add turkey, onion and minced garlic and cook until turkey is browned, breaking up with a wooden spoon to crumble. - Add chili powder and cumin and cook stirring for about 1
minute. - Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes stirring
occasionally. Carefully taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. - Remove from heat and serve in bowls with corn bread.
- Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and chopped cilantro.
Krystal // The Krystal Diaries says
Oh yum! Black beans are my favorite type and I’m always looking for a good chili to try!
Leah Bergman says
You can’t go wrong with a good chili! Hope you enjoy it. 🙂
Christmaskitty says
Ooh! I love your chili recipe!!!! This is delicious, and perfect for a fall dinner.
Leah Bergman says
Thanks Lane! Now YOU have the recipe too. 😉