Easy Turkey and Black Bean Chili

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.

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 Black Bean 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!
• Tomato Sauce- canned tomato sauce makes up the base for this chili.
• Diced Tomatoes - I always use fire roasted diced tomatoes because they have so much more flavor than standard diced tomatoes in a can.
• Black Beans - canned black beans are delicious in this chili. Drain the starchy liquid before adding them to the chili.
• Chicken Stock - I think chicken stock adds more flavor than broth so that is what I use.
• Green Chilies - canned green chilies bring a mild spice and tons of flavor.

All of these ingredients make great pantry staples to have stocked and on hand, especially in the cooler months.

How to Make Black Bean Chili

Start by heating olive oil in a large dutch oven before adding onion, garlic, and ground turkey. Sautee to cook the turkey and soften the onion. 

When the turkey is cooked, add in the chili, cumin, salt and pepper and cook an additional minute.

Add the drained black beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, green chilis and chicken stock.

Bring chili to a boil then reduce and simmer 15 minutes. This chili comes together in less than 30 minutes and just taste better the longer it sits! It's delicious served right away but also makes amazing leftovers, reheated.

Variations for 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!
• Noodles - turn this chili into chili mac and cheese, I have the recipe right here.
• Spice - If I'm making this for the twins, I will generally make it without the cayenne so that it isn't spicy for them. 

The Best Toppings for 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, fresh cilantro and green onion. We make this chili almost every time we camp and top it with Fritos corn chips.

More Delicious Recipes to Try:

• Tortellini Zuppa Toscana
• Big Batch Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup
• Minestrone Soup
• Sausage, White Bean, Tortellini Soup
• Roasted Tomato Soup
• Chili Mac and Cheese

Looking for more recipes you can make with canned beans? I have 20 more recipes here!