Some nights, the only acceptable dinner is a bowl full of hearty chili, served over brown rice or with a generous slice of corn bread alongside. My turkey and bean version is spiced up with fresh cayenne peppers, a good glug of hot sauce, and fire-roasted tomatoes, for tons of flavor packed into a quick-cooking, weeknight dish!
Traditional chili, this is not. There’s no beef here, a can of kidney beans features prominently, and it comes together in under an hour in the pressure cooker. My sincerest apologies to my Texan readers.
Make this if you’re hankering for a healthy, vegetable-forward chili that’s not too austere to be delicious. Add a sprinkle of cheese and chopped cilantro just before serving, and you’ll have a California-style meal to fill you up on cold winter nights. The leftovers are great for football watching too, scooped up with tortilla chips or atop a plate of nachos.
Oh, and no worries if you don’t have a pressure cooker on hand — I’ve included stovetop instructions as well.
Spicy Turkey Chili (Instant Pot Pressure Cooker or Stovetop)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 green bell peppers seeded and diced
- 2 fresh cayenne peppers chopped (seeds included)
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/4 cup your favorite hot sauce
- 1 15-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, including their liquid
To serve:
- 1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker Instructions
- Set the pressure cooker to its “Sauté” setting and add the oil. Add the onions, peppers, and garlic, and sauté until the onions soften and begin to brown, about 10 minutes.
- Add the cumin and oregano and sauté two more minutes, until aromatic.
- Add the ground turkey, breaking it up with a spoon or spatula. Sauté until opaque and cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Add the hot sauce, canned tomatoes and kidney beans and stir to combine. Cover the pressure cooker, then set it to the “Bean/Chili" setting.
- When the pressure cooker is done cooking and has depressurized, remove the lid, then ladle chili into bowls and serve hot.
- Top with grated cheese and cilantro, and serve with rice or cornbread, if desired.
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium (5-quart) heavy-bottomed soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, peppers, and garlic, and sauté until the onions soften and begin to brown, about 10 minutes.
- Add the cumin and oregano and sauté two more minutes, until aromatic.
- Add the ground turkey, breaking it up with a spoon or spatula. Sauté until opaque and cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Add the hot sauce, canned tomatoes and kidney beans and stir to combine. Cover the pot and bring up to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and simmer, covered, for one hour.
- Ladle chili into bowls and serve hot. Top with grated cheese and cilantro, and serve with rice or cornbread, if desired.
Notes
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Delicious-looking recipe- just one question: how much ground turkey? Didn’t see it listed in the ingredients list. Thanks
Thank you for catching that, Sarah! I’ve updated the recipe — it’s one pound of ground turkey.
1 pound ground turkey. It is in the list
Well I made it with leftover diced or shredded turkey from our Thanksgiving Turkey dinner. No complaints here. It I reduced the spicey so the kids would be able to eat it.
Love how easily this comes together! Perfect for a quick and hearty dinner! And using the leftovers for nachos the next night is a great idea!
I used this recipe with some leftover shredded chili from Thanksgiving and it was super amazing! That’s a big compliment coming from me because I’m of the mindset that if it’s not beef it’s not chili. Made a few minor alterations for what I had on hand, it was perfect.