This turkey and vegetable chili is filled with ground turkey & veggies will warm you to the bones & leave you feeling full & happy without any guilt!
Do you remember that Campbell Soup holiday commercial? The one where you see a sad looking snowman outside in the cold and he comes inside and sits down to a steaming hot bowl of soup? Then he melts away and you see this really adorable kid smiling? You know what I’m talking about right? Yes? Good, because this turkey and vegetable chili will do just that! Except, the commercial (check it out here) is a little creepy. Regardless of the creepiness of the commercial, this turkey and vegetable chili will melt away the snow and leave you feeling full and happy without any guilt!
The night before Thanksgiving was the first time I had this soup. We were at a friend’s house, having margaritas and vodka crans, eating taquitos, listening to music, and chatting. All the while, this turkey and vegetable chili is simmering away on the stove smelling all kinds of good. When it was finished, we served it up in some bowls, plopped on sour cream, shredded cheese, and, of course, it wouldn’t be complete without a side of corn bread.
I took my first bite… and boy was it good! It took me a total of 30 seconds to slurp my chili down, lick the bottom of the bowl clean, and sprint back into the kitchen for seconds.
It’s that good. I promise.
I have talked about mise en place in three different posts now. This apple cake, this stuffing, and these pumpkin cupcakes. Guess what? I’m going to talk about it again! It’s so important in this turkey and vegetable chili, because there are so many vegetables that you’re working with. So before you start cooking, get all your veggies cut up and set aside for later!
Chop an onion, celery, red pepper, green pepper, carrots, zucchini and mince a couple cloves of garlic. As always, I love using a garlic press
to save time! I like cutting my veggies pretty small, so they get nice and tender, but feel free to chop them larger if you prefer crunchy veggies.
Do people like crunchy veggies in their soup? You can place the onion, celery, peppers, carrots, and garlic into one bowl after they’re chopped, but keep the zucchini separate, because it cooks faster so you add that to the turkey and vegetable chili later!
Now that the veggies are chopped, measure out your oil, butter, spices, chicken broth, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and drain your beans and corn.
Only now should you begin cooking. I really think you’ll see a difference in your cooking experience, you’ll be so much more organized!  Plus, it will be much easier at this point to manage a glass of wine while you throw together the soup.  Just sayin 🙂
Start by heating some oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Once hot, add in ground turkey and cook until no pink remains. You’ll break the turkey up as you go along with a spoon. This only takes a few minutes. Next, add in some unsalted butter and the onion, celery, pepper, carrot, and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes and then add in your spices – cumin, chili powder, chili flakes, and salt. Cook for two more minutes.
Then add in some chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste. Bring this to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, lower your heat and simmer for 30 minutes. At about 15 minutes, season with just a touch of salt. Don’t forget to put the lid back on!
After the 30 minutes is up, add in the beans, corn and zucchini, recover, and simmer for 15 more minutes. Now, re-taste and re-season if necessary!
Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, corn bread, or tortilla chips!
Oh and I maaay have forgotten to mention before that by the end of the night, we were all standing over the stove, elbowing each other out of the way to get more bites. I would literally take a spoonful of sour cream, dip it in the turkey and vegetable chili, and take a bite. Repeat this a few more times and that’s how I ended my night! I sincerely wish I was kidding. 😉  I’m telling you… IT’S JUST THAT GOOD.
– Jennifer

Turkey and Vegetable Chili
Equipment for this recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 2 zucchini chopped
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans drained
- 1 (15 oz) can corn drained
- Sour cream optional for topping - but highly recommended
- shredded cheese optional for topping
- tortilla chips/corn bread etc. optional for topping
Instructions
- Chop an onion, celery, red pepper, green pepper, carrots, zucchini and mince a couple cloves of garlic. As always, I love using a garlic press to save time! I like cutting my veggies pretty small, so they get nice and tender, but feel free to chop them larger if you prefer crunchy veggies. Do people like crunchy veggies in their soup? You can place the onion, celery, peppers, carrots, and garlic into one bowl after they're chopped, but keep the zucchini separate, because you add that to the soup later!
- Now that the veggies are chopped, measure out your oil, butter, spices, chicken broth, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, beans and corn.
- NOW you can begin cooking. I really think you'll see a difference in your cooking experience, you'll be so much more organized!
- Start by heating some oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Once hot, add in ground turkey and cook until no pink remains. This should only take a few minutes.
- Next, add in some unsalted butter and the onion, celery, pepper, carrot, and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes.
- Add in your spices - cumin, chili powder, chili flakes, and salt. Cook for two more minutes.
- Then add in some chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste. Bring this to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, lower your heat and simmer for 30 minutes. At about 15 minutes, season with just a touch of salt. Don't forget to put the lid back on!
- After the 30 minutes is up, add in the beans, corn and zucchini, recover, and simmer for 15 more minutes. Now, re-taste and re-season if necessary!
- Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, corn bread, or tortilla chips!
- Take 5 seconds to rate this recipe below. We greatly appreciate it!
Nutrition Information
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
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