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Lightened-up chili using ground turkey and sweet potato! This Turkey Sweet Potato Chili can be made in one-pot and will feed you all fall and winter long for dinner or lunches alike. The flavor is absolute perfection. Your whole family will love it!
I would say that in general, I follow the seasons with my eating habits… I crave salads in the summer and cozier, heartier meals in the winter. Since living in San Francisco that all kind of goes out the window. We have warm days year round and cool days in the middle of summer. It’s strange but I love it.
So when it comes to chili, I honestly eat this year round. I know that’s not the case for most of you so I practiced some self-control and waited until an acceptable month to share this delicious turkey sweet potato chili recipe with you.
Turkey Sweet Potato Chili Ingredients:
- Ground turkey – you can use lean ground turkey if you prefer but either lean or full fat will both work. Feel free to replace with a different protein like ground beef.
- Vegetables – sweet potato, onion, bell peppers, jalapeno and garlic
- Canned items – diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, black beans and kidney beans
- Seasonings and spices – chili powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, sea salt and black pepper
RELATED: The Best Ever Cornbread Recipe
How to Make Turkey Sweet Potato Chili
STEP 1: On the stove top heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat, add turkey and cook until browned.
STEP 2: Add in the onions and cook until softened.
STEP 3: Add in the peppers, jalapeno and garlic and cook for another two minutes.
STEP 4: Add the spices, canned items and sweet potato and bring the mixture to a boil.
STEP 5: Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes or until a desired consistency is reached. Be sure to stir often. The longer you cook it, the thicker your turkey sweet potato chili will be!
Toppings for Healthy Chili
The best thing about chili is that it’s a complete meal in one. I love dishing up a big bowl and topping it with a variety of toppings. Here are some we rotate through:
- tortilla chips
- sliced avocado
- sour cream or Greek yogurt
- shredded cheese
- green onions
- cilantro
You also can’t go wrong serving it alongside sweet potato cornbread or pumpkin cornbread. Are you a cornbread on the side, crumbled up cornbread on top or a cornbread dipper?!
Although this recipe is packed with vegetables, you could serve turkey sweet potato chili with a side salad as well. Whip up your favorite combination of dressing and greens or make this brussels sprout salad.
Storage and Freezing Turkey Chili
This turkey sweet potato chili will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. It also freezes well. If you’d prefer to save it for longer, I recommend freezing it for up to 3 months.
To thaw, remove from freezer and let sit in refrigerator overnight or on counter for several hours before reheating on the stovetop.
More Chili Recipes You’ll Love:
- Buffalo Chicken Chili
- Green Chili Recipe
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
- The Best Quinoa Chili
- Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
Sweet Potato Turkey Chili
Lightened-up chili using ground turkey and sweet potato! This Sweet Potato Turkey Chili can be made in one-pot and will feed you all fall and winter long for dinner or lunches alike.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 bowls 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey (lean, if preferred)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 bell peppers, chopped
- 1 jalapeño, chopped (deseed if you don’t like spice)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large sweet potato, cubed (no need to skin)
- 2 1/2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over med-high heat. Add ground turkey and cook until browned (About 3-4 mins).
- Add in onions and cook for 3 more minutes.
- Add in peppers, jalapeno and garlic and cook for another 2 mins.
- Add in sweet potato, spices, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and beans and bring mix to a boil. If mixture is too thick add in 1/2-1 cup water.
- Once boiling lower heat to a simmer and cook for about 30-40 minutes, uncovered or until desired consistency is reached.
How could I change to a crock pot meal? For the last step, instead of simmering for 30-40 minutes, can I put in the crock pot on low for a couple hours??
Yes! 6 hours on low or 3-4 on high!
i’m excited to try this! i’ve always simply baked sweet potatoes so, weird question, do you peel them before chopping??
hi this sounds declicious do you have the nutritional facts?
Yes! Id like to know the nutritional facts on this. And serving size if possible! Im actually making this as we speak. So ill just gues-timate for now the srrving size.
Yes I’m wondering this too- how many calories specifically.
Looks good! Tastes good. Having trouble with the sweet potato, it doesn’t seem to cook all the way through in the allotted time. Any suggestions?
hmmmm that’s odd! I’ve never run into that issue before. I’d either turn the heat up slightly and make sure your potatoes are chopped into small cubes!
I can hardly wait to try this; sounds so healthy and delish! Have you ever thought of adding brown rice to it? I’m just thinking the rice would make it a complete protein. Of course it could be added as a side. But for the convenience of the one pot meal, I may try adding the rice. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Hi MaryAnn with the turkey I’ve never tried adding rice to make a complete protein as the turkey does that, however I have omitted the turkey and used quinoa! You should add about 1/2-3/4 cup at the same time you add the beans. Hope this helps!
Does this end up being a think chili? is there a way it can be made so its a little juicer/liquidy? If that is even a word lol
Just add more water or stock for a more liquidy chili!
I added a bottle of beer for additional liquid.
This sounds so good! Cant wait to make it. How do you chop up Jalapeños without burning your hands?
Perhaps I’m not that sensitive but I’ve never had any issues with cutting the jalapenos!
I always have to use latex gloves when cutting jalapenos! I keep a box of “jalapeno gloves” in hand at all times haha!
I love this chili recipe. I’ve used it so many times for family and friends. You should totally enter this chili contest! I think you have a good chance at winning (because I don’t want to steal your credit)!
https://bushbeans.thedailymeal.com/
aw you’re too sweet! I’ll see what I can do 😉 Wouldn’t that be fun!
Thank you for the great recipe. It was a big winner with my whole family last night. It was delicious with a dollop of natural yoghurt on top. I found I needed to add a little water to it.
So happy to hear that! Yes- it can be pretty thick. Glad you solved the issue and had a delicious dinner!
I can’t wait to make this! Is 1 sweet potato really enough or could I add a couple?
I big one, yes! But feel free to add as many as you like 🙂