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Home » Chili » Easy Black Bean Turkey Chili

Easy Black Bean Turkey Chili

Published: Feb 3, 2019 · Modified: Aug 11, 2020 by Cooking Chat · This post may contain affiliate links

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This Easy Black Bean Turkey Chili is loaded with lively fresh flavor, and is kid friendly according to our resident expert. I would rate this chili as being medium spiciness, good flavor but won’t burn your insides!

After about 15 minutes active cooking, let the chili simmer for 45 minutes more for an easy, healthy meal. We also include an option for making this turkey chili in a slow cooker. Read on for details, or click here to jump down to the recipe. Disclosure: Some of the recommended wine pairings was provided as a courtesy sample. 

Dig into some Easy Black Bean Turkey Chili for a tasty and healthy meal! #chili #healthyrecipes #turkeychili #sponsored

We had a chili breakthrough with this Black Bean Turkey Chili recipe!

Usually our 12 year old just takes his obligatory trying bites of various kinds of chili I’ve made, then seeks an alternative that he can eat. Somehow my instinct told me he might be ready to dig into some good chili–perhaps it is seeing the way he now puts away a big order of chicken curry at our local Indian restaurant. Though I had a backup option in the fridge, I didn’t mention that, and just set out a bowl of the Black Bean Turkey Chili for him, just like Mom & Dad’s.

He took a bit, “Mmm, this is pretty good.” B really started eating it eagerly when he started dipping some tortilla chips into the chili. “This is really good! You should make this again!”

So don’t take it from me, take it from our discerning 12 y.o. food critic! This Easy Black Bean Turkey Chili is a winner!

Salsa for this chili

I originally made this Black Bean Turkey Chili with Nola’s Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa. I met representatives from the company at an event featuring local food businesses based at the incubator, Commonwealth Kitchen, hosted by Sam Adams Brewery.

Unfortunately, when I started researching why the Nola’s salsa was no longer at Whole Foods, I learned that the company is no longer in business. They had a great product, but I guess this serves as a reminder it’s not easy to sustain a small business over time.

The salsa is a key ingredient in this chili. I make this fairly often so am testing different brands. I will let you know if I land on one that I really like — if you have a favorite corn and black bean salsa I should try, let me know in the comments.

Or you could try making your own salsa! This Fresh Spicy Bean Salsa recipe for Pip and Ebby looks like a great option!

black bean turkey chili in a bowl shown from above

The Easy Mexican Dip  was also originally made with the Nola’s salsa. That dip or this chili would make for great eating for that big game today! You know that game I mean, the one I can’t mention here because I didn’t spend millions to be allowed to do so

Looking for another turkey chili recipe idea? Give our Slow Cooker Turkey Chili with Avocado a try!

Turkey Chili in a Slow Cooker

Although I originally made this recipe on the stove top and give the instructions that way, I also regularly make this recipe in a slow cooker.  To do so, brown the onions and the turkey in a skillet. Pour the browned turkey and onions into the slow cooker, then add  all of the other ingredients. Cook on low for 7.5 hours and your chili is ready to eat! I make this a lot on weekends when I know we will be at the ballpark for much of the evening when I’d usually be cooking.

Pairings for our chili recipe

digging into black bean turkey chili

You know we like wine here with most of our recipes, but we originally tested the black bean turkey chili with beer. Seemed like the thing to do for chili and football in mind. An IPA is generally a good option for spicy food, and we went with the Fresh Tracks from Harpoon–another local New England product (guess who I’m rooting for in that game I can’t mention!). Fresh Tracks is their spring ale, one seasonal ale I don’t mind seeing hit the shelves early! This beer has nice bright hoppy flavor with a touch of citrus, and is refreshing with the chili.

But fear not, wine lovers. We have had a chance to sample the black bean turkey chili with some good wine pairings too!

a rosé wine served with a bowl of black bean turkey chili.

We hit upon a great wine pairing for this black bean turkey chili the other night. I’ve tended to go with red wine with chili, but wanted to get some ideas about what to serve with this. Martin’s ENOYFYLZ article on wine pairings for chili mentions a number of red and white wines to try with chili. I took note of his suggestion “don’t forget about rosé.”

Martin’s comment reminded me that the bottle of 2016 Pure Loire Rosé D’Anjou (12% ABV) that I had on hand mentions that it is good with spicy food. I don’t naturally think of rosé for spicy food, but decided to give it a try!  This wine was provided as a free sample for the French Winophiles February event.

The Pure Loire Rosé turned out to be an excellent pairing for the black bean turkey chili! Salmon hue in the glass, I get melon on the nose. Taste of strawberry fruit, bit of kiwi, with moderate acidity. Refreshing along with the chili! Medium body with nice mouthfeel. I will definitely be getting more of this rosé to try with other spicy foods. It is only available at Total Wine in the US.

turkey chili paired with wines from Alsace.

This Easy Black Bean Turkey Chili is a go-to recipe in our house, so I recently had the chance to try it with another wine pairing. In fact, we had two bottles of Alsace wine as part of the #AlsaceRocks event with the French Winophiles group.

The Domaine Pfister Gewurztraminer ($30, 13.5% ABV) might have been the winner with a spicier chili. But for the moderate spice levels in this recipe, the Pierre Sparr Crémant d’Alsace ($20, 12.5% ABV) was my preferred pairing. I got apple blossoms on nose, light mouthfeel, gentle bubbles. Apple fruit with hazelnut notes. The bubbles and clean fruit cleansed the palate, getting us ready for our next bite of chili. Give it a try next time you make this Easy Black Bean Turkey Chili and let us know how you like it!

turkey chili paired with a sweet Bordeaux wine.

Another recent pairing we really enjoyed with this chili is the 2014 Chateau du Cros Loupiac ($30, 13% ABV). We tasted this as part of of a Sweet Bordeaux Wine event, and found the spicy / sweet thing really made this pairing work nicely.  

Red wine with turkey chili

For awhile, I didn’t have much luck with red wine pairings for this recipe– I tried a Grenache from Paso Robles that didn’t quite mesh. A Cab Franc from the Finger Lakes was just a bit better.  That left me sticking with my rosé or Cremant suggestions.

zinfandel paired with turkey chili.

But more recently I’ve had some Zinfandel work well with this turkey chili. For instance, the 2016 Marietta Román Estate Grown Zinfandel ($25, 14.9%) from Sonoma County paired nicely — the wine is rich and lush, with good structure.

More about wine with chili

I’ve recently done some more writing about wine with chili and also did a YouTube video about pairing wine with chili. Over there I do mention two red wines that did work with this chili recipe — a Zinfandel and a lower alcohol Syrah both worked well recently.

Print

Recipe card

Easy Black Bean Turkey Chili

black bean turkey chili served with a beer.
Print Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 4 reviews

Turkey and black beans simmer with fresh salsa and spices for an quick, tasty and healthy meal.

  • Author: Cooking Chat
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 55 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: Main
  • Cuisine: Tex Mex

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • 5 crimini mushrooms, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 ½ tsp garlic powder)
  • 1 jalapeño pepper (optional), seeded and flesh chopped
  • 2 lbs ground turkey
  • 14 ½ ozs diced tomatoes
  • 1.5 to 2 teaspoon chili powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 14 ½ oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 16 ozs Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa
  • ⅓ cup ketchup
  • 8 ozs low sodium chicken broth
  • optional toppings: shredded cheese and/or sour cream

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add the onion, sauté for a few minutes until it begins to soften. Stir in the mushrooms, followed by the garlic and jalapeño pepper, if using.
  2. Gradually add the ground turkey to the pot, breaking it up with a heavy spoon as you go. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the turkey begins turning white.
  3. Stir in the tomatoes, chili powder and soy sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes.
  4. Add the black beans, salsa, ketchup and chicken broth to the pot. Stir to combine. Simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Serve the chili in bowls with optional toppings, if desired, and enjoy!

Notes

  • Look for other high quality salsa with roasted corn and black beans.
  • The ketchup and soy sauce add some good flavor but you can reduce the amount if you want to lower the sodium content.
  • You can also make this recipe in a slow cooker. To do so, brown the onions and the turkey in a skillet, then pour that into the slow cooker, along with all the other ingredients. Cook on low for 7.5 hours.

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easy black bean turkey chili -- long image for pinning
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Alyssa

    January 27, 2018 at 7:43 am

    I make a similar recipe too that involves salsa, it’s such an easy way to add lots of flavor!

    Reply
    • Cooking Chat

      January 27, 2018 at 9:20 am

      This was my first time adding salsa to chili, definitely a great idea!

      Reply
  2. Julia

    January 27, 2018 at 9:12 am

    A good chili is always a winner especially during these cold winter days! Great recipe! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Kristi

    January 27, 2018 at 9:23 am

    I love Chili in the winter especially on cold days. I like this recipe since it has black beans instead of kidney beans, which I prefer.

    Reply
  4. debi at Life Currents

    January 27, 2018 at 9:29 am

    This is a great idea. That salsa is a nice shortcut. I bet I could easily make this vegetarian.

    Reply
    • Cooking Chat

      January 27, 2018 at 10:05 am

      Hi Debi, I bet you could! Maybe a bit more black beans and some tempeh? I was definitely aiming for a healthy chili and thought about doing that.

      Reply
  5. Marie - Not Enough Cinnamon

    January 27, 2018 at 9:32 am

    I’m a big chili fan and this one sounds amazing – I love the addition of salsa, never thought of doing that before. Yum!

    Reply
    • Cooking Chat

      January 27, 2018 at 10:31 am

      It’s definitely an easy way to add some good flavor. Thanks!

      Reply
  6. Jeff the Chef

    July 01, 2018 at 8:23 am

    This looks marvelous, but it was 97°F here yesterday, and the AC went out! I don’t think I could turn on the stove if my life depended on it. I squirrel this away for when the next cold front moves through.

    Reply
    • Cooking Chat

      July 01, 2018 at 2:07 pm

      That’s a good idea! Similar weather here. I re-made this a couple weeks ago when were in a cool spell. Wanted to update it with the new wine pairings.

      Reply
  7. Jeff the Chef

    February 07, 2019 at 12:06 am

    Your chili looks really, really good! I could sure use some during this cold weather. I like the ingredients to – it seems more flavor-oriented that sheer painful heat.

    Reply
    • Cooking Chat

      February 08, 2019 at 7:11 am

      Thanks Jeff! While I like some spice, I find I can’t taste much else if the heat is too strong. Plus that makes it hard to pair with wine.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. New England Beer and Food for the Big Game | Cooking Chat says:
    February 1, 2018 at 7:27 am

    […] Fresh Tracks Paired with Easy Black Bean Chili […]

    Reply
  2. 12 Super Recipes for Game Day Plus Beer and Wine Picks | Cooking Chat says:
    February 4, 2018 at 9:15 am

    […] Can’t have a game day recipe roundup without chili, right? We love to make turkey chili in a slow cooker. Perfect for game day, you can keep it warm and people can scoop it out when they are ready. If you’re rather make a stove top chili, try our Easy Black Bean Turkey Chili. […]

    Reply
  3. French Wine Picks and Pairings for Valentine's Day #winophiles | Cooking Chat says:
    February 14, 2018 at 9:45 am

    […] my favorite pairing, which was the 2016 Pure Loire Rosé D’Anjou ($15, 12% ABV) paired with our Easy Black Bean Turkey Chili. If you are reading this early in the day on Valentine’s Day, you could still put this […]

    Reply
  4. Pork and Cabbage Skillet with Riesling from Alsace #winophiles | Cooking Chat says:
    June 16, 2018 at 7:00 am

    […] started out by trying to determine if one of these Alsace wines would pair well with our Black Bean Turkey Chili. Which one do you think would work […]

    Reply
  5. It’s Always a Good Time to Sip Provence Rosé #winophiles | Cooking Chat says:
    July 22, 2018 at 10:31 am

    […] it just so happened I had a bit of leftover Black Bean Turkey Chili on hand. I heated up the chili and served with some chips, and turned out to be a great match with […]

    Reply
  6. Wine with Chili: February Edition of Wine Pairing Problems | Cooking Chat says:
    February 28, 2019 at 8:16 am

    […] my go to chili recipe has been the Easy Black Bean Turkey Chili shown above. This chili has medium level spiciness. Although it is made with turkey, our black […]

    Reply

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Hi there! I'm David. I love creating tasty, (mostly) healthy recipes, finding great wine pairings, and sharing good food with family and friends. learn more about me!

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