Tis the season for turkey! It’s been a great Thanksgiving week, so I thought I would highlight one of my favorite chili recipes. While I love a spicy, traditional chili, when thinking about a healthier option, white chili with a poultry base is always a delicious, go-to option, especially when snow is in the forecast later in the week. There is something so soothing about curling up by the fireplace with a blanket and a bowl of chili.
In this recipe there are two options: If you are making it close to Thanksgiving, you can utilize the leftover turkey you have in the refrigerator, OR if you are making it at any other time of year, you can use ground turkey instead. Either way works great!
Ingredients
1 lb ground or shredded turkey
½ small Yellow Onion (about 3 inches in diameter) – Diced
2 tsp Cumin
2 cans Great Northern Beans – Rinsed and Drained
4 oz Canned Green Chilies
1 ½ tsp Hot Chili Powder
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1 tsp Minced Garlic
4 cups Turkey or Chicken Broth
¾ cups Elbow Noodles
Directions
1. If you are using ground turkey instead of leftover turkey from a Thanksgiving feast, the first step is to fry up the ground turkey over medium heat until it is fully cooked. If you are using leftover turkey scraps, weigh out about a pound of meat and dump it into a slow cooker.
2. Dice the yellow onion into ¼ inch squares.
3. Mix all of the ingredients except the noodles into the slow cooker. Make sure to rinse and strain the beans before putting them in with the rest of the recipe.
Kitchen Tip: In place of boxed broth, I personally like to use the Better than Bouillon soup base brand. These soup bases come in many different flavors and only ever require mixing a tsp of the base for each cup of water in the recipe. These bases also have a very long shelf life when opened, which means I always have broth ready when I need it in a recipe. I usually try to have a turkey, beef, and chicken base in my fridge at all times. Sometimes the turkey base is hard to find though, then I substitute in chicken broth even if my main protein in the recipe is turkey.
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
5. In the last hour of cooking, pour the uncooked elbow noodles into the mix. Stir and cook for one more hour on low. Garnish each bowl with shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream.
Slow cooker dishes are some of my favorite winter recipes because they are so easy to whip up. This chili is sure to make your whole family feel warm and cozy, and the added noodles will make sure that everyone is full by the end of the meal. If you are looking for the perfect side to serve with this soup, check out my recipe for Jalapeno Corn Cheddar Corn Muffins. These muffins taste absolutely delicious when they are dipped into the broth of the white chili!
Soup's On with Schallock 