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This turkey sweet potato chili recipe is healthy, ultra cozy and comforting, and easy to cook! It makes fantastic leftovers.
Try my Easy Turkey Meatballs, Easy Turkey Chili, and Easy Ground Turkey Burgers next if you’re looking for more tasty ways to use ground turkey.
Why you’ll love it
This turkey chili is everything you love about chili but without being heavy. That’s what makes it the best turkey chili year-round! It can be customized to be as spicy or mild as you like, and it’s hearty and satisfying. It’s basically balanced comfort food.
Meal prep just got a whole lot easier with this healthy turkey chili. The tender sweet potatoes and turkey are simmered in broth with an irresistible homemade seasoning blend, and it’s super simple to make. Lean ground turkey is a tasty alternative to ground beef.
What you’ll need
- Olive oil – for sautéing
- Onion and garlic – our base aromatics. I like sweet (Vidalia) onions.
- Ground turkey – I prefer to use ground turkey thigh as it’s more flavorful and less prone to drying out, but turkey breast works too
- Chili powder – most varieties are quite mild, but be sure to double-check yours first if heat is a concern
- Ground cumin and paprika – these two seasonings are earthy and pack a flavorful punch
- Cayenne pepper – it’s optional but adds a general warmth
- Diced tomatoes – I highly recommend a can of the fire-roasted variety. They add even more flavor.
- Chicken broth – more savory depth and moisture
- Beans – kidney beans add some heartiness and extra protein
- Sweet potatoes – they’re healthy, creamy and a little sweet, and perfect for chili
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Every kitchen needs a good chef’s knife. It works perfectly here for cutting the sweet potatoes.
- Mincing garlic is really easy with a garlic press since you don’t even need to peel the cloves first.
- Use a sturdy soup pot or Dutch oven for this recipe, and this is a great ladle for serving up soups, stews, and chilies.
How to make turkey chili with sweet potatoes
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Sauté the onion in a soup post until translucent. Add the garlic and ground turkey, cooking and giving it the occasional stir until the turkey changes to a light color.
Add in the seasoning, broth, sweet potatoes, beans, and tomatoes. Stir, bring to a boil, and then simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender. Season with salt & pepper if desired, and garnish with your favorite toppings.
Substitutions and variations
- I definitely recommend trying out this recipe as written the first time, but you’re welcome to adjust the seasonings to your liking. For example, try smoked paprika instead of the regular kind.
- Want to swap out the kidney beans for a different kind in your pantry like black beans? Go for it. Other readers have snuck in diced veggies like carrots. It’s a pretty forgiving chili, so feel free to experiment after you’ve made it once.
- If you use ground beef instead, it’s likely you’ll have to drain most of the fat.
What to serve with turkey chili
- There’s no right or wrong way to top chili, but our kitchen suggests any or all of the following toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, Greek yogurt or sour cream, tortilla strips or chips, and scallions.
- This ground turkey chili is a complete meal, but a side salad to complement it is always a good idea! Try mixed greens with my Creamy Balsamic Dressing or this Lemon Tahini Dressing for something a little different.
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftover turkey chili in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheat in a saucepan over a low heat or in your microwave until warmed through.
- Leftovers of this chili will freeze just fine for 3 months.
More tasty chili recipes
If you made this sweet potato turkey chili, please leave a star rating and review below. Leave a comment if the blog post didn’t answer your question. You can find me on Instagram too!
Turkey Sweet Potato Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 (28 ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes with juices
- 1 (14 ounce) can red kidney beans drained
- 1 pound sweet potatoes peeled & diced, see note
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Toppings (optional, to taste): cheddar cheese, cilantro, avocado, sour cream/Greek yogurt, scallions, etc.
Instructions
- Add the oil to a soup pot and sauté the onion over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and ground turkey to the pot and cook, breaking the meat up with your spoon and stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the turkey turns white on the outside.
- Add the remaining ingredients except for salt & pepper. Give it a good stir.
- Increase the heat and bring the chili to a boil. Once it's bubbling, reduce the heat to medium and cover the pot with the lid slightly open. Let it cook for 15-25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes have softened (depends how big you cut the pieces). I like to give it an occasional stir.
- Season with salt & pepper if needed and serve with desired toppings.
Notes
- Sweet potato sizing can vary wildly, so it’s best to go by weight. I used one sweet potato that weighed about a pound (16 ounces). Some grocery stores carry smaller ones, so you may need more than one to make up a pound. I cut my sweet potato into roughly 1″ pieces, but you can definitely chop it smaller.
- You can use hot paprika or smoked paprika instead of regular paprika if you wish.
- This chili is pretty forgiving… you can add more or less turkey and more or less sweet potato… it’s all good. I encourage you to adjust the spices to your taste as well.
- This chili is also in the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on January 8, 2019. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
Delicious!! Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome! 🙂
Could you use black beams instead of kidney beans?
Sure!
I have made this recipe probably 5 times since finding it 6 months ago. It is amazing!! My boyfriend and I eat it like crazy. It usually will only last about 2 days in our house because we eat it for lunch and dinner. It’s the perfect combo of sweet and savory and so easy to make and modify. I usually put more meat in it to try to make it last a little longer. Thanks so much!!
I’m so glad you two enjoy it so much!! Thanks for leaving me a comment! 🙂
It was AMAZING! I had a hint of brown sugar at the end 😉 Trying to find the nutritional info on this dish – any ideas?
So glad you enjoyed it, Kathy!! I don’t currently have nutritional info on this recipe, unfortunately. Maybe plug the values of the exact ingredients you used into something like My Fitness Pal? Calories will vary depending on size of the sweet potatoes etc.
Made this for a meal prep and even on day one it tastes great! (Chilli always tastes better on day 2-3 IMO). I used ground beef because I had some on hand already, and added a tich more broth than 1 cup. I really like the element of adding the sweet potatoes, I think I will continue to make chilli’s like this from now on!
I made rice to go with it my meal preps as well just so I could spread the chilli out for longer.
I am so happy you liked it! 🙂
My son always “hated” sweet potatoes until now. This is a new family favorite. The spicing is perfect (I leave out the cayenne). It’s delicious, healthy, and so darn easy – all in one pot.
That’s awesome!! I am so happy your son likes it 🙂
This recipe is so good and so easy. The first time I only made it with one 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes, and I forgot the onions but it still turned out amazing. This time I followed the recipe exactly. I haven’t tried it yet but judging from how tasty it smells I think it’ll be perfect. She’s right that this chili is forgiving and you can really make it your own. I also don’t use the super lean turkey (I use 85/15) and I just drain it a bit and it’s wonderful.
I am so happy that you like it, Melody!! 🙂
I also only used a 14oz can of tomatoes lol. I used some extra water with tomato paste that I had on hand. I think I liked it better as I dont really like the texture of stewed tomatoes.
No worries! I’m glad you were able to make it work for you.
I made this tonight for my boyfriend and I, and it was delicious! I used a crock pot and added the Cayenne pepper you suggested. So good!
Yay! So glad to hear you two liked it 🙂
I made this tonight & it’s great!! Everything you love about chili without the heaviness.
That’s wonderful! Thanks for letting me know!
Do you have any suggestions as a substitute for the tomatoes? I have developed a strong intolerance to tomatoes and miss Chili – this one looks good, was wondering if more broth or puréed sweet potato might work?
That’s unfortunate! 🙁 I think your suggestions would definitely work. Also, what about red peppers or even zucchini? I’ve also seen beer added for liquid and flavor, or a dash of apple cider vinegar or some tomatillos for the sourness that the tomatoes provide.
A little full-bodied beer is a super addition to most any chili!
Surely someone will be willing to drink the rest!
Totally!