Incredible Leftover Turkey Chili
So you have all of this delicious turkey, dressing, and cranberry sauce leftover. You’ve had Thanksgiving and/or Christmas dinner a couple more times, and you’ve had enough turkey sandwiches to choke on. They’re one of the best parts of holiday leftovers, but you can still only have so many. Why not make all of that delicious turkey into some else yummy?
Consider my Incredible Leftover Turkey Chili, Delicious Leftover Turkey Enchiladas, Crispy Leftover Turkey Alfredo Pizza, Juicy Leftover Turkey Meatloaf, Yummy Leftover Turkey Pot Pie, Leftover Turkey Meatballs, or even some other great uses for holiday leftovers.
I’ve got some great recipes for Leftover Pumpkin Pie/Apple Pie Milkshakes, Leftover Mashed Potato/Sweet Potato Pancakes, Leftover Stuffing and Cranberry Cookies, Sweet Leftover Cranberry Barbeque Sauce, and even Scrumptious Leftover Cranberry Bread.
What more could you ask for!
But one of my favorite dishes is the leftover turkey chili. Turkey has a much different flavor than the chicken that we have so often around here. Not that we don’t love chicken, but we have chicken for dinner in some way, shape, or form at least every other night around here.
When the holidays come around, we hardily look forward to the scrumptious turkey dishes that we can make. In fact, sometimes we even buy an extra turkey so that we will have plenty for all of the dishes we can use it for later.
Another great characteristic about this great recipe is that you can just combine everything in a Crockpot, or in your Instant Pot like I did, and let it cook all day. While you are worrying about Christmas cards, buying all of your gifts, decorating your home for Christmas, and preparing for family to arrive, your amazing dinner can be brewing, and filling your home with delicious smells, without you doing anything.
Had your turkey for Christmas? Even better! Serve it with black eyed peas and spinach or kale for the perfect New Year"s Eve dinner! You’re really going to enjoy this great chili recipe! Let me show you how I made it.
Cook Time
| Prep time | Cook time | Ready in | Yields |
|---|---|---|---|
15 min | 30 min | 45 min | Serves about 10-12 people |
Ingredients
- 2-3 cups shredded turkey meat
- 4 cups turkey stock
- 2 cups corn
- 2 cups beans, black, kidney, or even pinto
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper, optional
- Several stalks celery, optional
- 2 cups diced tomatoes, you can use real tomatoes
- 2 cups tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, for cooking your onion
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
Instructions
- Start by adding your coconut oil to your pot, and heat over medium heat. In the meantime, chop your onions and add them to the oil in your pot. (I used my Instant Pot for all of these steps.)
- Then add your minced garlic. Stir everything together and cook until soft and translucent.
- When your onion and garlic are fully cooked and ready, add the rest of your veggies and beans, with your turkey broth. I used veggie broth because I didn't have any more turkey broth.
- On top of that, add your shredded leftover turkey meat.
- Then add your diced tomatoes and seasonings.
- Finish with your tomato paste.
- If you're cooking this in your Instant Pot, cover without stirring and set your time to Manual 10 minutes. If cooking on the stove, stir well and cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes.
- Serve with tons of shredded cheese. Yummy!
Victoria Van Ness
I have fallen in love with my Instant Pot since receiving it in 2017 for Christmas. I use it to make most of my dinners each night because I can basically dump all of my ingredients in, set the time and walk away. That has been invaluable in a house with two small children. If you don't have one already, put this one on your list!
We also love serving our leftover turkey chili with tons of delicious shredded cheddar cheese and my Homemade Chia and Quinoa Chips. If you haven't tried making them for yourself yet, they are super easy, super delicious, and especially super healthy. My family loves these chips and it's hard to keep them stocked up for nights when we serve something that would go well with chips, like this chili!
This chili is also very flexible if you'd like to get really creative. To make this chili a little hardier, you can always add ground hamburger or a couple more kinds of beans. This can also be vegetarian by obviously eliminating the meat, and either eating it as is, still delicious, or popping in a good deal more vegetables. I’m sure you have a leftover green bean casserole that would love a second life, and what about some of the other veggies you enjoyed.
However, adding in green and red green peppers, zucchini, squash, potatoes, chives, and even mushrooms would really make a vegetarian version great as well! We've done that many times ourselves for an amazing chili. Make this chili gluten-free by sprinkling some avocado and shredded cheese on top and enjoying! That’s right! It’s already gluten-free. For those of you not worried about gluten, or willing to make some Yummy Gluten-Free Chips, this chili is AMAZING with tortilla chips!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have! I would love to know how it turns out for you. Please leave me some great comments below.
© 2013 Victoria Van Ness
