Skinny Turkey Chili
Nothing beats delicious and hearty chili. Such a versatile dish. You can set up a chili bar where everyone can top their own. Or, use it to make a taco salad or stuff a baked potato. This fabulous chili is now very skinny due to using ground turkey and draining the fat, cooking the onions in the microwave and rinsing the beans before adding to the pot. These skinny changes make a dramatic difference in the skinny facts. For a 1 cup serving, this skinny chili has 227 calories, only 2 grams of fat and 5 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS. This recipe freezes great and can easily be doubled or tripled.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 package ground turkey (about 1- 1¼ pounds)
1½ cups onions, chopped
1 clove fresh garlic, chopped or 1½ teaspoons from a jar.
1 (14 oz) jar pasta or tomato sauce (I like pasta sauce from a jar such as Prego Pasta Sauce)
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can tomatoes, chopped
½ cup water
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
1. In a large nonstick pan, brown the ground turkey over medium-high heat, stirring often to break up lumps.
2. Drain cooked turkey into a colander in the sink and blot with paper towels to remove excess fat.
3. Return drained turkey to the pan.
4. Place onions in a microwave-safe bowl and cook in the microwave for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft.
5. Add the cooked onions to the turkey and stir in the remaining ingredients.
6. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Makes 8- 1 cup servings
Food Fact
Texans love their chili and call it their “bowl of red”!
Healthy Benefit
This chili is loaded with fiber rich beans. In fact, each serving contains 15 grams of fiber.
Substitution Tips
To make this chili vegetarian, use 1 package (12 oz) of Yves Meatless Ground. This is a soy protein and makes a delicious substitute for ground turkey. You’ll find this product in most supermarkets.
You can substitute Lawry’s Chili Seasoning (1 package) for all of the dry seasonings.
Serving Tip
Set up a chili bar where everyone can customize their bowl of chili. Serve with small bowls of chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, shredded reduced-fat cheese, Nancy’s Skinny Ranch Dressing and reduced fat tortilla chips.
Use this chili to make my recipe for Nancy’s Healthy Kitchen’s Taco Salad.
Weight Watchers (old points) 4
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 5
| SKINNY FACTS: for 1 cup serving 227 calories, 2g fat, 25g protein, 29g carbs, 8g fiber, 375mg sodium, 7g sugar |
| FAT FACTS: for 1 cup serving 401 calories, 23 g fat, 21g protein, 29 g carbs, 8g fiber, 926mg sodium, 7g sugar |






























March 17th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Hello, I was searching the net and I saw your web site. Keep up the awesome work.
February 3rd, 2011 at 9:21 am
Very cool site and I just bookmarked ya too!
January 15th, 2012 at 5:46 pm
Just tried this recipe tonight! It was awesome! I only had diced tomatoes with green chilies in the pantry so I used that and it made it spicy but so yummy!
January 15th, 2012 at 7:56 pm
Thanks Sam. What’s so great about this chili is it’s so flexible. I love the sound of the tomatoes with diced green chilies. So happy it worked for you…
Best,
Nancy
September 25th, 2012 at 7:22 pm
[...] is why I had my doubts when I stumbled across Skinny Kitchen’s Skinny Turkey Chili recipe. Trying to stay on the right track, I ventured out to my local supermarket and bought a package of [...]
September 25th, 2012 at 8:09 pm
Wow Jessica, thank you! You wrote such a wonderful review on your site. I’m so happy you and your boyfriend enjoyed the turkey chili. Best of luck to you, Nancy
September 29th, 2012 at 11:16 am
Thanks for all these delicious weight watcher recipes..you dont know how much you have helped me! almost at goal.. actually-only .4 to lose..ugh…Keep it up ..I love them all:-)
September 29th, 2012 at 8:46 pm
That is FANTASTIC Robin. Well done!!! You are so close and before you know it you’ll be at your goal weight. I’m so happy to hear that you’ve been enjoying my recipes and that they’ve helped you to reach your goal.
Wishing you continued success.
With warmest regards,
Nancy
January 11th, 2013 at 12:04 am
[...] Skinny Turkey Chili (Skinny Kitchen) [...]
January 11th, 2013 at 5:56 am
Thanks so much for sharing my Skinny Turkey Chili Recipe. Not only does it taste great served in a bowl, I like to use it in a taco salad. Here’s the link to my recipe: http://www.skinnykitchen.com/recipes/nancy%E2%80%99s-healthy-kitchen%E2%80%99s-taco-salad/
Have a great week!
January 29th, 2013 at 10:27 am
Right now it seems like WordPress is the preferred
blogging platform available right now. (from what
I’ve read) Is that what you’re using on your blog?
January 29th, 2013 at 1:41 pm
Yes Julissa, I do use WordPress.
February 17th, 2013 at 4:36 am
My wife and I have made practically every night a Skinny Kitchen night. Your recipes take what we love to eat, and skinny them down to what we should be eating. Tonight is no exception, on a cold Florida night (haha), we are having the Turkey Chili!
February 17th, 2013 at 5:38 am
Jack, thanks so much for this wonderful news! I love creating recipes and sharing them. Even better when I know people like you and your wife are enjoying them. You made my day Jack…Thank you!
Wishing you all the best,
Nancy
February 19th, 2013 at 12:36 pm
I have been searching for this version of Turkey Chili for a long time – a very close match to the Turkey Chili the deli in my office bldg. sells that I love so much. Except that it costs $4 for one (1) cup!!! I now have eight one (1) cup servings in my freezer for pennies compared to that!! You have made me a very happy girl!!
February 19th, 2013 at 4:47 pm
I love it! Thanks for sharing this Nina.
With best wishes,
Nancy
May 21st, 2013 at 5:16 am
Thanks SO much for this recipe. You literally taught me how to make Chili lol I modified it a little and my SO LOVES it! It comes out amazing! Here is how I modify it:
I sauté the onions, garlic, and peppers in olive oil before adding the ground turkey. I also add a tablespoon of brown sugar, a dash of cinnamon, a few pinches of red pepper flakes, sriracha to taste, Natures Seasoning, Mrs Dash Garlic and Herb, Onion and Herb, and Spicy seasonings, and I use a little more meat sauce.
I also serve with a little cheddar on top. Yum!
May 21st, 2013 at 5:23 pm
Thanks Shannon. What I love about chili is how versatile it is. Your additions sound yummy. Thanks so much for sharing them!
All the best,
Nancy
May 27th, 2013 at 11:02 am
This is almost the same recipe I’ve been using except I use 2 can of pinto beans and a can of Rotel mild instead of the pasta sauce. Wanted to let you know all ground turkey is not equal. There is a 93% or 94% lean which has 8 fat grams per serving and there is 97% lean which only has 3 fat grams per serving, which I use, and then the chili has only 4 points plus per serving. Love your recipes!
May 27th, 2013 at 6:56 pm
Thanks so much for your feedback Diane. You are right about the differences in % of fat in ground turkey. But, if you brown the turkey and drain off all the fat in a colander, the fat grams go way down even if you use 94%.
I’m so glad you are enjoying my recipes.
Have fun skinny cooking,
Nancy
June 3rd, 2013 at 9:50 pm
Mmmm I love turkey chili! It’s so lean and health!
Thank you so much for linking up with me this week at Tasty Tuesdays! I’ve pinned this & shared it with my followers! Please be sure to stop back by tomorrow & link up your best “man food” recipes in honor of Father’s Day!
June 4th, 2013 at 5:38 am
Thanks so much Anyonita…I love sharing a recipe each week on Tasty Tuesdays!