Skinny Turkey Chili
Nothing beats a delicious and hearty chili on a cold day. Having friends over? Why not set up a chili bar where everyone can top their own. 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. Its high fat counterpart has 401 calories and an astounding 23 grams of fat per serving. Ouch…So make a double batch of this skinny chili and freeze half for another day!
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.
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