Instant Pot Turkey Chili
This Instant Pot Turkey Chili is cozy, flavorful, and ready in under an hour—no babysitting required. Packed with lean ground turkey, hearty beans, and warm spices, it’s the kind of healthy comfort food you’ll crave on busy weeknights, game days, and chilly Sundays alike.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium white or yellow onion diced
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 1 large sweet pepper (green, orange, red, or yellow) diced
- 1 lb. ground turkey preferably 85% lean
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 pinch to ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- 3 15-oz. canc beans (garbanzo beans, pinto beans, black beans, or kidney beans) drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cup corn fresh or frozen
- 1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce or coconut liquid aminos to make the recipe gluten-free
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- ¼ - ½ cup water if desired to thin the chili
- toppings of choice Sour cream, shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese, green onions, cilantro, sliced black olives, etcs
Instructions
- Heat the Instant pot or pressure cooker to medium heat on the saute setting. Once hot, add the oil, onion, celery, carrots, and pepper to the oil. Saute for 5-6 minutes, or until the onion turns translucent.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high heat. Add the turkey and saute, breaking up the meat as you cook, for 5-6 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper (if using), and salt to the meat mixture. Saute for 1 minutes, or until the mixture is fragrant, being careful not to let it burn.
- Turn off the heat. Layer the beans, corn, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce or liquid aminos, tomato paste, brown sugar, and water (if using) on the turkey and vegetable mixture. DO NOT MIX to avoid the burn warning.
- Lock in the pressure cooker lid and pressure cook on HIGH for 16 minutes.
- Natural-release the pressure for 5 minutes and then quick-release the rest of the pressure. Stir very well, season with additional salt and pepper to taste, and serve the chili hot with sour cream, shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese, green onions, cilantro, or other toppings of choice.
Notes
Storage Directions
- Refrigerating: Let the chili cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: Transfer the cooled chili to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Reheating: Warm on the stovetop over medium-low heat or microwave in 1-minute intervals, stirring between each. Add a splash of broth or water if the chili has thickened.
- Layer to prevent burn notice: Add the tomatoes and beans on top of the meat and veggies without stirring—this keeps the chili from burning on the bottom of the pot.
- Brown your aromatics and meat well: Let the onions and turkey develop color; that golden goodness adds so much flavor.
- Adjust the heat: Add more cayenne or hot sauce if you like it spicy—or leave it out for a kid-friendly version.
- Skip the sweet: Not into sweet chili? Just omit the brown sugar—no problem.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 357kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 22gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 1152mgFiber: 9gSugar: 17g
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