Leftover Turkey Chili Recipe (Crock Pot & Stove Top Recipe)

One of my favorite recipes to make with turkey that is leftover after our Thanksgiving dinner is this Turkey Chili recipe. A thick and hearty soup that is not only delicious, but also easy to make.

Although I absolutely love to use the meat to make a sandwich for lunch a day or two after the holiday, I get tired of eating slices of turkey over and over again. However, instead of freezing all of the leftovers, I make a big pot of chili instead.

It is a great way to transform the leftover meat into an entirely new dish. In addition, as the cold weather creeps in, it is a warm and hearty meal that is both satisfying and delicious.

Although this recipe can also be easily made in a pot on the stove (instructions included below), the last thing I want to do after Thanksgiving is to spend more time working in the kitchen. Instead, I rather spend the time visiting with my family and friends who were for able to stay a few extra days after the holiday.

Therefore I will pull out my slow cooker and use that to make the chili. I simply cut up some leftover turkey and then dice some extra onions, celery, and bell peppers that I have on hand and put them in the crock pot. Then I add in a few cans of diced tomatoes, chicken broth, beans and seasonings and dinner is prepared.

And don’t worry if you don’t have any leftover turkey. You can either use cooked ground turkey or use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken instead!

Turkey Chili Recipe

*Complete recipe instructions including specific measurements, cook temperatures and times are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to keep reading for helpful tips and tricks when making this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs (4 cups) of leftover turkey, or ground turkey-browned
• 2 large onions, diced
• 4 ribs of celery, diced
• 3 green bell peppers, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 10 oz. cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 15 oz. can of chili kidney beans, undrained
• 1 15 oz. can of Great Northern beans or black beans, drained
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder
• 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf

Optional Ingredients

• Cayenne hot pepper powder
• Jalapeno peppers – diced

INSTRUCTIONS:

Dice up 2 pounds of leftover turkey. If you don’t have a kitchen scale this is approximately 4 cups of diced turkey. Set aside.

However, if you want to enjoy the taste of Turkey Chili but don’t have any leftover turkey, no problem! You can use fresh ground turkey instead.

Simply brown 2 pounds of ground turkey in a hot skillet or a Dutch oven with a tablespoon of olive oil. Then drain and proceed with the recipe.

Next, in a large non-stick skillet heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add in diced onion, celery, and diced bell peppers (and diced hot peppers if using). Saute for 5 minutes and then add the minced garlic and saute for one additional minute.

Remove the pan from the heat so that the garlic does not over cook and become bitter tasting. Then proceed with the instructions below for either crock pot or stove top cooking.

Crock Pot Cooking Instructions

Add the diced leftover turkey or cooked ground turkey to a 6 quart slow cooker. Then add in the tender, sautéed vegetables in the pot with the turkey.

Next, pour in the two cans of the diced tomatoes with green chiles. Then open the can of chili kidney beans and pour the entire contents, including the beans and liquid in the pot.

However, when you add the can of white Northern beans or black beans, drain and discard the liquid. Then add the chicken broth, seasonings, bay leaf and stir.

Cook on LOW for 5 hours or on HIGH on 3 hours. If you have a programmable 6 quart Crock Pot, set the cook timer and then the pot will switch to the KEEP WARM setting once finished cooking.

When you are ready to serve, taste and adjust heat level per your preference by adding more chili powder, taco seasoning, diced hot peppers and/or hot pepper powder.

STOVE TOP INSTRUCTIONS:

If you are making this leftover turkey chili on the stove, it is best to use a Dutch oven to saute the vegetables. Once the vegetables are nice and tender, add the diced leftover turkey or cooked ground turkey to the pot.

Then slowly pour in the chicken stock. After the stock has been added to the pot scrape the bottom of the dutch oven with a wooden spatula to remove any bits that might have stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Then adjust the heat to medium-high, and stir in the diced tomatoes with green chiles, the entire can of chili beans, and the drained white Northern or black beans.

Next, add in the chili powder, taco seasoning, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Stir and bring the pot to a bowl, stirring frequently.

Once the pot begins to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue to cook for 45 minutes or longer, depending on how thick you want your turkey chili to become.

Serve warm with leftover dinner rolls or crackers. Garnish with shredded cheese, diced green onions or a dollop of sour cream.

Storing Instructions

If you have any leftover turkey chili, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

However, you can also freeze it for later use. We use the same method for when making our famous Soup Bricks. Although, because soups can look very similar when frozen, be sure that you label the package.

More than once I have thawed what I thought was soup and ended up with something completely different.

Other Leftover Turkey Recipes

Depending on how much turkey that you have leftover, you may need a few more recipe ideas. Here are some of my favorite recipes that are designed to help you use up your leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

1. Turkey Noodle Casserole (Small Batch Recipe)
2. Instant Pot Turkey Tetrazzini
3. Turkey Pot Pie
4. Instant Pot Southwestern Turkey Soup
5. Kentucky Hot Brown Dip
6. Instant Pot Turkey Noodle Casserole
7. Turkey Stew For Two

And remember, if all else fails and you are sick of eating turkey, you can always shred or dice the meat and freeze it in air-tight packages. But again, remember to label your package so you don’t have to guess in a few months what type of meat that you have.

Enjoy!

Mary and Jim

Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.

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