Instant Pot Turkey Chili
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Our lean Instant Pot Turkey Chili is not only hearty and absolutely delicious, but it’s also chock full of fiber, protein, and nutrients. It’s perfect for a comforting weeknight dinner, and you’ll have leftovers for lunch the next day.
Reasons You’ll Love this Recipe
- Easy– Similar to our Instant Pot White Chicken Chili, It’s a one pot meal. Brown the ground turkey and cook the soup all in the Instant Pot.
- Flavorful – It has a medley of spices and flavor. Our Instant Pot Steak Chili is another winner dinner.
- Satisfying – Leaves you feeling full, warm and cozy.
- Slow Cooker Friendly – Find instruction on Slow Cooker Turkey Chili.
- Make-ahead & freezer friendly – An ideal Instant Pot Freezer Meal!
Ingredients Needed
Here are some of the powerhouse ingredients in this delicious, yet oh-so-healthy chili:
Substitutions & Variations
- Ground Turkey – You could use ground chicken
- Petite Diced Tomatoes – You can use regular diced tomatoes or fire roasted diced tomatoes
- Sweet Potato – Butternut Squash could work
- Black Beans – You could substitute kidney beans
How to Make Turkey Chili in the Instant Pot
Dice & Saute the Veggies
Start with peeling and dicing up those sweet potatoes. This is the most tedious part of the recipe so once you get these taters done, you are practically home-free!
Next, you’ll chop the onion up.
Onion Dicing Tip!
If chopping onions makes you weepy, try chewing gum when you do it! Wearing contacts also helps a ton.
Saute Veggies
Set the Instant Pot to “Saute” (highest heat setting). Pour in 2 tablespoons of the oil and heat it until shimmery.
Add the sweet potatoes and onions and cook, stirring, for about 4-5 minutes, until they start to soften, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper while they cook. Set aside.
Brown Ground Turkey
Pour the remaining 1 tablespoon oil into the pot and heat until shimmery.
Add the ground turkey and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat as it cooks, until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper as the mixture cooks.
Pressure Cook
The hard work (if you call that hard work) is done! All you have to do now is dump the remaining ingredients into the Instant Pot, lock and seal the lid, and pressure cook it!
Now here’s the key to delicious Instant Pot Turkey Chili: Great timing! If you follow our recipe, you’re good to go. But…be sure to download and print off our Instant Pot Cooking Times Chart that we spent two years developing for our cookbook.
Instant Pot Cooking Times Chart
After testing hundreds of Instant Pot recipes, we have honed in on the best timing and methods for cooking different types of meals in the Instant Pot.
Topping Ideas for Turkey Chili
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- Diced avocado
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- Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
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- Shredded cheddar cheese
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- Crushed corn tortilla chips
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- Thinly sliced green onions
How to Freeze Turkey Chilli
It’s no secret we are big fans of freezer meals around here. In fact, we have 2 freezer meal cookbooks, 1 Hour Freezer Prep Sessions, and even a round-up with 70+ freezer meal recipes that you will love!
Freezing soups is one of my favorite ways to save my future self time. Turkey chili is no different. Here is how to make it a freezer meal…
Option 1: Fully Cook and Freeze the Chili
Freeze For Later: Fully cook and cool the chili as instructed. Freeze in an airtight freezer bag or in smaller containers if making a freezer meal for 1-2 people.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw chili completely. Warm it up on the stovetop, in the microwave, or in the Instant Pot using the lowest “Saute” setting.
We like freezing chili and soups in 2 cup portions in Souper Cubes (see pic below). After freezing, you can easily pop out the cubes and store them in a large freezer bag to have on hand for quick lunches.
Option 2: Prep the Meal to Be Fully Cooked Later
Freeze For Later: Follow Steps 1-3 (stop before pressure cooking it). Freeze the uncooked chili in gallon-sized freezer bag and place it in a round container while freezing (so it freezes in the shape of the Instant Pot). You can remove the container once it’s frozen.
Prepare From Frozen: If it wasn’t fully cooked, then Saute the soup in the Instant Pot for 5-10 minutes to release some liquid. Turn off the Saute function. Lock and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes, and then quick release the pressure.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, this turkey chili works beautifully in the slow cooker. In fact, we have a whole post walking you through how to make Slow Cooker Turkey Chili. You will still need to brown the meat ahead of time, but this recipe works great both ways. 
Yes, you can dump your frozen meal directly in the Instant Pot and cook it from frozen! Few notes:
1 – Be sure your chili is frozen in a circular form. This will help it easily fit into the pot when you want to cook it.
2 – Saute for 5 minutes to help it release some liquid.
3 – Cook for 12-17 minutes on high pressure. If it’s not fully thawed after this time, break it up with a spoon and pressure cook it for a few more minutes.
You bet! This is a great recipe for anyone trying to avoid gluten and dairy in their diet. Just skip the sour cream topping at the end and you’ll have yourself a super healthy bowl of chili!
More Chilis and Soups for the Instant Pot
If you like this recipe, we think you’ll enjoy these nutritious options, as well.
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Instant Pot Turkey Chili
Our lean turkey chili is not only hearty and absolutely delicious, but it’s also chock-full of fiber, protein, and nutrients. It’s perfect for a comforting weeknight dinner, and you’ll have leftovers for lunch the next day. Be sure to top it with your favorite chili toppings.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil
- 3 cups 1/2-inch diced peeled sweet potatoes (about 1 large)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeno pepper (about 1 small)
- 1 pound 99% lean ground turkey
- 4 garlic cloves, minced (2 teaspoons pre-minced)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano, crushed in hand
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, juices and all
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus more to taste (1-2 small limes)
- Optional toppings for serving: lime wedges, diced avocado, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, sliced green onions or chives, cilantro leaves, hot sauce, etc.
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Saute Sweet Potatoes: Set Instant Pot to “Saute” setting. Pour in 2 tablespoons oil and heat until shimmery. Add the sweet potatoes and cook, stirring, for 4-6 minutes or until slightly softened and aromatic. Season lightly with salt and pepper while they cook. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Saute Meat Mixture: Pour in and heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil until shimmery. Add the onion, jalapeno, and turkey and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring and breaking up the meat as it cooks, until the turkey is cooked through and no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes. Drain off some of the excess liquid/grease, if desired but not necessary.
- Add More Ingredients: Add the garlic, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and oregano (crush it in your hand first) to the hot pot and stir to coat the meat mixture. Saute for only 1 minute to release the flavors of those ingredients. Press “Cancel”.
- Pressure Cook: Stir in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, black beans, cooked sweet potatoes, ¾ teaspoon salt*, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Lock and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 7 minutes, then quick release the pressure. (Note: It will take about 15 minutes for it to come to pressure before starting the cook time.) Stir in the lime juice.
- Serve: Taste and season with more salt or lime juice to your preference. Chili will thicken as it sits and cools slightly. Serve with your favorite chili toppings.
*Use 1 teaspoon salt if you used low sodium chicken broth.
Freezer For Later:
- Method 1 (before pressure cooking): Complete recipe through Step 3. Add the cooked and cooled meat and vegetables to a gallon-sized freezer bag. Then, add the remaining ingredients from Step 4 to the same bag. Seal, toss gently to mix, set it in a bowl or round container that’s similar size to the Instant Pot, and freeze. (This is so it will fit in the pot from frozen later. You can remove the bowl once the meal is frozen.)
- Method 2 (fully cooked): Fully cook and cook the chili. Freeze in a large freezer bag or in individual containers.
Prepare From Frozen:
- Method 1 (before pressure cooking): Turn on the “Saute” mode. Dump out the frozen meal into the Instant Pot and saute for 5-10 minutes to release liquid. Press “Cancel”. Follow Steps 4-5, but cook for 12-17 minutes.
- Method 2 (fully cooked): Thaw in the refrigerator. Warm on the stovetop, in the Instant pot, or in the microwave.
Notes/Tips
- I updated this recipe on 11/13/24 to more closely match our cookbook recipe in From Freezer to Cooker. I also incorporated a few techniques I’ve learned for adding more flavor–toasting the tomato paste and spices and adding in lime juice for acid at the end. I also increased the jalapeno amount slightly (don’t worry it’s not too spicy at all). All of those changes add up to a better recipe in my opinion. I hope you enjoy it! (If you prefer the old version, you can print off the original version here.)
- Slow Cooker Version: Use our Slow Cooker Turkey Chili recipe.
- Be sure to chop and lay out all your ingredients and equipment before beginning this recipe, since it goes quickly once you begin.
- The jalapeño adds a low level of heat in the background—not overpowering at all. If you like more heat, add more jalapeño or a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- I love to freeze this chili in 2-cup Pyrex glass containers so I can warm them up for lunches in the microwave.
Love this recipe!! This is my go-to healthy chili recipe. Quick, easy and filling!
Thanks Leslie!