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 1 pot meal. Brown the ground turkey and cook the soup all in the Instant Pot.
- Flavorful – It has a medley of spices and flavor.
- Satisfying – Leaves you feeling full, warm and cozy.
- Slow Cooker Friendly – Instructions on Slow Cooker Turkey Chili here.
- 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 Healthy 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
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or olive oil, divided
- 3 cups peeled and diced sweet potatoes (about 2 medium potatoes)
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 (15-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, liquid and all
- 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 (15-ounce) can cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
- Topping ideas for serving: hot sauce, diced avocado, sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, shredded cheddar, diced onions, salsa, thinly sliced green onion, etc.
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Set the 6-quart Instant Pot to “Saute” Pour in 2 tablespoons of the oil and heat until shimmery. Add the sweet potatoes and onions and cook, stirring, for about 4 minutes, until they start to soften, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper while they cook. Transfer the sweet to a plate and set aside.
- 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.
- Add in the garlic for the last 30 seconds, being careful not to burn it. Press “Cancel.”
- Combine the rest of the ingredients in the Instant Pot: sauteed veggies, broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Lock and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 7 minutes, then quick release the pressure.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper and serve warm.
Freeze For Later: Fully cook the soup as directed. Let cool and transfer to storage containers or airtight freezer bag.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw the chili completely. Rewarm on the stove or in the microwave.
Notes/Tips
Side Dish Ideas: Cornbread, Avocado Lime Salsa or Guacamole with Tortilla Chips
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
Love this recipe!! This is my go-to healthy chili recipe. Quick, easy and filling!
★★★★★
Thanks Leslie!