Maple Turkey Chili
This Maple Turkey Chili is sweet and savory and has a mellow sweetness from the addition of maple syrup. Top it with your favorite chili toppers like avocado, cilantro, sour cream and cheese and serve with Whole-wheat cornbread for a delicious dinner in under an hour.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Maple Chili Recipe
This Maple Chili recipe with tender ground turkey, smoky chipotle and the smooth sweetness of pure maple syrup comes to you from the pages of my cookbook Maple: 100 Sweet and Savory Recipes Featuring Pure Maple Syrup {Quirk Books, 2015.} It is hands-down one of the recipes I have made more than any other.
Out of all 100 recipes in the book, this Chipotle and Maple Turkey Chili was THE recipe that I made over and over (and over) and took with me on the road during my book tour. Basically, during the time I was on the road promoting the book, I spent more time in with this chili than I did with my children. I brought it to stores and markets and demo counters all over the northeast. I made it on live television. I served it to hundreds and hundreds of people. I would blow through double batches of it, even though I was only handing out tiny 1 ounce sized samples to everyone.
Can I confess something to you guys about this chili recipe? It has special powers. It’s like the sirens in the Odyssey. I used it as a lure to get people to come over and talk to me. Picture it, me in a bookstore or craft market or something, and a stack of books to sign. I’m not Rachel Ray here folks, so people aren’t going to just come up to me and ask for my autograph. So I would casually, take the lid off my slow cooker, give the chili a stir and let people follow their noses over to my table. Like a sailor to the siren…
It worked every time!
Now you too can have this magical maple turkey chili recipe, and you can lure your family to the dinner table to enjoy the hearty smoky and lightly sweet goodness you have simmered up.
More Chili Recipes
- This Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili with Sweet Potatoes is vegan!
- This Turkey Picadillo Chili with quinoa is another slightly sweet chili to try.
- This Turkey Chili with Pintos is one of my favorites!
- If you never have tried White Chicken Chili, stop what you are doing and make a batch!
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
PrintMaple Turkey Chili
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups 1x
Description
This Smoky and Sweet Turkey Chili with Maple Syrup is one of my favorite recipes from my cookbook, Maple. It is savory and spicy and has a mellow sweetness from the addition of maple syrup. Top it with your favorite chili toppers like avocado, cilantro, sour cream and cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or organic canola oil, divided
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 1 large Spanish onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper, or to taste
- 4 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 28–ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably fire roasted
- 1 15–ounce can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, dark or amber
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
- 1/4 cup toasted pepitas
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Add turkey, and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon and stirring occasionally until browned, and no longer pink on the outside. Transfer the turkey and any juices from the pan to a bowl and set aside.
- Return the pot to medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add onion, garlic and salt and cook, stirring often until the onion is very soft and brown, 6 to 10 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin, paprika and chipotle and cook, stirring until fragrant and starting to toast and darken slightly, 30 to 90 seconds. Add vinegar, and stir until evaporated, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add 1 cup water and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits and spices. Add tomatoes, beans, maple syrup and the turkey, and stir to combine. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer, and cook stirring occasionally until the turkey and onion are tender, 10 to 14 minutes.
- Serve topped with avocado, cilantro and pepitas.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups
- Calories: 279
- Sugar: 13 g
- Sodium: 396 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 16 g
This chili is so delicious!! It’s sweet, smoky, & spicy! A perfect balance of each.
Thank you Ali! I am happy to hear you like it!
Love, Love, Love this chili!! The flavor of all the spices together with the maple syrup make this chili one of a kind! It has become a family favorite! Thanks for sharing such a great recipe.
Thank you Carol! I am so happy to hear you like it! Thank you!
The flavors in this chili are out of this world!
Thanks Ashley! I’m so glad you loved the combination!
Everyone at my house really loved it! So good!!
Toni,
So glad you all loved it! Thanks for taking the time to comment and rate!
chili is a favorite around our house! love this recipe- especially to switch things up 🙂
Lisa,
Chili just makes a cold day so much better! Glad you love it! Thanks for the comment and rating!