I added some gorgeously ripe slices of avocado to the final bowl of this turkey chili with cocoa powder to add still another layer of silky richness. By the way, don’t be misled by the chocolate powder in our chili spice blend! It only takes a little, and it’s effective. Sour cream, diced jalapenos, cilantro, and avocado served as the chili’s toppings.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 50 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
Ingredients
- ¼ cup ancho chile powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground dried chipotle pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 ½ pounds ground turkey
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup tomato puree
- 2 cups water
- 2 (12 ounce) cans pinquito or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Make the spice mix: Mix ancho chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, chipotle pepper, oregano, cocoa powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cinnamon in a bowl; set aside.
- Make the chili: Heat olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Stir in onion; cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in ground turkey and garlic. Cook and stir until turkey is no longer pink, breaking up any large chunks, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in spice mixture. Cook until fragrant, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Stir in tomato purée and water. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cook until turkey meat is broken down, about 1 hour. Stir in beans, and continue to simmer until flavors have blended, 20 to 30 more minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 448 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 28 g |
| Cholesterol | 140 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 9 g |
| Protein | 45 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 1635 mg |
| Sugars | 4 g |
| Fat | 19 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I made this and found it absolutely delicious. Flavorful spicy but not hot spicy. I plan on bringing it to my next garden meeting.
Followed the recipe as written, but did end up needing to add a little more tomato puree and liquid (only because we don’t like our chili super thick). Absolutely delicious, as all Chef John’s recipes that I have tried are. Will definitely put this recipe into regular rotation, though next time I may add some other beans along with the pinto just to add variety.
Chef John does it again! Yummy. I used two chipotles peppers in adobo sauce in place of dried. So good. And easy!
Only chili I eat.
The flavor was delicious. Knowing I don’t tolerate heat that well I cut back the spice and it was still too hot for my palette. The recipe is still a keeper…I’ll just cut the heat a little more.
I wrote a review a few years ago but it was based on it when my husband made it. I use the spice measurements but use 2 or 3 pounds of ground turkey and a lot more tomato product, a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes and a 28 oz of diced tomatoes. It is too thick with the small amount of tomato purée listed in this recipe. The original would be good for a chili dog with no beans or only one can.
Really, really good. Another excellent recipe from Chef John. As he has recommended, do not leave out the chocolate, unless you want the flavors to have less depth.
Best chili recipe I have ever tried! All my friends thought it was great and everyone had second helpings!
So I live on a remote island and the grocery selection is less than in the big city. Why do I say this? Well I substituted Kashmiri chilli powder for ancho, and smoked. Paprika for chipotle as they were unavailable to me. But MAN what a recipe. I was sceptical about the chocolate. And cinnamon as I don’t much like either in too strong a way. But we served this to friends and they raved as much as I did. Chef John is always a go to for recipes for me. Another home run.
Yum! This is a great SPICY chili. When I make it for adults who like spice, I make it as is. When I make it for my family I adjust by only adding in a fraction of the spicier spices and adjusting as needed.
Has a wonderful New Mexico flavor from most Chili’s I have had. It’s extremely hot, but with cheddar cheese and Corn bread resting on top of the Chili helped tone the fire down on the palate.
I loved it and so did my family.
The family loved this chili, a perfect spice combination for a chili base, and it can use with various meats and stocks. This is our go-to for chili of many varieties due to that spice blend. The base blend is a bit spicy but you can add some jalapenos, or some chilis in adobo for more spice, or more beans and stock to absorb the spice if too much.
added mushrooms and used smoked paprika; needed to add salt to round out the flavors. Yum!
This was very easy to make and it came out delicious! I didn’t have ancho chile powder so I substituted regular chile powder in its place. I also halved the chipotle powder because we don’t like things that spicy. This will definitely be in my regular rotation of recipes. Thank you Chef John!
I thought the spices were perfect! Don’t leave anything out. I topped my chili with arugula, chopped yellow peppers, scallions and a touch of chopped jalapeño. I had an unripened avocado or I would have added that, too. Will make again. Thanks, Chef John!
Y U M From Cincinnati originally and this reminded me a lot of Cincinnati style chili
I had always made chili using a store-bought spice kit, but based on the reviews here, I decided to mix the spices included in Chef John’s recipe. His spice combination is spot-on and is as good as any chili I’ve ever eaten. I cut the heat back by about one-third and it was just right for my girlfriend. Instead of ground turkey, I substituted 1.5 pounds of cubed ribeye and 1 pound of ground sausage. I topped it with cheddar, chives, cilantro, sour cream, and diced avocado. EXCELLENT!
Great, and easy to make. I used beef broth instead of just water for a meatier flavor. Keep some extra broth on hand in case it needs to be thinned out. Its not to spicy, but you can feel the heat on your lips about 5 minutes later. Enjoy with cheese over baked potatoes or Frito chips .
I have made this recipe many times. I do cut back the chili powder a little, especially if I’m serving it to family. Otherwise I make it as stated in the recipe. Won a chili cook off one year with a bunch of firefighters as judges. I usually do turkey but I made it with leftover smoked brisket including the burnt ends. Best chili ever!
Left out the chipotle (no fans here) and used leftover Thanksgiving turkey (chopped). Good! Thanks, Chef John!