Turkey Apple Chili
This turkey apple chili is a satisfying and comforting Fall chili recipe made with ground turkey, diced apples, carrots and sweet potatoes. It is seasoned with sage, cinnamon and chili powder, and is the just right lunch or dinner.
When ground turkey is combined with sage and apples, wonderful things happen. And when they are used to create a chili, it’s AMAZING. It makes your turkey apple chili, a little sweet, a little spicy and so incredibly comforting.
We love how apples add a great crunch and sweetness to recipes. Try our roasted chicken with apples or our cran-apple sauce recipes if you also like cooking with apples.
What makes this recipe great
- It’s a wonderful autumn chili recipe where you can use Fall flavors like apple, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a savory way.
- It is naturally dairy-free and gluten-free.
- If you omit the beans, this recipe is Paleo and Whole30 compliant.
- The whole family will love it! Our kids love dunking tortilla chips or plantain chips into it.
Recipe ingredients
- Onion powder and garlic powder– these season the ground turkey to add a savory flavor to the chili.
- Apples– any kind of apple works for this recipe.
- Carrots and sweet potatoes– these add a nice crunch and veggies to the dish.
- Rubbed sage– this seasoning works well with ground turkey.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg– these Fall spices compliment the apple well without being overpowering.
- Ground turkey– this meat is lighter meat to use in chili, and it is satisfying! We like using regular ground turkey over lean ground turkey because it has more flavor.
- Tomato paste– this helps season the chili.
- Chili powder– this spice is what makes this dish “chili”.
- Crushed tomatoes and strained tomatoes– these provide the sauce and base for the chili.
- Kidney beans– you can omit the beans to make this recipe Paleo or Whole30.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Additions/ Substitutions
- Instead of onion powder and garlic powder, you can use fresh onion and fresh garlic. Use 1/2 of an onion and 3 cloves of garlic.
- You can use different veggies instead of carrots and sweet potatoes. You can add bell peppers, corn, zucchini, regular potatoes or cauliflower.
- Instead of strained tomatoes, use marinara sauce.
- Instead of just kidney beans, you can use a mixture of black beans and kidney beans.
- If you like your chili a bit more spicy, add another teaspoon of chili powder.
Step by step instructions
Step 1
Step 1: Cook the diced apples, sliced carrots and sliced sweet potatoes with some spices for a few minutes.
Step 2
Step 2: Add the ground turkey to the pot and cook it until browned.
Step 3
Step 3: Add the add tomato paste.
Step 4
Step 4: Add more seasoning and the crushed and strained tomatoes to the pot. Cook for 20-30 minutes, until all the veggies are cooked through
Step 5
Step 5: Add the beans.
Step 6
Step 6: Serve.
Expert tips
- Make sure the sweet potatoes are sliced and quartered, and that they are sliced thin enough. This ensures they will be cooked through in time.
- Add a bit more cinnamon for a nice Fall vibe. For another Fall chili recipe, try this pumpkin chili.
- This chili is chunky and thick, if you like it more liquidy, add 1/2 cup- 1 cup of chicken broth/bone broth.
- If you want more spice add an extra 1 teaspoon of chili powder.
How to serve this chili
- With avocado on top.
- With plantain chips. We love crushing up a bunch of plantain chips and covering our chili with them.
- With some shredded lettuce.
- With diced raw apples added to the bowl (this adds great crunch!)
- With cheddar cheese on top.
- Add it on top of eggs.
Prep 10 minutesCook 40 minutesTotal 50 minutesMakes 6
Ingredients
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 2 cups sliced carrots, ( this was 2 large carrots for us)
- 2 cups sliced sweet potatoes, halved and quartered (this was 2 smaller sweet potatoes for us)
- 2 cups diced apple, ( this was from 2 apples for us)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp rubbed sage, divided
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- a sprinkle nutmeg
- 2 lbs ground lean turkey
- 3 Tbs tomato paste
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 3 cups crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups strained tomatoes, (or marinara sauce)
- 1-2 cans kidney beans
Method
- Put 1 Tablespoon of olive oil into a large pot and turn the stove top up to medium heat.
- Add the diced apples, sliced sweet potatoes, and sliced carrots to the pan. Top with 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon of rubbed sage, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and a sprinkle nutmeg. Mix with a spatula and cook for 5 minutes, mixing every now and then.
- Add the ground turkey meat, breaking it up into smaller pieces and cook for 5-7 minutes until the meat is no longer pink.
- Add 3 Tablespoons of tomato paste, 2 teaspoons chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage and 1 teaspoon salt to the mixture and mix until the tomato paste is evenly distributed.
- Then add the crushed tomatoes and strained tomatoes to the pot, and mix.
- Reduce the heat to low-medium and cook for 20-30 minutes. If you are adding kidney beans, add them at the end.
Notes
- Make sure the sweet potatoes are sliced and quartered, and that they are sliced thin enough. This ensures they will be cooked through in time.
- If you don’t have strained tomatoes, you can use marinara.
- This chili is chunky and thick, if you like it more liquidy, add 1/2 cup- 1 cup of chicken broth/bone broth.
- If you want more spice add an extra 1 teaspoon of chili powder.
