This crowd pleasing White Bean Chili with leftover Turkey is low fat, filling and packed with flavor!
I’ve been making a variation of this white bean chili recipe for years, except instead of turkey meat I’ve always made it with chicken. It has been a fool-proof filling meal that everyone loves.
Every time I make this for guest they always ask for the recipe. Well, I’m not sure what happened to my original hand written recipe card, but it has vanished so I’ve had to improvise!
I’ve been a little annoyed by that, but in this case I think this new recipe has some changes that are for the good!
I found this Cooking Light recipe and started to use it in place of the recipe I had. It’s pretty darn close to my recipe.
The difference is that Cooking Light’s version doesn’t use canned condensed soup (yay!), but we can still get the creamy base by blending up some of the beans, and instead of using diced green chilis we add red chili powder in this dish. We’re using less canned ingredients, which is definitely ok by me!
The flavors are fantastic! There is a nice rich taste of the cumin that comes through and is super tasty with the beans and turkey. I made this chili from my Thanksgiving leftovers.
My slow cooker homemade turkey stock was used for the broth and I still have leftover turkey that I tossed in this dish. If you are out of turkey (until Christmas) you can use chicken broth and cooked chicken instead with the same tasty results.
White Bean Chili with Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 3 (15.8 ounce) cans Great Northern beans, rinced and drained
- 4 cups broth
- 3 cups cooked turkey, chopped
- 1 Roma tomato, diced and seeded
- 1/3 cup cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Lime wedge and additional tomatoes and cilantro for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Notes
If you would like to make this soup creamy, remove about two cups of the beans and broth, blend until creamy and return to pan before adding the turkey.
Chicken can be substituted for cooked Turkey.
Mary Ellen
Looks so good! What a great time saving recipe. This might just be on my dinner table tonight.
Christie
Cooking Light is my favorite magazine and thanks to this recipe I know what we are having for dinner Sunday. Then there will be leftovers for the week.
[email protected]'s Kitchen Adventures
Love white bean chili and what a great way to use up leftover turkey!! Will be saving this recipe for the next time I’m looking to repurpose my leftovers!
Suzanna @ One Hoolie Mama
What a great idea! I had never thought of adding turkey to chili. I’m out of turkey, but I may have to give this a try with the Christmas leftovers.
Carrie @Frugal Foodie Mama
I love how hearty this is! Lots of the good stuff packed into one bowl. 🙂 Looks delicious!
Sharon (Nut Free Wok)
That looks like a great recipe, perfect during a cold winter! I love how all your ingredients look so fresh and flavorful.
Sarah
What a great idea! I am always stumped what to do with turkey leftovers! YUM!
linda spiker
Yum! Definitely pinning. This looks just amazing!
The Food Hunter
Perfect comfort food!
Joy @ Joy Love Food
I love white bean chilies, this sounds delicious and such a great use for leftover turkey!
Jose
This sounds lovely, Im in the UK, could someone tell me how heavy a cup of cooked turkey would be, we dont have cup measurements in the UK.
Sandra Shaffer
Hi Jose, I believe it will be about 115 grams. This converter might be helpful. Thanks for stopping by!
Wilhelmina Wessel
This chili looks so hearty and filling! This is the kind of food I crave all winter long!
Tisha
Love the turkey twist on this white bean chili! Be perfect for leftovers after the holiday!