Turkey Pinto Bean Chili – Kalyn's Kitchen

I’ve updated this recipe for a turkey pinto bean chili so it has a lot more turkey and fewer beans to make it a low carb chili recipe. The recipe is delicious with ground turkey, but use leftover turkey if you have some! And this chili is gluten-free.

PIN a turkey bento-chili to make some for later!

I’m excited to share updated photos and recipes for it Turkey Pinto Bean Chili! This is a new variation on a chili recipe that used to have more beans and less turkey, and over the past few years I’ve been enjoying revising some of my old recipes to be lower in carbs. (If you were a fan of the original Turkey and pinto bean white chili You can use this link to still find a printable recipe on my site.)

This was a recipe I always enjoyed and going back to the south beach diet, I didn’t mind the chili with two cans of pinto beans and just a pound of ground turkey. But now that a lot of beans are way too high in carbs for me and probably a lot of my readers too.

For this flavorful updated version, I used 2 pounds of ground turkey, 1 can of drained pinto beans, green bell peppers, and a large poblano pepper to make a chili that’s full of flavor and low in net carbs.

And if you’re lucky enough to think of making chili when you have leftover turkey, you can make this turkey chili recipe with leftover turkey, too! Look at the notes in the recipe to make this switch. No matter what kind of turkey you use, please, please, please, please don’t skip the lemon juice added at the end. This is the secret ingredient that makes this chili so good.

What ingredients do you need?

Can you make this turkey chili with leftover turkey?

Of course this Turkey and Pinto Bean Chili is great for making 3-4 cups of leftover turkey cubes if you’re lucky enough to have some! See the instructions in the recipe for when to add the cooked turkey cubes.

Want more chili recipes or ideas for leftover turkey?

Check out these reports for more leftover turkey ideas or more chili recipes:

How to make Turkey Pinto Bean Chili:

(Scroll down for the full recipe with nutritional information.)

I added a large green bell pepper and a large poblano (pasilla) pepper to the recipe to make a thicker chili without adding too many carbs.
Chop the onion, green pepper and poblano pepper.
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet with high sides (large enough to hold all of the ingredients). Cook the onions, bell peppers, and poblano peppers until wilted and beginning to brown.
Add the can of chopped green peppers, dried cilantro (if using), ground cumin, Mexican oregano (or oregano), spike seasoning, and ground epazote (if using). Don’t stress if you don’t have all of those herbs on hand, use the ones you do have.
Then add the washed and drained pinto beans. Homemade turkey broth Or canned chicken broth, water, and a teaspoon or two of turkey soup base (if using).
Simmer this mixture for 30 minutes over very low heat, until the mixture reduces slightly and the flavors blend well.
While the mixture is simmering, heat the rest of the olive oil in a large skillet and cook the ground turkey, breaking it up as it cooks. I like to use a Hamburger meat grinder (affiliate link) or file Potato masher (affiliate link) to break the meat.
Cook the turkey until all the water has evaporated and is nicely browned.
After the liquid mixture has simmered for 30 minutes, add the cooked turkey and cook the chili for another 15-30 minutes.
Add the chopped cilantro or thinly sliced scallions the last 5 minutes.
If you’re making this using diced leftover turkey, cook the onions, garlic, herbs, beans, and broth for 45 minutes, then add the chopped turkey (or chicken) and simmer for only 5-10 minutes.
Then add fresh lime juice and salt and pepper to taste before serving the chili.
Serve with grated cheese and sour cream to add to the table if desired.

More tasty ideas with leftover turkey (or chicken):

Weekend meal prep:

This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend food preparation To help you find recipes you can make or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Ingredients

1 small onion

1 green pepper

1 poblano chile pepper

1 ton + 1 ton of olive oil

one 7 oz. Green pepper can be cut into cubes

1 tb dried coriander (optional but recommended)

1 ton of ground cumin

2 tsp. Mexican oregano (or oregano)

1 T Spike Seasoning

one 15 oz. Can pinto beans, rinsed

4 cups turkey broth (see notes)

2 cups water (or more)

1-2 tsp. Turkey soup base

2 lbs. ground turkey (see notes)

2-3 tons of fresh lemon juice (to taste)

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or use thinly sliced scallions if you’re not a fan of cilantro)

Shredded Monterey Jack cheese, to serve (optional)

Sour cream, to serve (optional)

instructions

Chop the onion, green pepper and poblano pepper.
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet with high sides (large enough to hold all of the ingredients).
Cook the onions, bell peppers, and poblano peppers until wilted and beginning to brown.
Add the can of chopped green peppers, dried cilantro (if using), ground cumin, Mexican oregano (or oregano), spike seasoning, and ground epazote (if using). Don’t stress if you don’t have all of those herbs on hand, use the ones you do have.
Then add the washed and drained pinto beans. Homemade turkey broth or canned chicken broth, water, and a teaspoon or two of turkey soup base (if using)
Simmer this mixture for 30 minutes over very low heat, until the mixture reduces slightly and the flavors blend well.
While the mixture is simmering, heat the rest of the olive oil in a large skillet and cook the ground turkey, breaking it up as it cooks. I like to use a Hamburger meat grinder (affiliate link) or file Potato masher (affiliate link) to break the meat.
Cook the ground turkey until all the water has evaporated and is nicely browned.

After the liquid chili mixture has simmered for 30 minutes, add the ground turkey and cook the chili for another 15-30 minutes. (Do not add cooked turkey cubes too soon.)
Add the chopped cilantro or thinly sliced scallions the last 5 minutes.
If you are making this with diced turkey breast, cook the onions, garlic, herbs, beans and broth for 45 minutes, then add the chopped turkey (or chicken) and simmer for only 5-10 minutes.
Add fresh lime juice and pepper to taste before serving the chili. (I won’t add salt because the broth and spike seasoning are both salty.)
Serve with grated cheese and sour cream to add to the table if desired.

notes

Nutritional information does not include optional cheese or sour cream.

If you don’t have turkey broth, you can use chicken broth or canned chicken broth.

If you are making this with leftover turkey, use 3-4 diced cups of leftover turkey.

This recipe was created by Kalyn and updated in 2022 to the low carb version you see here with the help of my niece and my amazing assistant Kara!

Nutrition information:

fruit:

Serving size:

1

Amount per service:
Calories: 441Total fat: 26 gramsSaturated fat: 6.3 gramsUnsaturated fats: 0 gramsUnsaturated fats: 16 gramsCholesterol: 140 mgsodium: 1640 mgcarbohydrates: 17 gramsthe basic: 4.3 gramssugar: 4.3 gramsprotein: 38 grams

Nutrition info is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I’m using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, as many variables affect these calculations.

Low Carb Diet / Low Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
The updated version of this recipe has 12.7 net carbs, which makes this recipe work for anyone watching their carbs but still eating beans. The recipe will also work at any stage of the Original South Beach Diet.

Find more recipes like these:
paying off Soup and stew recipes For more belly-warming chili ideas! Use the Diet type indicator To find more recipes suitable for a particular eating plan. You may also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on PinterestAnd the in FacebookAnd the on instagramAnd the on TikTokor on YouTube See all the good recipes I share there.

Historical notes for this recipe:
Turkey Pinto Bean Chili was first published in 2009. The original recipe was updated with better photos in November 2014. The recipe was revised to use more turkey and fewer beans and has been updated with new photos and more information in 2022.