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This turkey apple chili is a delicious 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 perfect 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.
I love how apples add a great crunch and sweetness to recipes. Try my roasted chicken with apples or my cran-apple sauce recipes if you also like cooking with apples.
Table of Contents
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! My 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 delicious! I 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: Cook the diced apples, sliced carrots and sliced sweet potatoes with some spices for a few minutes.
Step 2: Add the ground turkey to the pot and cook it until browned.
Step 3: Add the add tomato paste.
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: Add the beans.
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. I love crushing up a bunch of plantain chips and covering my 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.
Other Chili recipes you’ll love:
Did you try this recipe? Please leave me a ⭐ review below!
Turkey Apple Chili
Ingredients
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 2 cups sliced carrots, ( this was 2 large carrots for me)
- 2 cups sliced sweet potatoes, halved and quartered (this was 2 smaller sweet potatoes for me)
- 2 cups diced apple, ( this was from 2 apples for me)
- 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
Instructions
- 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
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- 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.
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- 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I haven’t made this yet
I have a question
Can this be frozen?
Hi! Yes it can be frozen. Just let it cool completely and freeze in an airtight freezer-friendly container 🙂
Excellent recipe, even though I didn’t have exactly all the spice ingredients I substituted something else
Came out delicious 1st time cooking with chopped turkey
Served it over extra wide noodle with a tossed salad on the side & homemade corn bread
Yum, sounds like a delicious meal!
Really yummy and filling! Great fall soup
Happy to hear it!
Do you have any idea how to do this in an instant pot? Thinking I could maybe wing it but have never done that before
I’ve actually never tried it! If you do, let me know how it goes!
I made this on my stove last time but am looking to make it in the crock pot, any modifications I should make?
I don’t think any modifications need to me made, let me know how it turns out!