Creole Turkey Chili

Flavor bomb after flavor bomb goes off in your mouth with every bite of this super easy Creole turkey chili. Leftover cooked turkey swims in a caramelized Cajun trinity base that gets jazzed up with garlic and just the right spices. Creole white beans, stewed tomatoes, and tomatoes with green chilis cook down with the veggies and turkey until it’s all one big pot of creamy, kinda spicy yum-deliciousness. Yep and yay…

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Oh Creole Turkey Chili, You’re in a Stand-Alone Class By Yourself. Yep.

I often want to make chili for dinner. Chili is usually quick and it’s generally pretty easy. However, the toppings for chili in our house are usually sour cream and cheese. Oh, and corn chips, if we have any on hand. Since I had about a pound of leftover turkey breast from Christmas in the fridge, I wanted to make a new kind of chili that didn’t need any toppings to add flavor and texture to the dish. So, I created this Creole turkey chili on-the-fly yesterday morning, and I honestly didn’t know if it was going to work out or not.

In my vision, the cans of Creole navy beans, stewed tomatoes and Rotel tomatoes with green chilis would complement the cooked turkey. And, of course the Cajun trinity base that I use in almost all of my dishes.

So, there I was in my kitchen. Caramelizing veggies, cutting up turkey breast, grabbing just the right spices from my pantry. And opening can after can of my beloved pantry staples that I am almost never without.

After about an hour of hoping and praying that all would turn out well, I tasted the very first bite of my brand spanking new Creole turkey chili. And I’m soooo happy to report that this grain and gluten free leftover turkey chili recipe turned out waaayyy better than I ever could’ve imagined. Yep. And, the best part of it all is that it doesn’t need any additional flavors or calories to make it a stand-out memorable dish that you’ll want to make again and again and again. Yay!!

Making the Creole Turkey Chili is Oh Soooo Easy, Too!!

Making this Creole turkey chili only involves cutting up the Cajun trinity of onion, bell pepper, and celery. Then cooking it down in an enameled cast iron Dutch oven til brown. Next, you add a bit of garlic, the cooked turkey, a few traditional chili seasonings, and a few cans from your pantry.

Finally, you cook it down for just 30 minutes, until the cooked turkey literally shreds itself right before your very eyes. Thick from the shredded turkey, rich from the mixture of stewed and spiced tomatoes, this Creole turkey chili gains its unforgettable creaminess from the canned-to-perfection Creole navy beans.

Each and every bite is even more creamy and flavorful than the last. The perfect comfort food to lift you out of the end-of-year holidays home stretch, this Creole turkey chili is just as elegant as it is super easy to make. Share with those whose company you want to keep long, long after the party is over. And see ya’ll on the yum side…

Creole Turkey Chili

This over-the-top flavorful Creole Turkey Chili places leftover roast turkey breast in a homemade chili base featuring Creole white beans, Rotel tomatoes, and stewed tomatoes. 

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Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Cajun/Creole

Keyword: creole turkey chili, gluten free chili, leftover turkey recipes, turkey chili

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Servings: 4

Author: Lyn Corinne Liner | A Sprinkling of Cayenne

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons oil or butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound cooked turkey, cubed
• 1 10-ounce can Rotel tomatoes
• 1 14.5-ounce can stewed tomatoes
• 1 16-ounce can Blue Runner Creole Navy Beans
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
• salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste
• 1/2 to 1 cup water or chicken or turkey broth, optional see notes

Instructions

• Brown the Cajun trinity of onion, bell pepper and celery in the oil or butter in an enameled cast iron Dutch oven. 
• Add the garlic, and cook for 1 additional minute. 
• Add the cooked turkey, Rotel tomatoes, stewed tomatoes and Creole navy beans to the pot, and stir until well-combined. 
• Pour the chili powder, cumin, paprika, parsley flakes and SP&C to taste into the pot. Mix until well-combined. 
• Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring often. 

Notes

This Creole turkey chili was created to be thick. If you would like to thin it out some, add 1/2 to 1 cup of water or chicken or turkey broth to the mixture. If you want to thin it out even more, add more water or broth. Then, taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. 

I made this with cooked chicken breasts, also. While the cooked turkey shredded during cooking, the chicken breasts did not. So, the chili was creamier, without any need for additional water or chicken broth. The taste was similar, but using chicken did give it a delicious, distinct flavor of its own. 

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