My Slow Cooker Italian Turkey Chili is perfect for Italian food lovers! All the components of traditional turkey chili, but with Italian flair. It’s an easy dinner the whole family will love!
This Italian turkey chili has all the components that you’d find in traditional slow cooker turkey chili, but swaps the southwest flavors for Italian ones. You’ll still find many of traditional ingredients such as onion, bell pepper, garlic, ground turkey, beans and a tomato base.
How is Italian Turkey Chili different from regular chili, you ask?
- Instead of chili powder and cumin it uses Italian seasoning and plenty of garlic.
- Instead of kidney beans or black beans, the Italian version uses cannellini beans which are common in many Italian recipes.
- Diced tomatoes or fire roasted diced tomatoes are substituted with crushed tomatoes with basil and jarred marinara sauce.
- A portion of the ground turkey is substituted with Italian turkey sausage.
- Instead of cheddar cheese, sour cream and green onions for toppings, it uses mozzarella cheese, ricotta, parsley and basil.
Italian turkey chili is also just as easy to make as the traditional version, especially since you’ll be making it in the slow cooker. Slow cooker dinners are perfect for easy weeknight meals or if your serving a large group on the weekend. The chili will cook for approximately 6-7 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
You might be wondering if a slow cooker is required to make this Italian chili and the answer is no. If you plan to make it on the stove top, be sure you have a large heavy bottomed pot with a lid. The process for making the chili will be the same as it would be in the slow cooker, but you’ll want to adjust your cooking time. Once all of the ingredients are in the pot, bring it to a boil. Then, turn down the heat to medium low and let it simmer for 30 minutes, stirring it occasionally.
The toppings for the chili really bring it together. Shredded mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, fresh parsley and basil make this chili taste like lasagna without the noodles.
My Slow Cooker Creamy Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup is another easy, healthy slow cooker meal you can’t miss.
Slow Cooker Italian Turkey Chili
- 15 minutes
- 6 hours
- 6 hours 15 minutes
- 10 servings
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onion
3 cloves garlic
1 bell pepper, diced
1 pound lean ground turkey, I used 90/10%
1/2 pound Italian turkey sausage, casing removed
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 cans (15 ounces) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
5 ounces baby spinach
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
28 ounces marinara sauce
1 1/2 cups of water
1 parmesan cheese rind (optional, but recommended)
Ricotta cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, chopped flat leaf parsley and basil for toppings.
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high. Swirl the oil around the bottom of the skillet, then sauté the onion and bell pepper for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add in the garlic and sauté another 30 seconds. Add in the ground turkey and turkey sausage and season with a little more salt and pepper. Crumble the turkey and cook until it's browned and mostly cooked through. Pour the mixture into the slow cooker.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker and stir everything together. Cover with the lid and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low. When the chili is done, remove the parmesan cheese rind and discard (if you chose to include). Serve the chili topped with shredded mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese and chopped flat leaf parsley or basil.
Notes: If you can't find cannellini beans, replace with great northern beans. To get the ricotta smooth and creamy like I did in the photos, stick it in a food processor or high-speed blender with a splash of milk and purée until smooth.
