This Instant Pot Turkey Chili is made with ground turkey, beans, veggies and spices quickly in your pressure cooker with a taste like it has been simmering all day. You can also make it with dried beans!
Love healthy chili recipes? Try our reader shared Instant Pot beef chili or wildly popular Instant Pot white chicken chili.
This Instant Pot turkey chili tastes like the best turkey chili that has been simmered on the stove all day! Flavorful, comforting and hearty bowl of homemade chili entire family will love. Even kids because this soup is not spicy.
Not all but many recipes make sense to be converted to Instant Pot recipes. And turkey chili is one of them. Because it’s easy!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Make it your own: This is why I love making chili! Because I can customize it and I know everyone will dinner. Even kids’ picky friends, let’s face it!
- Healthier: By using ground turkey instead of ground beef, we avoid eating about 28 grams of saturated fat. Healthier is only Instant Pot vegetarian chili.
- Easy recipe: Although total cooking time with pressure build up is about 30 minutes, prep time is only 15 minutes and you walk away. No waiting to boil or stirring. And chili will taste just like your mom used to make.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Turkey Chili
- Ground turkey: Lean or extra lean ground turkey, even ground chicken will be great in this recipe.
- Beans: You can use any combination of beans. I like to use red kidney beans, pinto beans and any white beans like navy, cannellini or lima. More varieties, more flavor. If you cook dried beans without salt, add 1 teaspoon salt.
- Corn: Fresh, canned (drained) or frozen corn (no need to thaw).
- Canned diced tomatoes and paste: No need to drain diced tomatoes. If you have Rotel, diced tomatoes with green chilies, even more flavor.
- Broth or stock: Pick low sodium. I like to use organic low sodium bouillon cubes mixed water to save storage space, packaging and money. Or Instant Pot chicken broth or Instant Pot beef bone broth when I have it on hand.
- Spices: Chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper.
How to Make Turkey Chili in Instant Pot
This Instant Pot turkey chili can be made in 6 quart Instant Pot and 8 quart Instant Pot as written. For 3 quart, half the ingredients and keep same cooking time.
- Brown the meat: Saute ground turkey just enough to separate into small pieces. It doesn’t have to be cooked through or browned.
- Add remaining ingredients: Add broth, onion, garlic, bell pepper, corn, beans, chili, powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, salt, diced tomatoes and tomato paste in this exact order, just like listed in the recipe. Do not stir to avoid the Burn message.
- Cook: Pressure cook chili on high pressure for 15 minutes. Release pressure using Quick Release or you can let pressure cooker come down on its own with Natural Release.
Tips for Best Results
- Browned bits of meat stuck to the pot: Deglaze the pot only if you see the bottom has stuck bits to it. Add 1/2 cup broth and deglaze the pot. My 6 quart Instant Pot runs hotter and browns more than 8 quart one.
- Make sure tomatoes are on top: Add ingredients in the order listed in the recipe with diced tomatoes and tomato paste going in last. This is to avoid the Burn message.
- Don’t stir before cooking: Again it helps to avoid the Burn message. If you stir, tomato can be touching the bottom of the pot and its sugars burning.
- Don’t double the recipe: I do not recommend to double this recipe even in 8 quart Instant Pot because ingredients will not fit and pot won’t come to pressure! What you can do though, add extra 1 pound of meat and a can of beans, then adjust seasonings to taste at the end.
- To thicken the chili: This chili will thicken with time but if you want it to be very thick right away, whisk 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water and add to the pot. Then press Saute, stir and simmer for a few minutes until thickened.
Can I Make It with Dried Beans?
Yes! By super popular demand I have tested this Instant Pot turkey chili with dried beans. Result was ah-mazing.
Not only it is convenient, cheap and lower in sodium version of chili, the stew comes out more hearty thanks to a bean broth. Texture wise similar to healthy white chicken chili where we mash some beans for hearty thick stew texture.
To make chili with dried beans, you do not have to soak them. Use 2 cups rinsed dried beans with 4 cups of broth and pressure cook for 40 minutes.
If you cook red kidney beans in Instant Pot or black beans in Instant Pot, they only take on average 12 minutes with NPR. But because we have many other ingredients in the pot, cooking time is 3 times longer. Just like with Instant Pot rice and beans cooked together in a pressure cooker. Science!
Serving Suggestions
- Fixings: Serve chili traditionally with shredded cheese, plain yogurt or sour cream, green onion, cilantro, lime and avocado. And how can you forget a slice of buttery almond flour cornbread or some cornbread muffins?!
- Serve as an appetizer: With tortilla chips for dunking.
- With a salad: Mexican kale salad or Mexican street corn salad would go well with this turkey chili.
- Stretch it: Make Instant Pot turkey chili go further served over Instant Pot baked potatoes or Instant Pot spaghetti squash.
How to Store and Reheat
Store: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Hearty soups and stew without tender vegetables freeze well. Cook, cool completely and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
Reheat: Simmer on the stovetop covered on low heat, stirring occasionally and until warmed through.
FAQs
Yes. Cook ground turkey until small pieces for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer to a Ziploc bag with other ingredients (add tomato products right after meat). Before cooking, add 1 cup water or low sodium broth and cook from frozen on High pressure for 20 minutes. Then do Quick Release.
Absolutely. No changes to the recipe are necessary.
Yes. I often use frozen vegetables like chopped bell pepper, corn and frozen cooked beans to save time. You can also add up to 2 extra cups of frozen broccoli, cauliflower or cauliflower rice.
More Chili Recipes to Try
- White bean pumpkin turkey chili
- Buffalo chicken chili
- Ground chicken chili
- Crockpot white chicken chili
More Instant Pot Recipes
Looking for more ideas? Check out this collection of our top healthy Instant Pot recipes!
Instant Pot Turkey Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 cup any stock or broth low sodium
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 1/2 cups corn canned or frozen
- 14 oz can low sodium red kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 14 oz can low sodium cannellini or navy beans rinsed and drained
- 14 oz can low sodium pinto beans or black eyed peas rinsed and drained
- 2 tbsp chili powder makes mild, 3 tbsp for spicy
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano dried
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes low sodium
- 6 oz can tomato paste low sodium
- Avocado oil
- Green onion cilantro, cheese, plain yogurt (for toppings)
Instructions
- On 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, press Sauté and let appliance preheat until display says Hot. Swirl a bit of oil to coat, add ground turkey and cook for 4 minutes, breaking into small pieces with spatula often. Meat doesn't have to cook through.
- If you see bottom of the pot has stuck browned bits of meat, add 1/2 cup broth and deglaze the pot. If not, then it's fine. My 6 quart Instant Pot runs hotter than 8 quart. Press Cancel and add remaining 1/2 cup (if deglazed) or 1 cup broth.
- Add onion, garlic, bell pepper, corn, beans, chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, salt, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Do not stir to avoid Burn.
- Close the lid, set pressure vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cook on High or Manual for 15 minutes.
- After release pressure using Quick Release by turning pressure valve to Venting position, which takes 2-3 minutes. Open the lid, stir and serve hot with your favourite toppings.
Video
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Fully cook, cool completely and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on a stovetop covered on low.
- Make a freezer meal: Cook ground turkey until small pieces for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Transfer to a Ziploc bag with other ingredients (add tomato products right after meat). Before cooking, add 1 cup water or low sodium broth and cook from frozen on High pressure for 20 minutes. Quick release.
- To make chili with dried beans (no soaking): Use 2 cups dried beans with 4 cups stock and cook for 40 minutes.
- If you cook your own beans without salt, add 1 tsp salt.
- Ground chicken will work just as well.
- I often use frozen vegetables like chopped pepper, corn and frozen cooked beans to save time.
This has been my go-to chili recipe for a few years! Sometimes I peel and chop up a sweet potato and toss in with the other veggies. Thank you for such an awesome recipe and website!
Awe, you are so welcome! So happy to hear you are enjoying my recipes!
After cooking this for five times or so this year since I found it, I thought it was time to leave a review 😀 This is my go-to no-brainer meal prep dish, thank you Olena for putting this life saver of a meal out there 🙂 not once did I receive a burn message either. So easy, yet so delicious every single time. Even better on the second day!
Thank you for sharing your review & star rating, it means so much to me!
Made 2 times in the last 2 weeks! I was nervous about getting the burn error but I didn’t! Thanks for the delicious and easy to cook chili.
Thank you I made it yesterday and it is the best chilli I ever made, it is only 5 points on WW thankyou again for this amazing recipe. It will be my forever chilli recipe. I will make it next time with dried beans.
My picky toddler has been going on hunger strike lately but this made her eat! I wish I could give 10 stars.. healthy, low sodium and I loved it too.
I am glad to hear that this chili has “saved the day”. Glad everyone enjoyed it!
Unfortunately, I had to move this to the stovetop. I tried low and high pressure and it burned the bottom. This recipe needs to be modified. I have a standard, good quality pressure cooker.
I make this recipe all the time in any of my 3 pressure cookers without any Burn issues. Some pressure cookers are more sensitive than others, especially newer models. Nothing to do with the recipe as you can tell by the amount of positive reviews. You can add more broth and be sure not to stir.
This recipe did not work. It gave me the “burn” error despite following the instructions. I had to slow cook it the next day to actually mix the flavors and add 2 extra cans of diced salt free tomatoes to make it chili consistency. Very disappointing.
Some models of Instant Pots are a bit too sensitive and trigger Burn without actually burning food. It doesn’t mean recipe doesn’t work. Here is a good info Why my Instant Pot says Burn. Secondly, it might look like chili needs more tomatoes when you add all ingredients but it doesn’t. By the end of cooking, it looks like chili. More tomatoes is overpowering and is more like tomato chili soup IMHO but to each their own I guess, tastes differ with food.:) Hope this helps.
Love this recipe! I’ve made it many times. I like to use fire roasted tomatoes and corn.
Yay! I do love fire roasted tomatoes a lot! If they were not a bit pricey or available at Costco, I would use only them! Glad you loved this recipe!
This was so good and so easy. I used twice the turkey because my cans of beans were a little larger than the recipe called for, and I had over the amount of tomatoes and corn, as well. I subbed smoked paprika for regular and black beans for pintos. I added hatch chilies, bay leaf, and a little sugar. I topped it with sour cream, cheese, and green onions. My husband loves chili, but nothing remotely healthy like ground turkey, my mom isn’t big on spicy food, and neither my kiddo nor I are chili fans…we all had seconds. This is the easiest recipe ever, and I can make do with whatever I have on hand. I never thought I’d have a go-to recipe for chili, but this one is now mine.
That is the best when kids (& the rest of the family) love what we moms make. That’s so great you now have your go-to chili recipe!