When you have five kids it’s hard to find meals that everyone likes. I’m sure you can relate. I usually have at least one complainer at dinner time, but my kids do all love Chili. I love it too because it’s easy and I can add healthier ingredients in it and they never know. I often cook a big batch of this Slow Cooker Turkey Chili and we have some leftover for lunch. You could even freeze the extra chili for when you need a quick meal. I also get a lot of my kid-friendly slow cooker recipes from this list of 50 of the BEST Slow Cooker Recipes and most of these are easy to double for extra meals.
Tips for the perfect Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
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For the past several years I have made my chili with salsa. This is the secret ingredient. I only use the organic salsa from Costco that is like $7.00 for two of these big 2 pound containers. The only ingredients are tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, onions, tomato paste, cilantro, sugar, salt vinegar, cayenne pepper, garlic, and cumin. I find that this salsa is the perfect consistency and spice level for the chili. If you don’t have a Costco membership, you can actually buy the exact same salsa here.
I bought spinach, carrot, and butternut squash veggie purees at Target and have been trying to figure out what to do with them. My kids aren’t too fond of vegetables, so I try to fit them in wherever I can. The spinach puree in this chili is totally hidden.
- 1.5 - 2lbs ground turkey
- 1 small onion diced
- (2) 15.5 oz. cans black beans
- (1) 15.5 oz. can kidney beans
- (1) 2lb 6 oz jar of salsa
- (1) 4.2 oz packet of spinach puree
- 1 Tbls Chili powder
- 1 Tbls cumin
- 1.5 cups of chicken broth
- 1 Tbls olive oil
- Heat 1 Tbls olive oil over medium heat. Brown the turkey and saute the onion and add to the slow cooker.
- Add the beans, salsa, spices and chicken broth to the slow cooker and cook on low about 6 hours.
- Add the spinach puree about 15 minutes before serving. If the chili turns too green, add 1 Tbls paprika.
- To make an extra large batch, follow the directions and add an additional 1.5 - 2lbs ground turkey, 1 can kidney beans, 1 4.2 oz packet of spinach puree, 1 Tbls chili powder, and 1 cup broth.
Note about doubling: If you double the recipe as is, it will not fit in the average crockpot. To make an extra large batch for a crowd, extra lunches or freezable batches, follow the directions above.
Yum! This sounds really great!
My daughter is on the autism spectrum and it is difficult to get her to eat certain foods so I’m always looking for ways to hide nutrients in her meals and before today I never knew Target made veggie purees but now I’m all over it, thank you from one mama to another!
Your pictures are so good and what a great way to hid the veg. :)
Yum, this looks fantastic and I love the hidden veggies concept. I’ll have to try this!
Love you find a way to hide the veggies.