I lost my chili recipe and need another one. I am the only one who eats it so I make it and freeze and haven’t memorized the recipe. I need a good healthy chili recipe if anyone has one they are willing to share.

Edited April 19, 20215 yr by ShoppGirl

Sautee 1 cup chopped onion in 1-2 T oil. Let them soften.

Add finely diced carrots and celery if you like (I don't) and cook until softened. Sometimes I'll add sliced mushrooms here.

Add 3 or more minced cloves garlic and cook 30 second to one minute

Add 1lb ground turkey (or chicken or beef), stirring until no longer pink

Add 2-3 T chili seasoning (I like Penzey's Chili 9000) and 1tsp or more cumin, plus 1-2 T unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1 tsp cinnamon and stir to coat. 1 T of brown sugar is a nice addition but not necessary

Add 1 28 oz can of crushed or diced tomatoes

Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of broth

Add 1 15 oz can of beans, rinsed (kidney or black beans are both great)

I like to add about a cup of frozen corn and a bag of cauliflower rice right from the freezer at this stage, but you can add a lot of different frozen veggies. I love the sweetness of the corn, and the texture.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, adjusting seasonings and cook for at least 30 minutes, but it gets better after an hour or so.

Serve with plain Greek yogurt and shredded cheese (and onions if you like).

Edited April 19, 20215 yr by lizonaplane

@lizonaplane the cocoa powder sounds awesome!!! I also like to put carrots in my chili and sometimes garbanzo beans.

I've always used cocoa powder in my chili - it goes so well in mole I tried it when I made chili when I was teenager and never stopped. Actually, except for cutting down or eliminating the brown sugar, this is basically the same recipe I've always made. I used to make my own chili seasoning, but now I just find one that doesn't have salt and tweak it to my taste. I used to put carrots in my chili but I discovered I liked corn better, and it's less work. Also, since it's sweeter, I don't miss the brown sugar as much.

I haven't tried chickpeas/garbanzos. I'll do that sometime. I still have one more pack of turkey breast from Costco that will probably become chili once I finish the meatballs I made yesterday.... I really need to not buy meat four packs from Costco... it's just too much for one person!!!

3 hours ago, lizonaplane said:

Sautee 1 cup chopped onion in 1-2 T oil. Let them soften.

Add finely diced carrots and celery if you like (I don't) and cook until softened. Sometimes I'll add sliced mushrooms here.

Add 3 or more minced cloves garlic and cook 30 second to one minute

Add 1lb ground turkey (or chicken or beef), stirring until no longer pink

Add 2-3 T chili seasoning (I like Penzey's Chili 9000) and 1tsp or more cumin, plus 1-2 T unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1 tsp cinnamon and stir to coat. 1 T of brown sugar is a nice addition but not necessary

Add 1 28 oz can of crushed or diced tomatoes

Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of broth

Add 1 15 oz can of Beans, rinsed (kidney or black beans are both great)

I like to add about a cup of frozen corn and a bag of cauliflower rice right from the freezer at this stage, but you can add a lot of different frozen veggies. I love the sweetness of the corn, and the texture.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, adjusting seasonings and cook for at least 30 minutes, but it gets better after an hour or so.

Serve with plain Greek yogurt and shredded cheese (and onions if you like).

Ooh wow. That’s fancy chili...lol. That’s what I call anything with more than five ingredients. I will attempt to make it though. Sounds great. I just made a Mexican cauliflower rice bowl recipe with black beans and cauliflower rice that is pretty good.

Edited April 19, 20215 yr by ShoppGirl

https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=233278

Can tweak it with different veggies, but basically any veggies take on the chili flavor so you can go crazy with the squash!

23 minutes ago, ChubRub said:

https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=233278

Can tweak it with different veggies, but basically any veggies take on the chili flavor so you can go crazy with the squash!

That looks good too. Guess I will be having a chili cook off over the weekend. Lol. Thanks.

This Pumpkin chili is amazing! Use ground chicken instead of ground pork:

https://www.aspicyperspective.com/pumpkin-chili/

Huge batch, but you can cut it in half.

Lori

14 hours ago, ShoppGirl said:

Ooh wow. That’s fancy chili...lol. That’s what I call anything with more than five ingredients. I will attempt to make it though. Sounds great. I just made a Mexican cauliflower rice bowl recipe with black beans and cauliflower rice that is pretty good.

Well, it's actually super fast to put together since it's all dumping ingredients out of cans. You can buy pre-chopped frozen onions or get them in the produce section, I always use pre-minced jarred garlic, and you can use all frozen veggies, which is what I almost always do.

You can also BUY chili premade at Wendy's, but you asked for a recipe lol!

2 minutes ago, lizonaplane said:

Well, it's actually super fast to put together since it's all dumping ingredients out of cans. You can buy pre-chopped frozen onions or get them in the produce section, I always use pre-minced jarred garlic, and you can use all frozen veggies, which is what I almost always do.

You can also BUY chili premade at Wendy's, but you asked for a recipe lol!

Yea I like to do it homemade. I was just joking. I don’t cook fancy very often but every now and then I get an urge and like to have a good recipe on hand. I have just been craving Chili for like a week. I think it’s my body knowing I need the protein (weird how it craves what we need if we listen).

9 minutes ago, ShoppGirl said:

Yea I like to do it homemade. I was just joking. I don’t cook fancy very often but every now and then I get an urge and like to have a good recipe on hand. I have just been craving Chili for like a week. I think it’s my body knowing I need the Protein (weird how it craves what we need if we listen).

It's funny, because I don't think of chili as "fancy" because it's a one pot meal and it doesn't involve a lot of chopping. I don't cook anything fancy either.

I didn't cook for about 4 years before the pandemic because I was on the road every week, but during the pandemic I have cooked all the time, so I have tried a lot of new recipes, but this chili I've been making since I was in high school.

32 minutes ago, lizonaplane said:

It's funny, because I don't think of chili as "fancy" because it's a one pot meal and it doesn't involve a lot of chopping. I don't cook anything fancy either.

I didn't cook for about 4 years before the pandemic because I was on the road every week, but during the pandemic I have cooked all the time, so I have tried a lot of new recipes, but this chili I've been making since I was in high school.

I grew up with a mom that was a neurotic clean freak that did not allow me in the kitchen as a teenager because I made too much of a mess then I married a southern guy who liked meat and potatoes so I learned to cook that way. Now I am finally learning what I like and learning how to make it (so I got a little late start in the cooking department). I can follow a recipe though.

18 hours ago, lizonaplane said:

Add 2-3 T chili seasoning (I like Penzey's Chili 9000) and 1tsp or more cumin, plus 1-2 T unsweetened cocoa powder, and 1 tsp cinnamon and stir to coat. 1 T of brown sugar is a nice addition but not necessary

I'm definitely going to try this the next time I make chili. I love mole and never thought to put cocoa powder in my chili. I put brown sugar in my spaghetti sauce but not in my chili either. I'm excited to try this! Thanks!