Slow Cooker White Chili with Ground Turkey is creamy, comforting, and filling. This easy chili combines ground turkey, onions, garlic, peppers, cannellini beans, and corn in a creamy base. You’ll love every spoonful!
Big batch cooking for easy weeknight meals
This time of year, it’s always hectic for our family. At least four nights a week, we’re either running off to our daughter’s swim team practice right after dinner or coming home late from other appointments and after school activities.
That’s where slow cooker meals come in handy like this white turkey chili – made with ground turkey. Prep takes just about fifteen minutes – then you run out for a few hours while the slow cooker does the work. Then, come home to a filling, hearty meal that everyone will love.
I also love that this Slow Cooker White Chili with Ground Turkey makes eight servings – so you can feed a larger family or enjoy the leftovers later in the week.
Why you'll love Slow Cooker White Chili with Ground Turkey
- Prep is easy, then the slow cooker does most of the work while you can go about your busy schedule.
- It’s a budget-friendly meal – especially if you can shop the sales at the supermarket on ground turkey.
- We use a clever ingredient trick – ground tortilla chips! – to thicken the soup and add delicious flavor.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Ground Turkey – You can also use ground chicken in this recipe, but we prefer ground turkey because it has more flavor, plus it is often on special at our local supermarket – so it’s more economical.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- White Onion – The sharper flavor of white onion is the best for this chili, but you can swap in yellow, sweet, or even red onion if that’s what you have on hand.
- Fresh garlic – We’ve said this before…avoid the jarred minced garlic and always buy fresh.
- Fresh Jalapeno Peppers
- Canned Green Diced Chiles – Your choice: mild or hot.
- Canned Cannellini Beans – If you prefer, you can cook up dried beans before adding to this recipe, but canned is much more convenient.
- Turkey Stock –You can make your own following this recipe, or buy canned or boxed at the supermarket. If you can’t find turkey stock, chicken stock is totally fine.
- Frozen Corn Kernels – Again, for convenience, we went with frozen corn but fresh or canned could also be swapped in.
- Tortilla Chips – Used to thicken the chili as well as serving with each portion. We chose a brand that offers a hint on lime in the chip.
- Dairy – We added sour cream as our dairy, mostly because it helps thicken the chili and lends a creamy texture. Crème fraîche or heavy cream can be substituted if you prefer – just note that the heavy cream won’t thicken the soup as much.
- Spices and Herbs – Fresh cilantro, kosher salt, black pepper, ground cumin, ground coriander, dried oregano, and chili powder were all added to the chili.
- Garnishes – Shredded Monterey Jack cheese, fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and tortilla chips were served on top and alongside the chili.
Special Tools Needed
- Large Sauté Pan
- Slow Cooker – Ours is a six-quart multi cooker which allowed us to brown the ground turkey right in the cooker.
- Cutting Board and Sharp knife
- Small Food Processor
- Box Grater
- Wooden Spoons and Spatulas
How do I make Slow Cooker White Chili with Ground Turkey?
- Brown ground turkey in olive oil until browned and add to slow cooker.
- Add onion, jalapeno, garlic, cannellini beans, turkey or chicken stock, frozen corn, green chilies, fresh cilantro and all spices and seasonings.
- Cover and set on high to cook for three hours
- Place four ounces of corn chips in small food processor and grind to a powder.*
- After three hours, add corn chip powder to chili and stir. Cook covered for ten more minutes.
- Stir in sour cream.
- Serve with shredded Monterey Jack cheese, more cilantro, fresh lime wedges, and tortilla chips on the side.
Tips & Tricks
*As long as the corn chips are fairly ground with no large pieces, they will melt into the chili and thicken it up so don’t worry too much about the consistency.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Slow Cooker White Turkey Chili ahead of time? Yes, in fact, we think the flavor improves the following day.
- How do I store leftovers? Store refrigerated in a covered container for up to three days.
- How do I reheat leftovers? Reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan. Add more chicken stock if needed to thin the consistency.
- Can I freeze? No, we don’t recommend freezing this chili.
You might like these other Chili Recipes:
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Slow Cooker White Chili with Ground Turkey
Slow Cooker White Chili with Ground Turkey is creamy, comforting, and filling. This easy chili combines ground turkey, onions, garlic, peppers, cannellini beans, and corn in a creamy base. You’ll love every spoonful!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: chili
- Method: slow cooker
- Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds ground turkey
3 cups white onion diced, about a one-pound large onion
2–3 seeded and diced jalapenos, based on your heat tolerance
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
1 19-ounce can cannellini beans with their liquid (if your can is smaller or larger than the one called for here, it will not affect the finished chili)
1 cup turkey stock
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 7-ounce can mild diced green chilies
1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped, plus more for garnish
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons dry oregano
4 ounces corn chips, plus more for garnish (We chose a brand that had a hint of lime flavor)
1 cup sour cream
For Garnish:
A dash or two of hot sauce, if you like a spicier chili
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded for garnish
Fresh cut limes, for garnish
Instructions
- Brown ground turkey in a large wide skillet in the olive oil. Once cooked, pour into slow cooker.
- Add the onions, jalapenos, garlic, cannellini beans with their liquid, turkey stock, corn kernels, green chilies, chopped cilantro, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, chili powder and oregano.
- Cover and set slow cooker to high and cook three hours.
- While chili is cooking, place the four ounces of corn chips into a small food processor and process to a fine crumb or powder. You will end up with about one cup of the ground corn chips.
- After three hours of cooking, stir in the corn chip powder, cover and cook for ten more minutes.
- Add sour cream and taste. Adjust seasonings or add hot sauce to your liking.
- Serve with shredded Monterey Jack Cheese, cut limes, additional chopped cilantro and corn chips on the side.
Notes
Note: This chili is on the mild side so feel free to kick it up with another jalapeno, more spices, or a dash or two of your favorite hot sauce.
Great flavor but too thick and I even increased the broth to 2 cups. (Only thing I changed)
Your choice Val – you should always feel free to adapt recipes to suit your tastes and texture preferences!
This is my favorite crockpot recipe of all time! I use cream corn because that all I had the first time around and its super delicious!! Thank you for sharing this!
Great suggestion Liz! So glad you enjoy the chili!
Hello
I am making this chili for the first time. Is the reason you don”t recommend freezing because of the sour cream?
Thank you
Robin Wellings
Yes – it will likely separate once frozen and thawed. If you know ahead of time that will freeze some, you can hold off on adding the sour cream to that portion. Hope that helps!
This sounds yummy. Trying it this week. How long would you think to cook it on low?
Hi MrTee – I’m guessing 5 to 6 hours on low (but that’s just a guess – we haven’t tested the recipe on low ourselves).
This is a family favorite! A perfect blend of flavors and the ground corn chips really set it apart, in my opinion. A very clever idea to add them. I do substitute ground chicken/broth for the turkey.
Thanks so much Dawn!
can this work in the Instant pot?
Probably – we haven’t tried making it in an Instant Pot (and don’t cook much with one) so I don’t have any advice on how to adapt the recipe. Sorry.
So I made this recipe in the Instant Pot. Sauteing the meat in the pot then proceeded by following the recipe. I adjusted the the cooking time to 25 minutes under pressure with a quick release of pressure. Added the crushed chips cooking under pressure for 3 minutes with a quick release. Then finished up by following the last steps of the recipe. A total prep to table time of 45 minutes. This recipe was easy and really good. And I have already been asked to make it again.
Thank you so much for sharing your instant pot version. I’m sure other readers will appreciate the info too.
Martha, I just had to pop by and let you know that your recipe is a big favourite in our house. I have made it so many times now I have it, almost, memorized. Thank you for sharing and creating!
You’re very welcome Christine – so happy to hear this!