Call me crazy, but I just combined vegetables and cocoa powder to make one of the most flavorful and healthful chilies ever. I know what your thinking… “Ummm gross. I’ll pass on the Willy Wonka chili.” But I promise, it doesn’t end up tasting like chocolate at all! After a little research I found that the Mexican cuisine frequently uses cocoa powder in their savory dishes to add bold color and deep flavor.
What I love about this recipe is you can add and take away pretty much anything and it’ll still turn out. Forego or add whatever veggies you want, like bell peppers, corn, or squash. Don’t have pinto or kidney beans? Who cares! use whatever other beans you have. (Except refried. Please.) This recipe is perfect for experimentation and substitutions. Just don’t leave the cocoa powder out. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
You can be done and over with this chili in about 45 minutes (maybe even less) if you don’t want to deal with letting everything simmer, but simmering is the secret to letting all the flavors blend, so try at least 30 minutes if you can afford it. (I usually let it simmer for a couple hours total.)
If you’re on a budget or feeding a lot of people (game-day tailgating anyone?) and need to make this meal spread out a little more, serve it over a baked potato, or with a simple corn bread.
(This dish can also be made vegetarian/vegan by using low sodium vegetable stock and replacing the turkey with 1 cup of quinoa and an extra cup of broth.)
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cups
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- 1.5 lbs ground turkey $4.50
- 1 medium/large onion, finely chopped $0.72
- 3 medium carrots, grated (about 1.5 cups) $0.16
- 2 medium stalks celery, diced (about .5 cups) $0.16
- 1 red bell pepper, diced small $0.98
- 1 tbsp minced garlic $0.06
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth, divided $0.47
- 1 14 oz can tomato sauce $0.79
- 1 tbsp ground cumin $0.27
- 2 tbsp chili powder $0.32
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder $0.11
- 1 tsp dried mustard powder $0.27
- 1 tsp ground coriander $0.11
- 1/2 tsp salt $0.01
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper $0.05
- 2 tbsp maize flour (or corn starch) $0.02
- 1 4.5 oz can chopped green chilies $0.88
- 2 14 oz cans fire roasted tomatoes $1.62
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste $0.67
- 1 14 oz can kidney beans, no salt added, drained and rinsed $0.67
- 1 14 oz can red or pinto beans, no salt added, drained and rinsed $0.67
Ingredients
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- Thaw turkey (if frozen) and brown in a large dutch oven or stock pot. No need to add oil, there’s enough fat to keep the meat from sticking. Once it’s browned, drain off the fat.
- While the turkey is browning, chop up the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic and throw in with the ground turkey
- After the meat is browned and onions soft, add half a cup stock, tomato sauce, and spices (cumin —> ground black pepper). This should make the mixture a much deeper, and richer brown.
- Stir all ingredients together until well combined, lower the temperature to medium low, cover and let simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally. (If you’re in a hurry you don’t have to let it simmer, but it does a lot for the flavor if you’re patient!)
- Whisk the Maize flour in the with remaining chicken broth and mix it in along with the rest of the remaining ingredients. (Make sure you rinse off those beans!)
- Let simmer for 30 more minutes (or hours for the best flavor). If it gets too thick for your liking, just add some water or more LOW SODIUM stock to thin it out.
- One gallon, freezer safe bag will fit this entire recipe minus the ground turkey and chicken broth. (Instead of using chicken broth, I use a tsp of chicken bouillon and add water when I put it in the crockpot.)
- I store the turkey separately in it's own bag, labeled "turkey for chili". Separate out 1.5-2 lbs of ground turkey and put it in a size appropriate bag (I just use a second gallon bag) and set aside.
- On another gallon sized bag, write: 1. Place 1.5 lbs ground turkey in bottom of crock pot 2. Add 1/2 cup water and contents of bag to crock pot 3. Cook on low 8 hours, high for 4-5 hours Serve with corn bread or tortilla chips
- Open the bag and position it inside a medium sized mixing bowl that has tall sides. The bowl will help support the bag and keep it upright as you add ingredients. (Trust me the bowl makes everything so much easier.)
- Prepare all of the ingredients as if you were making the meal right now, but instead of putting them in a pot, put them in the gallon bag. (Remember In the freezer version, I opt for leaving out the ground turkey and chicken broth and replacing the broth with a tsp of chicken bouillon to save space in the bag.)
- Once all of the ingredients are added, seal up the bag (removing as much air as possible) and find a place for it in the freezer to lie flat so that when it freezes, it's in a shape that's easy to store. Remember to store the turkey that's in the separate bag along side the chili mixture in the freezer. Chili will keep in the freezer for four months.
- This meal will need to thaw out before you put it in the crock pot. I like to take it out of the freezer the night before (and even earlier in the week) and put it in the fridge so it's ready to be put in the crock pot the next morning. In a pinch, you could also submerge the bag into a bowl of warm water, changing out the water every few minutes until the contents are malleable enough to fit inside the crock pot.
- Cook on low for 8 hours and high for 4-5 hours and serve. This Chili goes great with corn bread, a baked potato, or home made rolls!
Using "no salt added" and "low sodium" products in this recipe is VERY important to keep each serving from exceeding 1500 mg of sodium. (Your daily limit is only 2300 mg, that's over half!)
Serving Size: 1 cup
Servings: 15 cups
Pricing:
Total Cost: $14.13
Cost per cup: $0.94
Nutrition per Serving: (1 cup)
Calories: 175
Protein: 14.7 g
Carbs: 21.5 g
Fat: 4 g
Sodium: 396.4 mg
Fiber: 7.2 g
Sugar: 4.4 g
