Make the most of Thanksgiving extras (or a rotisserie chicken) with a family favorite recipe for 30-Minute Leftover Turkey Chili topped with your favorite fixins’.
It’s that time of year again! Time to swap the skinny jeans for stretch pants and let the Thanksgiving feasting begin. Of course Thanksgiving is synonymous with Thanksgiving leftovers, and I have dozens (literally dozens!) of recipes to make the most of your fridge full of leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and even cranberry sauce.
The star of the Thanksgiving show is up first with a quick and hearty leftover turkey chili recipe topped off with your choice of sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, scallions and even black olives.
All you need is 30 minutes to go from last night’s leftovers to today’s reinvented meal-in-a-bowl. Best of all, you can serve this leftover turkey chili atop … wait for it … leftover mashed potatoes. Win and win!
There really is no limit to what you can do with Thanksgiving leftovers! Raid the fridge for all of my favorite ways to repurpose leftover mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing and more.
Thanksgiving leftovers recipes
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Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium onion, small diced
- 1 green pepper, small diced
- 1 (6-oz.) can tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 (15-oz.) cans pinto beans in chili sauce
- 1 (15-oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
- 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- 4 cups chopped leftover turkey
- Chili toppings, such as sour cream, avocado, shredded cheese and sliced scallions
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large, heavy-bottom pot set over medium heat. Once the oil is warm, add the minced garlic, diced onions and diced peppers and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until caramelized, about 2 minutes.
- Add the ground cumin, chili powder, pinto beans (with chili sauce), kidney beans, crushed tomatoes and brown sugar to the pot, stirring to combine. Add the chopped turkey, reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until warmed throughout, about 10 minutes.
- Serve the chili topped with sour cream, avocado, cheddar cheese and scallions.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
Can this be made without beans?
Absolutely! Feel free to leave them out.
Turkey Chilli: Wow, this was a great tasting meal that all the family enjoyed. In fact, we had seconds. Thx for the recipe.
Love reading this, Peter! I’m so thrilled your family enjoyed the chili!
Wow! I wanted a quick chili recipe to use up a lot of extra turkey and make a big batch for a tailgating/book club party. This recipe looked perfect. I made a triple batch and couldn’t be more pleased. Not only was it easy with basic ingredients, it is the perfect amount of flavor for a crowd when you don’t know people’s spice-preference. Thank you! I’m sure I’ll get lots of raves!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Bonnie!
I love this chili recipe. Thank you, Kelly.
Thrilled you enjoyed the recipe, Becky!
The brown sugar was in the ingredient list but not a part of he recipe…… I’m assuming the brown sugar is used in this recipe, correct?? Thanks!
Yes! Thanks so much for catching that, Katie. Updated the recipe :)
This is simple to make with the. Left over turkey u always end up with in stead of eating it the next day on a sandwich, a caserole, soup, same thing every yr same left overs so this will be an easy 1 and looks good and love everything in it, TY, Kelly, & Just a taste ý