Thanksgiving Leftovers: Turkey Chili
Turkey Chili is a great way to use up your Thanksgiving leftovers. And it only takes 15-20 minutes to put together.
Our family usually doesn’t have that many Thanksgiving leftovers. That’s what happens when you have a enough family members to divide things up after dinner. (Zip-lock bags are great for that!)
But I like to buy an extra turkey the week before Thanksgiving, while the supermarkets are offering big discounts. It’s my “dress rehearsal” turkey, giving me a chance to try a new way to cook my turkey, without messing up on the big day. Then I dice, slice and freeze the meat for future soups, sandwiches, and so on.
The carcass and bones are used to make broth. (Nothing gets wasted around here!)
I use it for things like this Turkey Chili, adapted from my cookbook, “Soup’s On!” And yes, it’s the recipe I cooked last week on “Good Things Utah.”
It only takes 15-20 minutes to assemble! You can be out shopping all day on Black Friday and still come home to a hot, healthy meal.
Some of my other fave turkey leftover soups:
POST-THANKSGIVING TURKEY CHILI
Prep time: 20 minutes
Makes 6 1 1/2-C. servings
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups frozen chopped onions, OR 1/2 cup chopped dried onions OR 1 cup chopped fresh onion)
2 7-ounce cans diced green chiles
2 cans Ro-tel tomatoes and chiles, original
3 to 4 C. diced turkey
3 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed, or 4 cups cooked beans
3 ½ C. homemade turkey stock (or 2 14-oz. cans of turkey or chicken broth)
1 Tbsp. cumin
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. chipotle chile powder or 2 minced canned chipotle chiles, optional
¼ C. fresh cilantro
½ tsp. sugar
½ C. sour cream
- Melt the butter over high heat and sauté the onions for about 5 minutes. (Omit this step if you’re using dried onions).
- Add the tomatoes, turkey, beans, stock and seasonings (everything but the sour cream). Bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and cook, covered, for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Ladle each serving and top with a spoonful of sour cream to swirl into the soup.
- Option: Instead of the cumin, paprika, and chiles, you can use 2 to 3 tablespoons of taco seasoning mix.
— Adapted from “Soup’s On!” by Valerie Phillips of Chewandchat.com