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There’s nothing better than a warm, hearty bowl of chili—especially one that comes together fast and is actually healthy. This Instant Pot Turkey Chili is one of my favorite weeknight dinners because it’s healthy, protein-packed, and incredibly flavorful without needing to simmer all day.
Lean ground turkey, beans, tomatoes, and bold spices pressure-cook into a rich, cozy chili that tastes like it’s been slow-cooked for hours.
Table of Contents
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- What Toppings to Put on Chili
- How to Make Ground Turkey Chili in an Instant Pot
- How Long Should You Cook Instant Pot Turkey Chili?
- Instant Pot FAQs
- Can I Make This Recipe on the Stove Top or in a Slow Cooker?
- What to Serve with Turkey Chili
- Storage Tips
- More Chili Recipes:
- Watch How This Recipe is Made…
- Instant Pot Turkey Chili Recipe
Our Instant Pot Award Winning Chili Recipe went viral so we couldn’t help but create a healthy turkey chili recipe for all of you looking for instant pot recipes that are healthier!
We almost didn’t post that classic beef chili recipe because we figured that everyone was totally set in their ways with their own favorite chili recipes, but boy were we wrong! It’s going crazy on our site!
Immediately we started hearing that we needed a vegetarian version, but before we get to that, Turkey Instant Pot Chili first! We use turkey bacon to still give that hint of bacon goodness, but in a healthier way, along with lean ground turkey, and lots of tomato flavor.
Alright, friends if it was you wanting a healthy Instant Pot dinner recipe, this turkey chili in an Instant Pot is for you! And if you’re still interested in a vegetarian chili, we have created a recipe for that too!
Ingredients You’ll Need
We really wanted to create a pressure cooker turkey chili recipe that could be made with ingredients you already have on hand. Here is what you will need:
- Ground Turkey: Lean, high-protein base that absorbs the chili spices well.
- Turkey Bacon: Adds smoky, savory flavor to balance the lean turkey.
- Pinto Beans and Black Beans: Make the chili hearty, thick, and protein-packed.
- Fire Roasted Tomatoes: Add rich, smoky depth and boost overall flavor.
- Tomato Paste: Thickens the chili and intensifies the tomato flavor.
- Red Onion: Builds a flavorful, slightly sweet aromatic base.
- Red and Orange Bell Peppers: Add sweetness, color, and extra veggie bulk.
- Jalapeño: Provides mild heat and fresh, bright spice.
- Chicken Broth: Adds flavor and thins the chili to the right consistency.
- Dried Oregano: Gives earthy, herbal depth.
- Ground Cumin: Adds warm, smoky, classic chili flavor.
- Kosher Salt: Enhances all the flavors in the chili.
- Black Pepper: Adds mild heat and sharp, peppery balance.
- Smoked Paprika: Adds smokiness and deeper color.
- Chili Powder: The main chili seasoning—warm, bold, and flavorful.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Adds umami and richness to round out the flavors.
- Garlic: Provides aromatic depth and classic savory flavor.
The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card down below.
What Toppings to Put on Chili
This chili is heavenly on it’s own, but I secretly think my favorite part is all the yummy toppings I like to add. Here are some of my favorite chili toppings:
- Sour Cream (or plain Greek yogurt for a healthier option)
- Cilantro
- Shredded Cheese
- Avocado
- Corn Chips
- Tortilla Chips
- Black Olives
- Diced Red Onions or Scallions
- Cilantro
How to Make Ground Turkey Chili in an Instant Pot
- Cook the Bacon: Turn your instant pot to “sauté” and cook bacon until crisp. Once cooked, remove the bacon and place on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb any extra grease.
- Sauté the Vegetables: Add the onions and peppers to the electric pressure cooker and cook until tender.
- Brown the Ground Turkey: Add the ground turkey and brown. Drain off any excess grease.
- Add: Pour in all the remaining ingredients into the Instant Pot and change the setting to “chili” and let it cook. All it to natural release.
- Serve: Scoop it into bowls and top it with all your favorite chili toppings.
How Long Should You Cook Instant Pot Turkey Chili?
Most batches of this turkey chili will be done after 18 minutes. However, we’ve had a few times when the flavor just wasn’t there yet, so feel free to pressure cook a little longer for more flavor, or if your beans are not as tender as you’d like.
Tips for Making Quick Turkey Chili in an Instant Pot
- When creating this healthy Instant Pot chili, we ditched the red kidney beans to lighten things up a little more as kidney beans have a heavier flavor. If desired, you can double the pinto beans, if you prefer your turkey chili to have more beans.
- Because turkey bacon is leaner, you’ll want to add in a drizzle of olive oil while it’s cooking or you’ll possibly trigger the burn error.
Instant Pot FAQs
If you’ve got any questions about cooking in an Instant Pot that aren’t answered below, please refer to our Award Winning Instant Pot Chili Recipe.
We get a lot of questions about what Instant Pot to buy, especially for small families like our own and we still stand by the 6 qt 9 Function Instant Pot. If you have more than three children and they are older then yes, go for the bigger model, but we don’t think you need a bigger size otherwise. We especially like this model because it has the chili function as well as the yogurt. And you know how we are obsessed with our Instant Pot Homemade Yogurt!
If you’re cooking your chili or our beef stroganoff for example, and you get the burn error that merely means that your Instant Pot is experiencing an overheat error. Your Instant Pot has a feature built in that recognizes when the bottom is getting too hot, dry and overcooked so it will stop the heating process to avoid any further issues.
Before we go any further into the recipe, let’s chat about the number one question we’ve been getting about cooking in an Instant Pot: why does it say “u0022burnu0022” on my Instant Pot, or “u0022ovhtu0022” error on my Instant Pot?
If you get this error you probably don’t have enough liquid at the bottom of the pot. For example, in chili if you get it when cooking your bacon you probably don’t have enough fat rendering out or the pan got too hot before adding the meat so it immediately burned it.
Can I Make This Recipe on the Stove Top or in a Slow Cooker?
The answer is yes and yes! It’s easy to make this recipe using either method. Just depending on what your schedule is, we have the cooking method to meet your needs! Scroll down to the end of the recipe card for instructions on using the stove or a slow cooker to make this recipe.
What to Serve with Turkey Chili
No chili is complete with a pan of fluffy moist cornbread! If you aren’t a cornbread fan, then a batch of our 1 hour dinner rolls or buttermilk biscuits would work great!
Storage Tips
Store: Leftover turkey chili should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for up to 5 days. I actually prefer this recipe the next day. The flavors deepen with time.
Freeze: This chili freezes extremely well! Let it cool completely, then place in a large ziploc bag or FoodSaver. Squeeze out as much air as you can, then lay flat in your freezer. It will keep for up to 2 months.
Reheat: You can reheat leftover chili from the fridge in the microwave or on the stove top. If your chili is froze, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat in the microwave or on the stove top.
Sometimes it’s hard to find a hearty chili recipe that is healthy and still tastes like a million bucks, and this easy instant pot turkey chili checks both of those boxes! It’s less than 250 calories per serving with 20+ grams of protein! Now that’s a winner recipe!
More Chili Recipes:
- Award Winning Instant Pot Chili
- Best Stove Top Chili
- Cheesy Ground Beef Enchilada Chili
- Brisket Chili
- White Chicken Chili
- All our Chili, Soup, and Stew Recipes here!
Looking for more instant pot recipes?
And if you need to know how to make any of the basics in the Instant Pot, check out our Instant Pot Cheat Sheet!
Watch How This Recipe is Made…
Instant Pot Turkey Chili
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Pounds Ground Turkey
- 8 Strips Turkey Bacon, chopped
- 1 Can Pinto Beans, 15 ounces, drained
- 1 Can Black Beans, 15 ounces, drained
- 1 Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes, 15 ounces, diced, drained
- 1 Can Tomato Paste, 6 ounce
- 1 Red Onion, small, chopped
- ½ Red Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped
- ½ Orange Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 Jalapeño, seeded and minced *optional
- 2 Cups Chicken Stock
- 1 Tablespoon Oregano, dried
- 1 teaspoon Cumin, ground
- 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper, ground
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Garlic, minced
FOR GARNISH
- Sour Cream
- Cilantro
- Cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Turn your instant pot to sauté and add the bacon. Cook until crisp, stirring often to cook evenly. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate.8 Strips Turkey Bacon
- Add the onions and peppers and cook until tender. Add the meat and cook until browned. Drain off any excess grease, we just tilt the pot and use a large spoon. Add all of the remaining ingredients and 3/4 of the bacon and stir to combine.1 ½ Pounds Ground Turkey, 1 Can Pinto Beans, 1 Can Black Beans, 1 Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes, 1 Can Tomato Paste, 1 Red Onion, ½ Red Bell Pepper, ½ Orange Bell Pepper, 1 Jalapeño, 2 Cups Chicken Stock, 1 Tablespoon Oregano, 1 teaspoon Cumin, 2 teaspoons Kosher Salt, 1 teaspoon Black Pepper, 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika, 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder, 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce, 1 Tablespoon Garlic
- Turn the instant pot to chili and cook for 18-20 minutes. Allow pressure to release for 10-15 minutes or quick release with the vent.
- Serve with limes, sour cream, cheese, and a little bacon!Sour Cream, Cilantro, Cheese
- Most batches will be done after 18 minutes, however we’ve had a few times when the flavor just wasn’t there yet, so feel free to pressure cook a little longer for more flavor or if your beans are not as tender as you’d like.
- For the stove: Cook everything in the pot just like you do for the instant pot and then allow to simmer on low heat for 3 hours.
- For the slow cooker: Cook the bacon and set aside on a plate. Cook the onion and peppers and set aside on another plate. Drain any excess grease and add the meat, cooking until browned. Add everything into the pot, leaving out a little bacon for garnish and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3 hours.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great recipe but can you clarify what the asterisks at step 3 of the instructions leads to? I can’t seem to find it on Thursday page.
Thanks Catherine! I’m not sure what that asterisk was doing in there. I have removed it. Sorry for the confusion!
Love this chili! The turkey bacon takes it up a notch and I love the tomato paste and chicken broth combination.
Thank you so much Kathy! This recipe is one of my favorites!
So so good! Love this elevated chili recipe… def will be making throughout the winter months
Thank you so much Lauren!
I made this last night exactly as written, except I used regular bacon because I had some on hand, and 2 pounds of turkey because I could only find 1 pound packages in the grocery store. Used the Instant Pot and cooked on the chili setting for 25 minutes with a quick release after 10 minutes. It was DELICIOUS!!! Even my picky 9 year old said it was good. Definitely a keeper! Thanks!!
Hi Kelly! LOVE to hear this!! Thank you so much for the feedback!
This has been my go-to recipe for a few years now. It is hands down the best chili. I make it every Halloween and throughout the fall and winter! Truly one of my all-time favorite dishes.
Yay! Love to hear that Molly! Thank you!
This is the one recipe that I constantly get asked to cook for friends and family. Who doesn’t love good quality comfort food? The fact that it’s healthier than regular chili is just a bonus.
Isn’t it so great?! It is a favorite in our house too. Thank you so much for the feedback!
This is the best chili recipe I have found. I’ve been making it regularly for a couple years now. First time I made it, I followed the recipe pretty closely. I only had a one pound of ground turkey so threw in some zucchini as a filler. Chili was amazing. Now I usually just leave out the turkey bacon, use one pound of 99% ground turkey and throw in whatever veggies I have in the house (zucchini, celery, carrots, butternut squash, corn, or whatever else I have). The seasonings are great and I can throw in whatever I want and it always turns out perfect. Leave out the meat and it makes a great vegetarian chili also. Only 1-2 points on WW also! Thanks for a great recipe!
Thank you so much Nikki! And these are great tips! Thank you so much for taking time to leave a comment!
This is one of my family’s favorite recipes!! My daughter wants to make this but doesn’t have an instapot or slow cooker. How long should she cook it on the stovetop? Will it still be good?
Yes, it works great on the stove top! Check step 5 in the instructions. That has all the info you should need cook it on the stove top.
The chili is delicious! I followed the recipe twice & twice shortly after starting to cook on the chili option, I’ve gotten the burn notice! I had to depressurize & restart! Any suggestions how not to have this happen? Thank You
Hi Karen! There are several sections in this post that address the burn notice. It seems like it really depends on which Instant Pot you have. I’m so sorry for the frustration!
How do you cook turkey bacon in an instant pot without massive sticking and ruining the pot? Please advise as this is the first step and it was basically a struggle.
Hi Michael! This is a great question. I’ve had better luck with some brands over others but now I can’t remember which brand I like best. You can always cook the bacon on the stove top it continues to cause you problems.
Have made this chili several times, it’s a favorite for sure. It has great flavor and the right amount of heat. The only ingredient I didn’t care for is the smoked paprika. It adds a sweetness that we found distracting. The first time I served it my husband asked if it had cinnamon in it! It was the paprika. Other than that, delicious.
Thank you so much for the feedback Jennifer! So glad you enjoyed it!
Such a delicious and easy recipe! I made mine in the instant pot and yum yum yum! Definitely will be making this again.
Yay! Love to hear this Denise! Thank you so much for the feedback!