This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our affiliate policy.
Turn leftover turkey into slow cooker White Turkey Chili, a hearty one-pot meal that is as easy as it gets. Add all the ingredients to the crockpot, cover, and walk away. When people are hungry again, set out toppings and let everyone craft their perfect bowl.
White Turkey Chili is peak post-holiday food. You’re tired of cooking, you have a pile of leftover turkey, and you just want to feel cozy and warm. This version is packed with flavor from loads of spices, green chiles, corn, and fresh cilantro. And like all chili, it’s even better with a pile of toppings like cheese, sour cream, avocado, white onion, jalapeños, and tortilla chips or crackers.
You can easily substitute leftover chicken, too, making it a great weeknight meal option when all you managed to do was grab a rotisserie chicken from the store. No shame in that, but it will taste even better when you transform it into your own delicious pot of white chili.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Turkey: This recipe calls for leftover cooked turkey, shredded or cubed, but you could substitute leftover Rotisserie Chicken, too.
- White beans: 3 cups cooked beans can be substituted for the 2 cans (that’s about 1 cup dried beans before cooking). You can use any type of canned or cooked bean including Great Northern Beans, Cannellini beans, or white kidney beans.
- Corn: Or substitute fresh corn cut off the cob.
- Cilantro: Feel free to omit if you don’t like cilantro.
Step-by-step instructions
- In the bottom of a slow cooker, add beans, corn, green chiles and their juice, onion, and garlic. Stir in chicken broth, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours or on HIGH for 1 to 2 hours. Stir in cooked turkey, cream cheese, half and half, and cilantro. Cover and cook on HIGH until chili is creamy and slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.
- Stir until uniformly combined and season to taste with salt and pepper (I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper). Serve with toppings like diced avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream, jalapeños, and tortilla chips.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 9 cups of white turkey chili, enough for 6 hearty servings, 1 ½ cups each.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Cool within 2 hours, cover, and refrigerate up to 3 days in advance. Reheat the full recipe on the stove over low heat to 165 degrees. Reheat small batches in the microwave.
- Freezer: Cool cooked chili to below 40 degrees on an instant-read thermometer within 2 hours and place into airtight containers. Frozen chili will last 4 to 6 months in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Favorite toppings: Shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and diced avocado are classics. You can also try scallions or heaping tablespoons of guacamole, crispy cooked bacon, fresh cilantro, minced white onion, fresh lime juice, hot sauce, tortilla chips, corn chips (Fritos), or oyster crackers.
- Salsa verde: No chilies? No problem. Tomatillo-based salsa verde gives the right amount of acidic punch in this recipe.
- Favorite sides for chili: Enjoy a bowl of chili with classic Cornbread, Soft Dinner Rolls, or No-Knead Bread. If you prefer to make cornbread from a box or buy a loaf of bread from the store, that’s fine too! Round out your menu with a simple garden salad.
- Chili Cheese Burrito: Put leftover chili to work in this easy Chili Cheese Burrito. Just fold up leftover chili with cooked rice and shredded cheese, then toast in a dry skillet.
- Chili Mac: Made in just one pot in 25 minutes or less, this easy Chili Mac recipe is like a great bowl of chili in casserole form. It’s perfect for the busiest, hungriest weeknights.
- Cincinnati Chili: Made famous by Skyline Chili in Ohio, this Cincinnati Chili recipe is full of secret ingredients and served on spaghetti with lots of toppings like shredded cheese, raw onions, and kidney beans. Which “way” do you want yours?
- Classic Beef Chili: This easy Beef Chili recipe tastes just like the one mom used to make! It’s also easy to customize with your own special additions if you want to.
- Chili con Carne: Made with boneless beef chuck roast instead of ground beef, this delicious Chili con Carne recipe has layers of flavor from bacon, fire-roasted tomatoes, lots of garlic, and all the classic chili spices. And it’s made right in your slow cooker!
- Turkey Chili: This delicious Turkey Chili recipe is made with ground turkey, so it’s a little bit lighter than the standard beef version. It’s full of vegetables and classic spices and it’s ready for all your favorite healthful toppings like diced avocado, green onions, and fresh cilantro.
- Hot Dog Chili: Make a batch of Hot Dog Chili to spoon over Chili Dogs for the ultimate tailgate recipe! It’s perfect for any game day celebration.
- Sweet Potato Chili: This hearty vegan Sweet Potato Chili is loaded with black beans, vegetables, and all the classic spices. Like all chilis, it freezes well and makes a great meal prep option.
- Venison Chili: If you’re lucky enough to have some ground venison in your freezer, this Venison Chili recipe is the one you’ll want to make all winter long.
- White Chicken Chili: This easy crockpot recipe is similar to White Turkey Chili but starts with raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of leftover cooked turkey. It’s just as creamy and delicious, though!
- Slow Cooker Turkey Breast: This recipe delivers a delicious, tender bird without taking up any oven space.
- Instant Pot White Turkey Chili: Electric pressure cookers are hands-free and make White Turkey Chili easy, all in under an hour. Here’s how:
- In the bottom of an Instant Pot, add turkey, chicken broth, corn, canned beans, spices, onion, and garlic. Cover with lid and seal. Switch the valve to the “sealing” position and cook for 20 minutes on manual high pressure.
- Once it is done cooking, let it naturally depressurize for 10 minutes then switch the valve to the “venting” position to completely release steam before opening lid. Add the half and half, cream cheese, and cilantro, and stir until melted. The cooker usually has a keep warm function that can continue to warm the chili.
Frequently Asked Questions
Regular (red) chili gets its color from red chilis (often in the form of chili powder) and tomatoes. White chili uses green chiles and creamy ingredients like cream cheese, half and half, or heavy cream.
Kidney beans contain phytohemagglutinin, a type of lectin that is very toxic at high levels. To substitute dried kidney beans in this recipe, you MUST pre-soak dried kidney beans AND hold them at boiling point on the stove top (212 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least 10 minutes. So as long as you pre-soak your beans, you’ll be cooking this chili long enough that you shouldn’t have a problem.
The Americanized chili powder blend you use in this recipe is made of a variety of spices including ground cayenne pepper, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. If you shop at an international food market and buy “chili powder,” sometimes this is just straight-up ground dried red chiles (cayenne pepper).You should be able to tell by the color of the powder.
More tasty turkey recipes
Soup and Stew Recipes
Leftover Turkey Noodle Soup
Casserole Recipes
Turkey Tetrazzini
Soup and Stew Recipes
Turkey Wild Rice Soup
Chicken and Turkey Recipes
Turkey ala King
Join Us
White Turkey Chili
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked turkey shredded or cubed (see note 1)
- 2 (15 ounce) cans great Northern beans drained and rinsed (see note 2)
- 10 ounces frozen corn (see note 3)
- 2 (4 ounce) cans mild diced green chiles undrained
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 3/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper optional
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro optional (see note 4)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- shredded cheese diced avocado, sliced jalapeños, sour cream, and tortilla strips, for serving
Instructions
- In the bottom of a slow cooker, add beans, corn, green chiles and their juice, onion, and garlic. Stir in chicken broth, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and cayenne pepper.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours or on HIGH for 1 to 2 hours. Stir in cooked turkey, cream cheese, half and half, and cilantro. Cover and cook on HIGH for until chili is creamy and slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.
- Stir until uniformly combined and season to taste with salt and pepper (I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper). Serve with toppings like diced avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream, jalapeños, and tortilla chips.
Notes
- Turkey: This recipe calls for leftover cooked turkey, shredded or cubed, but you could substitute leftover Rotisserie Chicken, too.
- White beans: 3 cups cooked beans can be substituted for the 2 cans (that’s about 1 cup dried beans before cooking). You can use any type of canned or cooked bean including Great Northern Beans, Cannellini beans, or white kidney beans.
- Corn: Or substitute fresh corn cut off the cob.
- Cilantro: Feel free to omit if you don’t like cilantro.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 9 cups of white turkey chili, enough for 6 hearty servings, 1 ½ cups each.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
This was delicious! Added zucchini in addition to listed ingredients, but otherwise followed directions. Excellent results and perfect for a crowd. Yum!
I’m so happy you loved it, Hilda! I love that you added zucchini, sounds perfect! – Meggan
I made your slow cooker white turkey chili yesterday and it turned out great! A very nice and healthy alternative to the ground beef and kidney bean chili that I normally make. Thanks so much for giving us this recipe.
I’m so glad you loved it, Mark! Thank you so much for taking the time to write. Take care! – Meggan
UNBELIEVABLE. This has to be the most delicious chili I have ever had.
Cudos!!!!!
Thank you Sheri! So glad you loved it! – Meggan
Do you think this would freeze well? Looks tasty!
Hi Emily, I haven’t tried this but I don’t see why not! – Meggan
Turned out awesome! Thank you! 💕💕
Hi Leonora, you’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it! – Meggan