It’s been so cold lately and I have been craving hot soups and thick chili. But when I think of chili, I think of slow cookers and recipes that take a long time to cook. This means I never make chili because we’re busy on the weekends and it isn’t a quick weeknight meal… or at least it wasn’t until now.
Our First Sunday Open Jam, where we invite people over to play music, hangout, and enjoy dinner, was coming up and turkey chili sounded so good — but I try to never make something for the first time when we have guests, so I decided to try this recipe earlier in the week. It was good, but not as thick and hearty as I wanted and it lacked some of the rich flavors chili should have.
I adapted the recipe and made this totally delicious Turkey Chili With Cornbread Waffle Bowls recipe that was to die for. I think we ended up eating chili for five nights in a row and on night five, it was still as delicious as on night one!
What I loved about this turkey chili recipe is that it is so easy to make! I cooked it on the stove and it only took about 45 minutes start to finish, which means it’s a great weeknight dinner recipe!
Healthy Turkey Chili Recipe
With lots of vegetables like onion, bell pepper, celery, carrots, and tomatoes, as well as kidney beans and almond flour, this is a hearty Turkey Chili recipe you can feel good about serving your family!
- Because of the almond flour, it’s gluten-free.
- Without sour cream or cheese on top, it’s dairy-free.
- If you leave out the beans, brown sugar, and cocoa powder, it’s also Whole 30 compliant — and it still tastes great!
Cornbread Waffle Bowls
For years, I’ve been making all sorts of sweet and savory waffles with my waffle iron and it’s been amazing, but now I have a new toy to play, I mean cook, with.
This Christmas, Brian and the kids got me a Belgian Waffle Bowl Maker! It claims to make a four inch waffle bowl, but the waffle bowls were bigger than that, and they were thick and fluffy and amazing.
If you decide that you must have a waffle bowl maker after reading this post, resist the urge to buy the double waffle bowl makers you might find. Brian did loads of research and read all the reviews everywhere, and the single Belgian Waffle Bowl Maker by Presto is the best and it was really easy to use. The one thing it is missing though, is a timer — we had to use my iPhone timer.
Similar to a waffle iron, anything that begins as a batter can be cooked in the waffle bowl maker, including cornbread.
Cornbread waffle bowls were the perfect thing to serve my delicious turkey chili in… I made a whole bunch while the turkey chili was simmering and just popped them in the oven (preheated to 200 degrees) on a cookie sheet to stay warm until it was time to eat dinner.
I don’t think I’ll ever eat chili without a cornbread waffle bowl again. They’re seriously that good!
A Couple Quick Tips
Leftover Chili Thickens
The turkey chili does thicken in the fridge, so when reheating chili leftovers for Brian and I, I scooped some of the chili into a saucepan and added about 1/4 cup additional chicken stock, which made it taste just as good as it did fresh!
Waffle Iron Conditioner
When road tripping, we always try to stay at Hampton Inns. They’re a great value and the kids love the free breakfasts and waffles. During our last road trip, Brian noticed something the hotel used that we had never seen before — waffle iron conditioner. It’s used to keep the waffles from sticking to the waffle iron and doesn’t make a greasy/oily mess like non-stick sprays do. Brian does all the cleaning of my waffle irons, so he was definitely intrigued.
He came home, did a bunch of research online, and found one specific Waffle Iron Conditioner that had rave reviews by everyone from home cooks to food truck owners — and miraculously, it showed up in my stocking this Christmas!
I’m not going to lie. It’s expensive. But after using for a few weeks, I’m sold. We’ll be buying this Waffle Iron Conditioner forever because my waffles and waffle bowls now come out more perfectly than ever and there is absolutely zero oily build up on the waffle irons, which means no mess.
Turkey Chili With Cornbread Waffle Bowls
This hearty turkey chili is packed with rich flavors and with lots of veggies, it's a healthy dinner you can feel good about serving to your family. Plus, when served in cornbread waffle bowls, you'll be a dinner time hero!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
- 3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper, cored, deveined, and finely chopped
- 3 heaping tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 pounds ground turkey
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 heaping tablespoon ancho chili powder
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 can Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
- 2 cans Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Seasonings in Juice (drained)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 cans red kidney beans (15 oz cans)
- Shredded cheese
- Sour cream
- 1 box cornbread mix
Instructions
- Add olive oil, onion, carrot, bell pepper, celery, jalapeño, and garlic to a large stock pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occassionally. Cook until onions are translucent (about 10 minutes).
- Add turkey, chili powder, cumin, and bay leaves. Cook until turkey is browned, stirring occassionally.
- Add brown sugar, ancho cili powder, oregano, cocoa powder, coriander, cinnamon, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, and salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occassionally.
- Add the drained kidney beans and almond flour. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
- While the turkey chili is simmering, prep the cornbread batter. Preheat the waffle bowl maker and when ready, add the cornbread misture to the waffle bowl maker just as you would waffle batter. Carefully lift the cornbread waffle bowls out of the machine and place them upside down on small bowls until you're ready to serve the chili.
- To serve, place a cornbread waffle bowl in a bowl, fill with chili, top with sour cream and cheese if you'd like, and serve right away!
Notes:
This turkey chili recipe makes A LOT of chili! We easily served eight people and still had leftovers.
The chili does thicken, so when reheating our chili leftovers, we scooped it into a saucepan and added some additional chicken stock, which made it taste just as good as it did fresh!
Whether you use a waffle iron or a waffle bowl maker, make sure to get some Waffle Iron Conditioner! It's expensive, but it works SO MUCH BETTER than non-stick spray and it doesn't leave a mess in your waffle iron.
