Description
This butternut squash chili is healthy, hearty, and loaded with flavor! Made with turkey, quinoa, and black beans. Just 15 minutes prep!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 lb. ground turkey (not 99% fat-free)
- 2 tsp. sea salt, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 16 oz. cubed frozen butternut squash (fresh squash instructions below)
- 24 oz. jar marinara sauce (Not Italian)
- 2 15-oz. cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (add 6 cups if you don't like a super thick chili)
- 2 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
- toppings: sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, cilantro, tortilla chips
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add turkey, 1 teaspoon sea salt, and garlic to pan and cook for about 4-6 minutes, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until almost cooked through. Transfer the ground turkey to the slow cooker.
- Add squash, marinara sauce, black beans, quinoa, broth, chili powder, ground cumin, remaining 1 teaspoon sea salt and pepper to slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Cook on High for 2-3 hours or Low for 4-5 hours, or until squash is tender.
- Season with additional salt and pepper to taste and top with favorite toppings.
Notes
- Storage: Store leftover chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in a saucepan on the stove or in the microwave until heated through, you may need to add a bit of broth to loosen it up. This chili freezes beautifully for up to 3 months! Use portioned freezer containers like Souper Cubes for easy single servings, or freeze in glass freezer containers. Thaw completely before reheating for best texture.
- Ingredients: Look for frozen pre-cubed butternut squash in the freezer section near other frozen vegetables. If using fresh butternut squash, peel, seed, and cube it into 1-inch pieces – note that it will take 4-5 hours on High instead of 2-3 hours. Choose marinara sauce without Italian seasoning (just tomato-based) so the flavors don’t compete with the chili spices.
- Prep ahead: Brown the turkey and prep all your ingredients the night before. Store the cooked turkey in one container and combine the squash, beans, quinoa, and spices in another. In the morning, just dump everything in the slow cooker with the liquids and turn it on.
- Tools: You’ll need a 6-quart slow cooker for this recipe and a large skillet for browning the turkey.
- Serve with: Tortilla chips or corn chip scoops are perfect for dipping. Set out a variety of toppings like sour cream (or Greek yogurt), shredded cheddar cheese, sliced avocado, chopped onions, green onions, cilantro, jalapeño slices, hot sauce, and lime wedges.