Recipe: Slow-Cooker Turkey Sweet Potato Chili

When people get a slow cooker, chili is often the first thing they make with it. And why not? With minimal effort and several hours of hands-off cooking, you’re gifted with a robust meal that feeds a crowd. This version is especially winning with its delicious, healthful mix of ground turkey, sweet potatoes, black beans, tomatoes, and chipotles.

Ground turkey is a great choice when making chili because the hefty amount of spices and aromatics help “beef” up the lean meat’s flavor, plus there isn’t a preponderance of fat to skim off. But that leanness creates its own challenges, namely that the meat can become dry and grainy when cooked over long periods. A couple of tricks can really help your turkey chili take flight.

First, start with the right turkey — one with plenty of dark meat ground in with the white (avoid turkey labeled 99% lean, which will dry out quickly). Second, mixing a paste of bread and milk into the turkey helps keep things moist, just as it does when making meatballs or meatloaf.

I made this chili for the first time one morning while sipping my second cup of coffee, and decided to add some to the pot. Its dark bitterness added backbone, balancing out the sweetness of the tomatoes and sweet potatoes. If I was pulling this recipe together in the evening to cook overnight, I might have added a glug of beer, which would serve the same purpose.

This recipe does require some prep — you must brown the onions, garlic, and meat before adding them to the slow cooker — but that modest amount of work goes a long way to building depth of flavor. This version is rather mild, so feel free to add more chipotles if you like, although I prefer to serve it with a bottle of hot sauce at the table so everyone can season to their own liking. A sprinkle of chopped white onion and cilantro, along with some shredded cheddar, completes the meal. And don’t forget the cornbread!

We believe that the slow cooker is a tool that can help you eat well no matter your goals. With the start of the new year, we’re utilizing the slow cooker to create wholesome meals to nourish us from breakfast to dinner. In the series you’ll find recipes full of veggies and never short on flavor. It’s time to take advantage of all this workhorse appliance has to offer.