This is one of those recipes we’ve been making for years, the moment the air gets crisp, and once you taste it you’ll be doing the same. It makes the whole house smell like fall, and even though it’s got a bit of warmth (as all chilis should), the apples round it out for a savory-sweet combo that everyone raves about. We always pair this with cast iron cornbread and rarely have leftovers.
We figure out the part you get to feel smug about is the apples. You use two, one tart and one sweet, so the pot never slides into applesauce territory and the tomatoes never taste flat. One Granny Smith, one Pink Lady, and it’s perfectly balanced.
Then you pull the cinnamon stick, stir in a splash of apple cider vinegar, and the pot wakes up. Smoky from the chipotle, a little warm underneath, sweet in flashes. Now the hard part is whether or not you share the recipe or keep it all to yourself.
🔪 Ingredients for Turkey Apple Chili
Quantities live in the recipe card below. Here is what to look for at the store and why each one is in the pot.
- Ground turkey and ground turkey sausage: Use both. The plain turkey keeps the pot from tasting over-seasoned, the sausage brings the fat and the built-in seasoning.
- Avocado oil: High smoke point, so the meat browns instead of steams.
- Poblano pepper
- Granny Smith apple & Pink Lady apple
- Red onion
- Garlic
- Tomato paste
- Chili powder, ground cumin, and dried oregano
- Chipotle peppers in adobo: One for smoke and moderate heat, two for real heat.
- Fine sea salt and ground black pepper
- Low-sodium chicken broth
- Better Than Bouillon chicken base
- Cinnamon stick: Whole, so you can pull it back out.
- Fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
- Dark red kidney beans and black beans: Drained and rinsed.
- Apple cider vinegar: Goes in off the heat at the end.
- Fresh cilantro
Equipment
- 6 quart Dutch oven: Heavy bottom, so the tomato paste and spices bloom without scorching.
- Rimmed baking sheet and foil: For charring the poblano under the broiler.
- Thermapen: Ground turkey needs to hit 165°F, and this is the fastest way to stop guessing.
📝 How to Make Turkey Apple Chili
- Char the poblano. Set an oven rack about 6 inches under the broiler and heat it to high. Broil the poblano on a foil lined sheet for 4 to 6 minutes per side, turning as needed, until the skin is blistered and blackened all over. Move it to a bowl, cover for 10 minutes, then peel off the loosened skin, pull the stem and seeds, and dice. Same move as the one behind our fire roasted poblano crema.
- Brown the meat and leave it alone. Heat the avocado oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey and turkey sausage, press it into an even layer, and do not touch it for 3 to 4 minutes, until it is browned underneath. Break it into medium crumbles and keep cooking until it’s almost fully browned with just a few pink spots left.
- Add the onion and poblano. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked through and the onion has gone soft and translucent at the edges.
- Add the apples. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the edges just start to look glossy. They should still be firm.
- Bloom the paste and spices. Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds, until it smells sharp and sweet. Add the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and chopped chipotles. Cook 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens a shade and the spices smell toasted.
- Deglaze. Stir the chicken base into the broth until it is mostly dissolved, pour it into the pot, and scrape the bottom until it is clean and no browned bits are stuck to the bottom of the Dutch oven.
- Add the beans and tomatoes. Add the cinnamon stick, crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, and black beans. Stir well and bring it up to a gentle boil, when the surface is breaking in slow bubbles.
- Simmer uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes. Drop the heat to medium-low and stir occasionally. It is done when the liquid has reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon, and the apples are tender but still holding their shape in the pot.
- Finish off the heat. Pull out the cinnamon stick, stir in the apple cider vinegar and cilantro, and let it sit off the burner for 5 minutes so the cilantro softens into the pot. Taste for salt now, not before, then serve with whatever toppings you like.
🔄 Substitutions
- Red bell pepper for the poblano: Milder, sweeter, and it skips the broiling step entirely.
- Cannellini beans for the black beans: Softer texture and a creamier pot.
- Ground chicken for the plain ground turkey: Keep the turkey sausage so the seasoning stays where it is.
- One chipotle instead of two: All of the smoke, about half the heat.
This one lives in the fall corner of our game day chili lineup. If you want the same seasonal move on a different base, the roasted pumpkin and turkey chili uses pancetta and beer, and our ground turkey chili with butternut squash trades the apple for squash.
💡 Meat Nerd Tips
- Let the turkey sit still. Ground turkey dumps moisture the second you start pushing it around. Press it flat, walk away for 3 to 4 minutes, and you get browning instead of a gray steamed layer.
- Keep one apple tart. Two sweet apples and the pot reads like dessert. The Granny Smith is what holds the line against the sweeter apple and the tomatoes, so swap the Pink Lady before you swap that one.
- Salt last. Turkey sausage, Better Than Bouillon, and chipotles in adobo all bring their own salt. Wait until the chili has finished reducing to taste, or you will over season a pot that is still shrinking.
- Pull the cinnamon stick. Left in, it keeps infusing, and the chili starts tasting like cinnamon instead of just warm underneath.
🍽️ What to Serve with Turkey Apple Chili
- Sharp white cheddar, shredded over the top while the chili is still hot enough to melt it.
- A spoonful of fire roasted poblano crema or plain sour cream to cool the chipotle heat.
- Cornbread, for sweet corn against the smoke.
- Pickled red onion or a squeeze of lime, for a second hit of acid on top of the vinegar.
- Toasted pepitas or crushed tortilla chips, if you want crunch in every bite.
- Make it a spread with a few simple homemade sides when you are feeding a crowd.
🧊 Leftovers and Storage
- Cool the chili, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It thickens as it sits, because the beans and apples keep drinking the liquid.
- Freeze it in flat, labeled bags or airtight containers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- Reheat over medium low on the stovetop, stirring occasionally, with a splash of broth or water if it has gone too thick.
- It is better on day two. The chipotle and cinnamon settle into everything overnight.
Turkey apple chili is the fall recipe you make once and then end up making every other week all season long. Ground turkey and turkey sausage, a fire-roasted poblano, two kinds of apple, and a cinnamon stick working a little magic. One Dutch oven, 35 minutes of simmering, and it tastes even better on day two. Save it for the first crips night. 🍎
Prevent your screen from going to sleep
Char the Poblano
-
Set an oven rack about 6 inches under the broiler and heat to high. Broil the poblano on a foil lined sheet 4 to 6 minutes per side, turning as needed, until the skin is blistered and blackened.
-
Cover in a bowl for 10 minutes, then peel, stem, seed, and dice.
Brown the Meat
-
Heat the avocado oil in a Dutch oven over medium high. Add the ground turkey and turkey sausage, press into an even layer, and leave undisturbed 3 to 4 minutes until browned underneath. Break into medium crumbles and cook until almost fully browned with a few pink spots left.
Add the Onion and Poblano
-
Cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked through and the onion is soft and translucent at the edges.
Add the Apples
-
Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the edges just turn glossy. They should still be firm.
Bloom the Paste and Spices
-
Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, and chipotles. Cook 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens a shade and the spices smell toasted.
Add the Beans and Tomatoes
-
Add the cinnamon stick, crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, and black beans. Stir well and bring to a gentle boil.
Simmer
-
Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer uncovered 30 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquid coats the back of a spoon and the apples are tender but still holding their shape.
Finish Off the Heat
-
Remove the cinnamon stick, stir in the apple cider vinegar and cilantro, and let it sit 5 minutes. Taste for salt now, not before. Serve with your favorite toppings.
- Add extra salt only at the end, after everything has come together.
- Like all chilis and braises, this tastes better the next day.
- Use a sweet and a tart apple (Granny Smith) for the best flavor without making this chili taste too much like applesauce.
- Pull the cinnamon stick before serving.
- Store in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat over medium-low with a splash of broth.
- Substitutions: red bell pepper for the poblano (milder – do not broil), cannellini for black beans, ground chicken for the ground turkey.
- How to roast the poblano: oven or range. Oven: set a rack 6 inches under the broiler, heat to high, and broil the pepper on a foil-lined sheet 4 to 6 minutes per side, turning as needed, until the skin is blistered and blackened all over. Gas Range or Grill: Set the pepper directly on a gas burner over a medium-high flame or direct heat on a grill, and turn it with tongs every minute or so, 5 to 8 minutes total, until it is charred and collapsing. After roasting until blistered on all sides (range or oven), cover in a bowl for 10 minutes so the steam loosens the skin, then peel, stem, seed, and dice.
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 1188mg | Potassium: 775mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1145IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 3mg
Quick Summary
Turkey apple chili is a one pot weeknight chili built on ground turkey, turkey sausage, a broiled poblano, and two kinds of apple. The technique that matters is browning the turkey undisturbed for 3 to 4 minutes before you break it up, so it develops color instead of releasing water. Pull the cinnamon stick before serving and salt only after the pot has finished reducing.
❓ FAQs
It tastes warm and smoky, not sweet. The Granny Smith apple stays tart, the chipotles in adobo bring smoke and heat, and a splash of apple cider vinegar at the end cuts whatever sweetness the Pink Lady apple contributes. The apple reads as a background note, not a dessert.
You can, but use a tart one like Granny Smith if you only pick one. Two sweet apples push the pot toward applesauce, while the tart apple holds its shape through the simmer and balances the tomatoes.
A whole stick gives the chili a soft background warmth and lets you control the intensity, because you can pull it out whenever you want. Ground cinnamon dissolves into the pot and quickly starts tasting like cinnamon rather than a background note.
No. Add the peppers straight from the can with whatever sauce clings to them. That sauce carries most of the smoky flavor, and rinsing it off leaves you with heat and very little depth.