Turkey and Butternut Squash Chili Recipe

I was amazed at how well this turned out. this is a great autumn chili! I made a few changes based on what I had around. Instead of chilies, I just added one serrano pepper, and cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes to keep it spicy. I also added allspice, and it *really* brought everything together. i left out the tomatoes, added more beans (I don't like chunky tomato bits). really though, i really think the allspice made it FABULOUS. my boyfriend doesnt much care for ground turkey or squash, but he loved it too.

ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITES ON THIS SITE. Two additional comments: 1. Must cut the butternut squash up into pretty small pieces (I like mine smaller than a 1/2 inch cubed) and cook for a while. 2. MUST MUST MUST garnish with cilantro (if you are a cilantro lover) and eat with avocado. It completely steps the dish up to another level.

This recipe was good, but it wasn’t excellent. It tasted like it was missing something. There wasn’t enough heat in there to render a good hearty chili, in my opinion. I do plan on making it again, but possibly tweaking it while still trying to maintain a relatively healthy recipe. This is what I want to try: I’m going to brown the turkey and drain any fat and set it to the side. Then I’m going to sauté the onion and garlic until the onion begins to turn clear and instead of using an 8 oz can of tomato sauce, I’m going to add a couple good heaping tablespoons of tomato paste and mix it into the onion until it’s coated. For extra heat, I’m going to add in a teaspoon and a half of crushed red pepper. The turkey can then go back in and I do plan to drain the can of kidney beans and give them a little rinse before putting them in along with all the other ingredients. For extra liquid, since I plan to substitute the tomato sauce for tomato paste and drain the beans, I’ll add in a 12 oz beer — probably an IPA for the citrus flavor. Also, a teaspoon or more of paprika.

This was delish! I doubled the recipe and used exact ingredients. Couple of changes : I used one red and one white onion and did all the browning in a huge cast iron skillet. As I was browning onions, I split the squash in half and broiled it skin side up in oven. Once the skin started to bubble I took it out and was able to easily peel the skin off. I began dicing the squash right after that and throwing it in with the turkey/onion and let it cook in there for a while to soften up the squash. Meanwhile, I put all other ingredients in soup pan to heat and mingle. Two of the four cans were rotel diced tomatoes with chilis and then I added one small can of diced chilis. It wasn't overpowering. I have 3 kids, 10 to 3 years in age and they all went back for seconds! Note: I did follow one other commenters direction and added some allspice. Will definitely make again!

used creamed corn ( half can worth) because no hominy available and did not use the tomato sauce-just the 2 cans of diced tomatoes, but baked the squash first for 20 minutes to make it easier to peal. WOW it is a fantastic recipe and I really really like that it is not so caloric.

Delicious! I'd never cooked with butternut squash or hominy before, and they both tasted great in this chili. I followed the recipe except I left out the chicken broth because I don't like to use a partial can. I also added a little extra garlic and cumin. I do recommend microwaving or baking the squash a bit beforehand to soften it up. I microwaved half of mine with a little water for 3-4 mins. I used fire-roasted tomatoes for the diced tomatoes and they worked nicely! I included the liquid of all of the canned items except for the hominy. Will definitely make again!

Yummy! Used 1.5# of ground turkey & 2# of butternut squash (precut from Costco). Only used 1t of chili powder & 2t of cumin. Husband added some hot sauce. Cooked turkey & onions/garlic & then added everything to the crock pot. Cooked on high X 6 hours.

This is pretty good as is, definitely chop the butternut squash smaller. Bring this recipe UP to FIVE STARS by adding a couple of canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. You only need two or three, depending on how spicy you want it. Chop them fine and scrape them into the pot for a smokey sweet flavor that pairs really well with the squash. I also add a few shakes of allspice, as someone else suggested. Store leftover peppers in a glass jar on the fridge, they will stain your tupperware. I will never make another taco soup or chili of this sort without adding them.

This is definitely a tasty way to enjoy butternut squash. I went with the numerous recommendations and added the extra half cup of broth, diced the squash smaller, added a few bay leaves, 1 additional clove of garlic and I added Allspice although I did not see any measurements to how much ppl were adding, so I got adventerous and added a tablespoon. I like it. however, i definitely drained the beans prior to adding them to the pot. this is an easy one pot meal. will make again.

After browning in the pan, put this in the slow cooker for 10 hours--delicious. Family raved about it. After about 8 cooking hours, I mashed the squash into the mixer, leaving it chunky but this helped blend the flavors. We'll be making this again--easy to prepare in advance. Great on a snowy day, topped with plain yogurt and grated Monterey Jack cheese.

This recipe in theory is pretty good. I followed the advice and used a tsp of allspice and cut the butternut squash into smaller 1/2" pieces, replaced the kidney beans with black beans and used my slow cooker on low for 8 hours. There was not enough chili powder in this recipe, though. I would at least double the amount next time. I would make this again, I loved all the healthy ingredients.

I love this recipe but I make a few adjustments for the 5 star review! Notes: 1. I use frozen butternut squash that’s already cooked, I find it works better than getting squash, peeling/cutting/roasting…That takes way too much time and it doesn’t taste as good in my opinion. Put the frozen squash right in the chilli from frozen. 2. I don’t use hominy beans, I do a can of corn instead. And I use the Heinz chilli can of beans, it’s a mixture of kidney and other beans. But you can use whatever beans you want for the other ones. 3. I use way more chilli powder, cumin, and garlic powder than it calls for. You’ll want to taste it as you let it Simmer to decide your amount, but I’m pretty sure I triple or even quadruple those amounts and then obviously adjust for how much meat you have, if you’re using more than 1 pound of turkey. 4. I also don’t typically do the green chillies because I never have them on hand, you can always add red pepper flakes for more heat if you don’t have them I typically do 3 to 4 pounds of meat at a time because this is great to freeze and meal plan with this recipe!

Excellent flavor. I don't really like chili but this is much better than the standard version. I cooked it in the crockpot and it was perfect.

My new favorite chili! It is fantastic. I made it with frozen butternut squash and it turned out great. Seasonings are perfect.

Sometimes I add a little cinnamon or replace butternut squash with sweet potatos for a little variety.

I underestimated this recipe — my bad.

Made it exactly to the recipe! S And have made it many , many times since!

Made as directed except no hominy. Squash needed much more than 20 minutes. I may try roasting first and mashing part to thicken the chili a bit.

Very good base recipe. I wll increase spices next time to give it a little more zing. Great combination of ingredients though. I love the diced red pepper in it!

Very tasty and easy to make. It is a recipe that I make over and over again.