Lazy Turkey Edamame Chili: all of the flavors you love, but a little lighter.
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We all know that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. In the case of children, its the whiny wheel. The whining of a child can get under your skin in ways few other man-made noises can. But there is one sound that effects me even more. The sound of silent suffering. Especially when it comes from one of my own children. For years number 3 quietly ate chili. I don’t know where my head was or who else was distracting me, but I never noticed a lack of enthusiasm. Until somewhat recently, when she was the only one of her siblings at the dinner table. I noticed she was eating, but very gingerly. When I asked what was wrong she sheepishly replied that she doesn’t like beans.

WHAT?!?!? I had been obliviously serving beans for years in various formats. This information rocked my world! When I asked why she never mentioned it (let alone whined about it!) She just said it was fine and that she always manages. Oh the guilt!!!!!! How did I miss this?

So if you are clicking around this website and notice an inordinate number of “bean free” adaptations, now you know why. Ever since that day, I have bent over backwards to find a “bean free” solution to every bean-dependent recipe I came across. Lazy Turkey Edamame Chili is one such recipe. Interestingly, the team not only LOVES this version, they request it more often than traditional chili. Maybe your team will too! Now, when do I get to stop feeling guilty????
Lazy Turkey Edamame Chili Hacks
- I use frozen, shelled edamame for this recipe.
- I always keep large quantities of browned ground beef and turkey in my freezer for recipes like this one. Since I like to buy the meet on sale and brown it in large quantities, I use my slow cooker (shocking, I know!). This is how I do it.
- I personally prefer turkey to ground beef. But if you don’t, beef will work just as well in this recipe.
- This recipe freezes really well. The edamame has the same consistence even after reheating. I love to make a full batch and then freeze in individual sized portions.
- As always, I love my slow cooker liners! They make clean up so much easier. However they are fully optional if you are not a fan.
- The recipe below include instructions for mixing your own chili seasoning. If you would prefer to skip that step, you can substitute with a pre-mixed chili seasoning such as this one.
Lazy Turkey Edamame Chili
Equipment
- 4 qt or larger slow cooker
- slow cooker liner (optional)
- Measuring cups/spoons
- large spoon for mixing
- Ladle for serving
Ingredients
Chili Seasoning (This makes more seasoning than you will need for this recipe. The following ingredients will fill an 8oz jar).
- ½ cup chili powder
- ¼ cup cumin
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
Turkey-Edamame Chili ingredients
- 2.5 lbs browned ground turkey about 3 lbs before browning
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 30 oz diced tomato I use canned
- 30 oz tomato sauce I use basic canned tomato sauce
- 16 oz frozen edamame shelled
- ⅓ cup chili seasoning (see above recipe) can use a premixed packed of chili seasoning her if you prefer
- ½ cup red wine not sweet
- 2 tsp kosher or sea salt
Instructions
To make chili seasoning
- add all ingredients and stir well. This should make enough chili seasoning to perfectly fill an 8oz jar.
- Store unused seasoning in an airtight jar, container or bag for future use,
- If you would prefer, you can use a pre-made package of chili seasoning instead of mixing your own here.
To make chili
- line slow cooker with slow cooker liner (optional)
- place browned, ground turkey in slow cooker vessel
- add green pepper, onion, diced tomato (along with all the juice from the cans), tomato sauce, frozen edamame, chili seasoning, wine and salt.
- stir all ingredients to mix
- If you prefer a spicier chili, you can add more of the chili seasoning mix.
- cook 6 – 8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
- Enjoy!
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