White Bean Turkey Chili: Gluten-Free, 30 Minutes - Healthy Hearty Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What to add to chili to make it healthier? ›

Stir in Some Beans

Instead, use beans in your healthy chili to add fiber and stretch your dish healthfully and inexpensively. You can use one type of beans, such as kidney beans or black beans, or mix several types for a variety.

Ground turkey, when compared to ground beef, has lower levels of saturated fat—making it a better choice for heart health—and is lower in calories. Lentils are well-known to vegetarians and are a solid option for adding texture, protein, and deliciousness to chili; plus, they're good for you.

Turkey Chili With Beans (1 cup) contains 19.3g total carbs, 13.7g net carbs, 7.5g fat, 19.4g protein, and 218 calories.

Make Chili With Ground Turkey

The lower the saturated fat, the less detrimental it is to your cholesterol level. Even better, "No one can tell the difference," says Gebo, who uses ground turkey all the time to make chili. Ground turkey also makes a great substitute for ground beef in dishes like meatballs or meatloaf.

Cocoa Powder

Chocolate might not be the first thing you think of when you're making a batch of chili but it pairs perfectly with peppers. Adding just a teaspoon or two of unsweetened cocoa powder like we do in our Instant Pot Chili (pictured above) will make your go-to recipe rich and flavorful.

Most Common Chili Spices. Cumin, Chile Powders, and Paprika are the most common spices in chili followed by garlic, onion, coriander, Mexican oregano, and bay leaves. These ingredients can be combined to create a savory and well-balanced pot of top notch comfort food.

The bottom line is yes—it is okay to include ground turkey in your diet regularly, though as with any food, it's crucial to eat it in moderation and variety in your food choices. Eating a diverse range of nutrient sources helps ensure you obtain all of the essential nutrients needed for enhancing overall health.

Ground beef and turkey are both nutritious meats that provide protein, fat, and a variety of vitamins and minerals. Turkey is generally lower in saturated fat than beef. As such, it may be a better choice for heart health. Fat-free turkey is also the lowest calorie option if you're interested in weight loss.

Kidney Beans

Kidney beans are commonly used in popular recipes like chili and rice dishes. These slightly sweet, soft beans are loaded with nutrients such as fiber, folate, protein, magnesium, manganese, and potassium.

How many calories in a bowl of White Bean Chili? ›

One 15.5-ounce serving of White Bean Chili contains 540calories. When broken down into macros, it has 50 grams of protein, 16 grams of fat, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of sugar, and 560 milligrams of sodium.

White beans are a nutritional powerhouse, as they're packed with fiber and protein and a good source of numerous micronutrients, including folate, magnesium, and vitamin B6. A 1-cup (170-gram) serving of cooked white beans provides ( 1 ): Calories: 242. Protein: 17 grams.

Potatoes are rich in soluble fibre, which can be consumed by high cholesterol patients without any confusion. Consuming potatoes not only maintains the cholesterol level, but the body also gets many health benefits. Consumption of potatoes in cholesterol is safe only if you consume it properly.

Due to its high amount of unsaturated fats, peanut butter may help reduce a person's LDL cholesterol levels. Having optimal LDL levels is linked with a lower risk of heart disease. A 2015 study found that people who had a high intake of nuts may have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.

Reduce saturated fats.

Saturated fats, found primarily in red meat and full-fat dairy products, raise your total cholesterol. Decreasing your consumption of saturated fats can reduce your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol — the "bad" cholesterol.

Tomatoes and other veggies used in chili can provide you with plenty of other health benefits. Adding in extra vegetables increases the antioxidant and fiber content, along with all of the nutrients that various vegetables provide.

If you want more of a smoky flavor, add cumin, Spanish paprika, ancho chili powder, or a combination. If you are looking for more heat, add cayenne, crushed red pepper, or Hungarian paprika. If it's too spicy add a little brown sugar and some sweet paprika.

You can still have a perfectly healthy bowl of chili with ground beef, but using turkey instead—like in this simple Turkey Chili recipe—helps you keep the protein levels high while significantly lowering the calorie and fat content.

Starchy foods like bread and albumin proteins in eggs can also help prevent capsaicin from binding with nerve receptors. Serve chile-loaded food with a starch side, like rice, boiled potatoes, or bread; some recipes might also benefit from adding these ingredients, like chunks of boiled potatoes in a spicy curry.