Turkey Sausage Jalapeño White Bean Chili

Turkey Sausage Jalapeno White Bean Chili is a robust and flavorful chili, with red onion, butternut squash and red & yellow bell peppers.  This chili’s got plenty of heat, with some fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice to balance it all out, and it’s so hearty, you don’t even need cornbread!

My love of football goes deeper than just watching the game.  When I was younger, I would play football after church every Sunday with my youth group, rain or shine, and I loved every minute of it.  Tom boy?  Yes — I would choose playing football over cheerleading any day of the week.  🙂

Yesterday was my son’s last flag football practice, so his coaches decided it would be fun to have a parents vs. kids game.  My husband was working, and I was totally down with playing.  Four parents showed up yesterday, so it was eight 7th & 8th graders vs. the four of us, and yeah, I was the only female.   I jammed my finger closest to my pinky on my left hand on my first catch, and it immediately started swelling up.  Seriously!  I was ticked, but I kept playing.  Smart move, probably not, but us parents showed those kids we still had it, and that was what counted.  Not a swollen, black and blue finger, but bragging rights.  Never mind the fact that we really felt our age today. 🙂

Why am I telling you all this?  Because my typing skills are suffering from “the BIG game”.  My finger is so swollen I can’t bend it, so typo’s are abundant.  Was it worth it?  Oh yeah.  And at least it was my left hand. 🙂

Now, I’d chopped all my ingredients and cooked this chili before the game, and also whipped up another batch of my Buttery Maple Skillet Cornbread, so it was all waiting for us when we got home.  Was I ever glad I didn’t have to lift a finger when I got home….no pun intended there.

This chili was beyond my wildest dreams good, too.  I started making it without any real plan, but sometimes the best things happen when you wing it.  This was the first time I made chili with turkey sausage, and talk about extra flavor without even trying!  I buy Diestel brand turkey sausage, and I love it for pasta sauce, etc. because there are no casings to deal with.  Gotta love that.

I had butternut squash on the counter, some red and yellow bell peppers, jalapeños, and a gorgeous red onion calling my name.  I tossed in the holy trinity in spices — chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika, because every chili has to have them, do they not?  I opted not to go the tomato sauce route because my kids aren’t fans, so iI used chicken stock instead, with just a tablespoon of tomato paste to give it just enough tomato flavor.  I mashed half of the beans with some chicken broth to thicken the chili, and that was that.

When the chili was done, I stirred in some fresh chopped cilantro and lime juice, and my masterpiece was complete.  Rarely do I taste something and think it’s perfect, but this wow’d me!  I honestly think it’s the best pot of chili I’ve made, because it’s so robust and flavorful, and the ingredients just compliment each other 100%.  I loved it so much, I didn’t even care about eating a wedge of my cornbread at all, and just ate some more chili.   This satisfies the heartiest of appetites, especially after a hard game of football. 🙂

Turkey Sausage Jalapeño White Bean Chili

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Turkey Sausage Jalapano White Bean Chili is a robust and flavorful chili that's so hearty and delicious, you don't even need cornbread!

Serves: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 16 ounces turkey sausage, casings removed I used Diestel brand, which was free of casings)
• 1 medium red onion, peeled, halved, and coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 small yellow bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 cup butternut squash, chopped into 1" cubes
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 15 ounce can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups chicken stock, divided
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in large pot or Dutch oven. Add the turkey sausage, breaking up with wooden spoon, stirring occasionally until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Set aside.
2. Add the red onion to the pan, cooking until softened, about 5 minutes, adding more oil if the pan becomes dry. Add the garlic, bell peppers, and jalapeños, and sauté for 2 minutes or until slightly softened. Add the butternut squash and spices, and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste, then add 1¾ cups of the chicken stock. Mix the remaining ¼ cup chicken stock in a bowl with half of the beans, and mash. Stir this into the pot and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer on low heat until the butternut squash is tender, about 10 minutes. Add the turkey sausage and remaining beans, and simmer another 10- 15 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped cilantro and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy!

Notes

Total time above includes chopping your own butternut squash. You can save time by buying it pre-chopped!

Recipe by Flavor the Moments.

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