Put your crock pot to work with this easy, protein-packed Slow Cooker Turkey Chickpea Chili. This is one of our favorite healthy chili recipes!
Meet my new favorite chili.
We’ve got chickpeas. And veggies. Some lean protein in the form of ground turkey (and more from the chickpeas!). And just enough spice to make both the grown ups and the kids happy. 🙂
That’s a quadruple win.
Wait a second. We need to add one more win to the list because this turkey and chickpea chili is made in the slow cooker! The slow cooking process allows the flavors plenty of time to develop, and it also means that come dinner time all you have to do is spoon this deliciousness into your bowl.
We like to serve this Slow Cooker Turkey Chickpea Chili with our favorite homemade biscuits or my homemade cornbread.
Perhaps most of all why I love this Slow Cooker Turkey Chickpea Chili is the fact that Julia loves it too. Those of you who have kids, I’m sure you can relate to my dinnertime struggles. When a recipe is a hit with the kids, it’s surely going on repeat in this house. (For the sake of full disclosure, I’m still working on getting William to love this one. A little cheese and some crushed tortilla chips on top are bringing him around. 😉 )
We’re in the middle of lots of wet weather here, and I’m craving all of the warm and comforting foods. There’s nothing better than using your slow cooker on cold, rainy days. I’ve been putting mine to work this week! What have you been cooking in your slow cooker lately?
My classic crock pot chili recipe is another favorite. It’s thick, rich and hearty!
More Favorite Chili Recipes
- Healthy Turkey Chili (make in your slow cooker, Instant Pot or stove)
- Vegetarian Chili
- Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
- Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
- White Chicken Chili (stove top recipe)
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
- Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili
Slow Cooker Turkey Chickpea Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 28 ounce can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 (15 ounces each) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- Optional toppings: sliced green onions, chopped red onion, crumbled tortilla chips, avocado, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and ground turkey and cook, breaking up the turkey, until meat is browned. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in the chicken broth, stir and scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow cooker.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 medium yellow onion, 1 pound ground turkey, 3 cloves garlic, 3 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth
- To the slow cooker, add the chili powder, cumin, dried oregano, onion powder, salt, pepper, bell peppers, diced tomatoes and chickpeas. Stir to combine.1 tablespoon chili powder, 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 1 red bell pepper, 1 yellow bell pepper, 28 ounce can petite diced tomatoes, 2 (15 ounces each) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Serve with toppings as desired and enjoy!
Post updated October 2025 with a retested and improved recipe. (I added 3 tablespoons of tomato paste and reduced the broth by 1/2 cup to make the chili thicker/less brothy and more flavorful.)
I think this would become my new favorite chili, too! I love the ingredients in here, Kristine! I’ve never made a chili with ground turkey before, and I’m loving the addition of chickpeas and veggies. Sounds just perfect!
Thank you, Gayle! Turkey chili is SO good, you have to try it!
I LOVE turkey chili — it’s my favorite! And this has so many wins that it has to be made! The chickpeas are such a nice addition with all those veggies, making this a perfect one pot stop!
Thank you, Marcie! Turkey chili is my favorite too!
We’re having a lot of rainy days here, too! This looks so hearty and perfect!
Thank you, Kelly! I guess we should enjoy the rain while we can. 🙂
This looks absolutely perfect for the weather we’ve been having here…it’s almost warm, but the wind is still SO cold. Love how healthy this is!
Our weather here can’t decide if it wants to be warm or cold, either. While I’m looking forward to spring, I am glad to be able to enjoy all of the warm comfort foods still!
Mmm slow cooker recipes are the best, and this chili looks fantastic! Love that you added chickpeas. This is so perfect for today’s rainy weather.
Thank you, Rachel! Yes, LOVE slow cooker recipes!
Have it in the crock pot now ??♂️ can’t wait to see how it turns out
Thank you again for another delicious recipe! I love chickpeas but unfortunately I didn’t realize that we were out so I had to use what I had and that was Great northern beans. Can’t wait to make this again with chickpeas! I would, however, prefer it to be a little less soupy. Any tips? Less broth?
Yes, using less broth will make it less soupy. I’m glad you enjoyed this!
I made this tonight and it went down a treat, tasty without being spicy for my youngest.
Delicious the night cooked, and leftover. I cooked it on the stove in a dutch oven. Only changes were adding a few slivers of jalapeno pepper to the post, and adding 1/4 cup purple onion. Served it with cilantro and gree onions, chopped, and a squeeze of lime juice.
This chili was good but I agree with another reviewer who thought it was soupy. Would a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste thicken it up a bit or will that substantially change the flavor?
I have been making this for years, and I love it. I was wondering if it’s possible to cook it on high, and if so, for how long?
I’m glad you’re enjoying this recipe! You can cook it on high for 3-4 hours.
Can I use lean ground beef instead of ground turkey?
Yes, you can. Enjoy!