Panera Turkey Chili Copycat
Warm up with a hot bowl of our copycat Panera turkey chili. This recipe is hearty, healthy, and has the perfect blend of spices. It's bursting with flavor and is packed with ground turkey, tender beans, and vegetables. Gluten free and dairy free.
Servings: 19 cups
Calories: 232kcal
Ingredients
Meat and Aromatics
- 4 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 pounds 85% lean ground turkey or 4 cups chopped turkey
- 2 cups yellow onion chopped
- 1 ½ cups carrots chopped
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced
Spices
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 4 ½ teaspoons salt
- 4 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- 4 teaspoons ancho chili pepper
- 4 teaspoons pasilla chili pepper freshly ground
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes crushed
Veggies and Liquids
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 8 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 13 charred tomatillos pureed
- 2 4-ounce cans fire roasted green chiles medium
- 2 tablespoons molasses
- 2 28-ounce cans petite diced tomatoes
- ¾ cup edamame shelled
- 2 cups frozen corn thawed
- 2 15-ounce cans dark red kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ½ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Optional Garnishes
- grated pepper jack cheese or pickled jalapenos for extra spiciness
- sour cream or sliced avocado
- tortilla strips
- cilantro
Instructions
- Turn the broiler on high, then line a large baking tray with foil. Remove the husks and stems from the tomatillos and wash them thoroughly. Cut them in half and place them cut side down on the foil, then char under the broiler until darkened, roughly 15-20 minutes. Remove from the tray and purée in a blender.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a large, heavy-bottomed pot at medium high heat and heat until shimmering. Cook the ground turkey until it's no longer pink, roughly 5 minutes. Drain the meat and set aside. If using leftover turkey, shred or chop into bite size pieces.
- Heat the other 2 tablespoons of oil in the pot over medium heat until shimmering, then cook the onion and carrot until soft while stirring, roughly 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, roughly 30 seconds.
- Add the spices to the aromatics and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the tomato paste and cook over medium heat, stirring for 2 minutes.
- Increase the heat to medium high, then slowly pour in ½ cup of chicken stock while scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden turner. This step will build more flavor.
- Add the rest of the chicken stock, green chilis, molasses, turkey, the pureed tomatillos, and the canned tomatoes. (The tomatillos will add flavor and help thicken the soup.) Stir with a large wooden spoon, then cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Dump in the shelled edamame, corn, red kidney beans, and the chickpeas. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. Cover and simmer for another 20 minutes.
- Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the cilantro and freshly squeezed lime juice.
- Garnish with grated pepper jack cheese, sour cream, tortilla strips, and chopped cilantro. Panera Bread serves their turkey chili plain with a side order of kettle chips, French baguette, or an apple. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Dried pasilla chilis can be found in a bag in the Mexican section of large grocery stores. Using a spice grinder, grind up one large chili with the stem removed.
- Use fresh tomatillos that are rinsed, cut in half, charred and then pureed.
- This is a great freeze it and forget it meal, so make extra.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 232kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 815mg | Potassium: 833mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2620IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 3mg
