Enjoy the best of 2 comfort foods with these hearty and easy turkey chili twice-baked potatoes! Loaded with healthy and easy turkey chili, and topped with Greek yogurt (a figure-friendly substitute for sour cream), these are a real upgrade on your ordinary twice-baked potato!
I feel like twice-baked potatoes are a pretty classic food to eat. Twice-baked potatoes are sincerely one of my greatest vices. They contain a (not-so) delicate tapestry of beautifully indulgent elements – sour cream, bacon, cheeeese. But, unfortunately, the presence of these culprits means they’re usually loaded with fat. Not to mention, twice-baked potatoes usually don’t constitute a full meal.
I’m breaking down both borders today by sharing with you a recipe for healthy twice-baked potatoes that double as a main course! How? Because I’m stuffing them with simple, hearty and easy turkey chili! You’d be surprised at how filling these twice-baked potatoes become once they’re stuffed with a little chili. I find that usually, one potato (and by that, I mean one stuffed potato skin, not, like, a whole potato) is enough for a single serving – especially if you pair it with a light side salad. However, I wouldn’t want to limit you if you find yourself wanting seconds!
Chili spice blends are pretty simple: they usually contain various proportions of chili powder (duh), cumin, garlic powder, etc. Most contain cayenne pepper; however, since I haven’t had any on hand lately, I used crushed red pepper flakes instead. I always have red pepper flakes in my pantry, so it was an easy swap!
Also, here’s the secret to this Easy Turkey Chili recipe: you have to really reduce the chili. Luckily, there’s no better time to reduce chili-like crazy than while waiting for your potatoes to bake in the oven. Multitasking, people! The reason we want to reduce the chili is that we don’t want a big liquid mess when we try mixing the chili with the potato. I want them to combine, but I don’t want to lose the potato-y part of the twice-baked potato. It’s gotta be sturdy!
The pièce de resistance is really when you finally scoop the chili/potato mixture back into the potato skins. This is the part where things come together, and it starts resembling a twice-baked potato. Don’t worry if you end up with more chili than potato skin real estate. You can easily mold the filling and pack a lot into the potato skins.
You also get to top them with as much shredded cheese as you’d like – consider it an optional bit of indulgence in an otherwise healthy dish. Then just boil the potatoes until the cheese is all melted, and serve!
PS – Greek yogurt is a great alternative to the traditional sour cream topping. It’s still delightfully tangy and creamy, but it saves you a few calories. You can hardly tell the difference, especially when you’ve got a forkful of chili and chives. The final product is a combination of two classic comfort foods: hearty and Easy Turkey Chili and cheesy twice-baked potatoes. A total flavor knockout!
Bonus: You will have leftovers from this Easy Turkey Chili. I like to take this for lunch the next day and spread it on some good whole-grain toast!
Hearty and Easy Turkey Chili Twice-Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
3 large russet potatoes - scrubbed and dried
2 tablespoons olive oil - divided
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 pound ground turkey (minced turkey) - lean
1 medium yellow onion - diced
1 medium green pepper (green capsicum) - diced
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 tablespoon chili powder (chilli powder in British English)
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes - crushed
1 can tomato - 28-ounce, partially drained
1½ cups cheddar cheese - shredded
1 cup Greek yogurt - for serving
2 tablespoons chives - chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Prick the russet potatoes all over with a fork, then rub with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes, flipping halfway. You want the skins to be crispy and the insides to be tender.
- In the meantime, make the chili. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Cook the ground turkey until browned, about 5 minutes. Hit it with a hint of salt and pepper, just to gently flavor the meat. Add the onions, peppers, and garlic, and sauté for another 5-8 minutes, until the vegetables become slightly tender.
- Next, add the spices, and combine. Make sure you drain some of the liquid from the canned tomatoes before adding them to the mix. You don’t have to drain the full can, because some of the liquid will be good, but you don’t want the chili to be too liquidy.
- Allow the chili to come to a boil, and then simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring every so often. You want the chili to reduce by at least half! Once it is reduced, taste the chili and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
- When the potatoes are done, let them cool for about 5 minutes before handling (you don’t want to burn yourself)! Cut them in half lengthwise, and scoop out most of the flesh, leaving about a ¼ inch border. Place the potato flesh into a bowl.
- Add approximately half to three-quarters of the chili to the bowl and mix gently with the potato. Scoop the mixture back into the potato skins and top with shredded cheese (as much as you’d like).
- Place the potatoes back on the baking sheet and broil for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Serve topped with a scoop of Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of chopped chives!
