This Copycat Panera Turkey Chili recipe lets you make the comforting restaurant favorite at home! A big pot of turkey chili loaded with beans, tomatoes, corn, and even shelled edamame.
Panera's chili has more texture than your typical chili and great Tex-Mex flavor from the added ancho chili powder and salsa verde. If you're looking for other popular soup recipes, this crockpot chicken noodle soup is a classic and this Italian sausage gnocchi soup is super creamy.
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⭐Why I Love It:
- Filling - This chunky, hearty turkey chili is super filling on a chilly day. I love that it's filling enough on its own (especially with lots of toppings), but I also love to pair it with a bread like this no knead cheese bread.
- Loaded with Texture - What sets Panera's turkey chili apart is that it has two types of beans, edamame, and corn to give it extra texture!
- Tex-Mex Flavor - In addition to the traditional chili pepper, ancho chili pepper adds more smoky flavor.
🥘Ingredients and Equipment
- Oil - Such as olive oil or vegetable oil
- Ground Turkey
- Veggies/Aromatics - Onion, Carrot, and Garlic
- Canned Items - Tomato Paste, Petitie Diced Tomatoes, Green Chiles, Kidney Beans, Garbanzo Beans
- Frozen Shelled Edamame
- Frozen Fire Roasted Corn Kernels
- Chicken Broth
- Salsa Verde - Using this is the shortcut vs roasting tomatillos
- Spices - Chili Powder, Ancho Chili Powder, Ground Black Pepper, Kosher Salt, Dried Oregano, Ground Cumin, Cayenne Pepper
- Fresh Cilantro
- Lime Juice
- Dutch Oven or other Large Soup Pot – Pictured is a 6 qt dutch oven. Due to the tomato products in the chili, it’s important to use an enameled dutch oven vs straight cast iron. Acidic foods can cause corrosion to regular cast iron.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
🥑Chili Topping Ideas
One of the best parts about serving up a big bowl of chili is piling on the toppings! Some of my favorites are:
- Sour Cream - Plain greek yogurt is a great lighter swap
- Fresh Cilantro
- Shredded Cheese
- Diced Onions
- Avocado
- Fried Tortilla Strips
📖Substitutions and Variations
- Beans - Panera uses a mix of kidney beans and garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas), but you can use a different mix, if you prefer. Black beans are another great addition!
- Tomatillos for the Salsa Verde - Panera's chili has tomatillos that are roasted/charred and then pureed before being added. But to save time, I love using jarred salsa verde! If you have tomatillos on hand, you could take the homemade approach instead.
- Other Ground Meat - Instead of ground turkey, ground chicken or ground beef can be swapped in. For my favorite ground beef-based chili, try this Dutch Oven chili recipe.
- Slow Cooker - Instead of making the turkey chili on the stove top, you can make it in the slow cooker. You'll still want to cook the ground turkey and onion/carrots/garlic on the stove first before adding it to a slow cooker with the remaining ingredients. Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours.
🔪Step by Step Instructions
Making this copycat Panera Turkey Chili is simple and requires only 10 minutes of prep time.
Photo 1 - Heat up a large dutch oven with the oil to medium-high heat and cook the turkey, while crumbling, then remove to a plate. Add the onion and carrot and sauté until they are soft then add the garlic and spices and cook until just fragrant.
Photo 2 - Add the tomato paste and cook until brick red while stirring to combine. Add a little bit of the broth to deglaze the pan. Add the remaining ingredients (minus the corn, edamame, lime juice, and cilantro). Stir to combine, bring to a simmer, and lower the heat to keep it at a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes, covered.
Photo 3 - Stir in the shelled edamame and corn and simmer again, this time uncovered, for about 20 minutes.
Photo 4 - Remove from heat and to add some freshness, stir in the lime juice and fresh cilantro. Stir and serve with toppings of your choice.
💭Recipe Tips
- Brown the Turkey First – This step is crucial! You have to cook the ground meat first before simmering in the remaining ingredients.
- Adjust Broth Amount – You can adjust the amount of broth if you like a thicker or thinner chili.
🍽Leftovers, Freezing, and Reheating
- Leftovers – Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezing – This recipe also freezes well! After the chili has cooled, it can be frozen in freezer bags for up to 3 months.
- Reheating – Leftovers (refrigerated or frozen) can be reheated in the microwave or in a pot on the stove. For faster reheating, it’s best to thaw frozen chili in the fridge overnight.
👩🍳Recipe FAQs:
The chili is a mild spice level, but it's easy to adjust! If you love spice, then you can add more cayenne pepper to the chili
I recommend letting chili simmer on the stove for at least 30 minutes but you can let it simmer on low for up to 2 hours for extra flavor.
If you’re only simmering the chili for 30 minutes, then you can let it simmer uncovered so the liquid reduces slightly and the chili gets thicker. If you’re simmering for an hour or two, then you can leave the lid on to avoid too much evaporation and remove the lid in the last 30 minutes or so.
A dutch oven is a great size for making chili and it retains heat well so it’s great for browning the beef and simmering the chili. But it’s important to use an enameled dutch oven or a very well-seasoned cast iron dutch oven otherwise the acidity from the tomatoes can cause corrosion.
🍲Related Soup Recipes
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PrintRecipe
Panera Turkey Chili (Copycat)
This Copycat Panera Turkey Chili recipe lets you make the comforting restaurant favorite at home! A big pot of turkey chili loaded with beans, tomatoes, corn, and even shelled edamame. It has more texture than your typical chili and great Tex-Mex flavor from the added ancho chili powder and salsa verde.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings
- Category: Main, Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5-2 pounds lean ground turkey
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1.5 tablespoons ancho chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, adjust to taste
- 6 oz can tomato paste
- 2 15oz cans diced tomatoes, petite diced is preferred
- ¾ cup salsa verde
- 1 4oz can diced green chiles
- 1 15oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 15oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame
- 1 cup frozen fire roasted corn kernels
- 6-8 cups low sodium chicken broth or stock
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
Instructions
- Cook Turkey - Heat up a large dutch oven with the oil to medium-high heat. Once hot, add the ground turkey and cook, while crumbling, until fully cooked and crumbled. Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked turkey to a plate.
- Cook Carrots and Onion - Add the onion and carrot and sauté until they are soft. About 4-5 minutes. Once the veggies are softened, add the garlic and spices and cook until just fragrant.
- Add Tomato Paste - Add the tomato paste and cook until brick red while stirring to combine. Add a little bit of the broth to deglaze the pan and stir to combine (scrape any bits from the bottom).
- Simmer - Add the remaining ingredients (minus the corn, edamame, lime juice, and cilantro). Adjust the amount of broth based on your preference - thinner chili vs thicker. Stir to combine, bring to a simmer, and lower the heat to keep it at a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes, covered.
- Add Edamame and Corn - Stir in the shelled edamame and corn and simmer again, this time uncovered, for about 20 minutes.
- Finish and Serve - Remove from heat and to add some freshness, stir in the lime juice and fresh cilantro. Stir and serve with toppings of your choice.
Notes
Adjust Broth Amount – You can adjust the amount of broth if you like a thicker or thinner chili.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 588
- Sugar: 15.7 g
- Sodium: 1346.2 mg
- Fat: 21.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 62.8 g
- Fiber: 16.6 g
- Protein: 44.9 g
- Cholesterol: 84.1 mg
Lainey says
This is so good. I made it as written except for replacing the green chilis with a can of Rotel.
Kathleen Hansen says
Hotel sounds like a great swap!
Kristen says
My family loved this chili. I used 6 cups of the broth and it was plenty. I kept all spices as listed, which I thought would be a lot, but provided excellent flavor! After cooking on the stovetop, I did place into crockpot on low for 3 hours, then just kept warm for a few more hours. The additional time seemed to work well to infuse all of the flavors.
Kathleen Hansen says
So glad you all loved it! Thank you for your comment 🙂 Great hack to use the crockpot to keep warm!
Sarah | Well and Full says
This looks delicious! I love a good copycat recipe 🙂
Kathleen Hansen says
Thank you!
Sharon says
I made this today. My family loved it. I did cut the spices in half and left out the green chilies. I will make this again.
Kathleen Hansen says
I’m so glad you loved! And love that you adjusted to suit your family’s tastes. Thank you for your comment 🙂
Robin Hansen says
This is amazing!!! Love the corn!!!