Healthy Chili Recipes

Canned pumpkin adds mellow background flavor and works to thicken up this turkey pumpkin chili. Smoked paprika adds flavor with a hint of spice. This chili is on the thicker side—if you want it thinner, add a bit more water.

This butternut squash and black bean chili is a satisfying vegetarian meal. Load up bowls of the butternut squash chili and top with Greek yogurt, cilantro and minced red onion. Or skip the yogurt and keep this healthy dinner vegan.

This healthy vegetarian chili has a fragrant touch of cinnamon for added flavor. Let diners top it with whatever suits their taste.

In this healthy casserole recipe--sometimes called tamale pie--the cornbread gets crusty at the edges, thanks to a cast-iron skillet. For the best texture, use yellow cornmeal with a medium grind. Serve with lime wedges for a little extra tang.

This easy, one-skillet casserole is packed with heat thanks to two kinds of peppers, poblanos and jalapeño. If you want to increase the spice level, leave the seeds in the jalapeño. Finish with your favorite toppings like Cheddar, cilantro and crumbled tortilla chips.

Parsnips lend a wonderful sweet and nutty flavor to this healthy white bean chili. Using an Instant Pot (or any other pressure cooker) means this hearty chili can be ready in under an hour, but it still tastes like it's simmered away for hours. Pureeing some of the chili gives the stew a nice creaminess, but feel free to skip that step to save time. Garnish the chili with cheese and sour cream for a richer meal, or serve it as-is to keep it vegan.

This satisfying vegetarian chili for two is studded with black beans and sweet potatoes. Serve with some warmed corn tortillas and tossed salad with orange segments and avocado.

This rib-sticking bean chili is richly flavored with cumin, chili, paprika, oregano and an assortment of peppers. Use whatever beans you have in your pantry.

A bowl of this healthy white chicken chili packs a whopping 22 grams of protein in each serving and is appropriate for a diabetes-friendly diet. Consider topping this white chili with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream to reduce calorie and fat content while still getting a creamy texture.

This mashup of the classic cheesy dip chile con queso with the beans and vegetables of a chili is the best of both worlds.

This hearty turkey chili recipe takes just 35 minutes to prep. While it's cooking, you'll have time to throw together a green salad and warm up some crusty bread to complete the meal.

This vegan lentil chili is easy and satisfying, with earthy flavors balanced by spices. Use this basic chili recipe to customize with your favorite add-ins.

This mild-flavored chili is lower in sodium than most canned chilis or chili seasoning blends.

This Instant Pot vegetarian chili recipe is full of healthy veggies and two kinds of beans. Chipotle chiles give it a hint of smoke and a nice kick. Top this quick and easy chili with cheese and sour cream, or enjoy it as a vegan chili by garnishing with veggies such as avocado, sliced jalapeños, onions, radishes and scallions or cilantro.

This classic chili recipe features beef, beans and shredded sweet potatoes for a nutritional boost. The sweet potato blends into the chili so well that even picky eaters will gobble it up.

This rib-sticking chili offers a hearty mix of wheat berries, beans, peppers and onion. Feel free to add an additional chipotle pepper to crank up the heat in this one-pot meal. Cooked wheat berries will keep for up to 1 month in your freezer and there's no need to thaw them; just stir them directly into the chili.

Chili cooks in just 15 minutes when it's made in a multicooker. The beef gets infused with the flavors of chili powder and cumin. Shredded cheese, scallion and sour cream round out the meal, but feel free to garnish with whatever toppings you choose.

Anything but dainty, this healthy cowboy beef and bean chili recipe is hearty with the addition of mushrooms and beer. To keep the saturated fat low, we use one pound of ground beef and add whole-grain bulgur to boost the volume and fiber in this chili recipe. After all the ingredients are added to the pot, we like to slowly simmer our chili for close to an hour to develop the best flavor, but if you're in a hurry, reduce the liquid by half and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

Refried beans and tomatoes provide a thick base to this easy vegetarian chili. Frozen vegetables keep prep to a minimum. Enchilada sauce and chipotle peppers in adobo work as a "chili starter" with lots of flavor and spices built in. This recipe uses part of a can of refried beans—serve the rest alongside eggs for breakfast, use them in a taco for lunch or add them to a dip for chips anytime. This healthy chili also keeps well in the fridge or freezer.

Three beans are better than one in this slow cooker chili recipe. Each type adds a distinctive flavor and texture.

For a fall open house, make this beef chili in the slow cooker. As guests arrive, set out chips and cheese and let them help themselves to a bowl.

This light but filling vegan quinoa chili is packed with fresh veggies, with quinoa and black beans adding protein and fiber. Complete this easy one-pot dinner with vegan cheese, dairy-free yogurt or your favorite chili toppings.

This light, white vegetarian chili packs plenty of punch from poblanos and green chiles and is packed with fiber-rich beans and veggies. Top it with a bit of shredded cheese, a dollop of sour cream, sliced radishes, cilantro and diced avocado with a few wedges of lime on the side for a delicious whole meal in a bowl.

Ground turkey and canned kidney beans combine in this easy slow-cooker turkey chili. A tomato base, plus cumin and garlic powder, supplies plenty of flavor, while jalapeño and chili powder bring on the heat.