Light Turkey V8 Chili is an easy and healthy 20 minute weeknight dinner idea with only 6 ingredients and a whole lot of flavor. This dish is loaded with nutrition from V8 juice, lean ground turkey and beans for a hearty meal the whole family will love. An added bonus – the leftovers are freezer friendly!

Light Turkey V8 Chili

Name: Light Turkey V8 Chili
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 medium onion (diced); 2 tsp. garlic diced; 1/2 tsp. salt; 20 oz. 99% lean ground turkey; 1.25 oz. packet McCormick Chili seasoning; 15 oz. can spicy chili beans (undrained); 2 c. V8 juice (use the spicy variety for an extra kick!)

Ok guys, let’s talk chili. I have something to admit, I was never a fan of it growing up! I know, I know, how can you not like Chili?! Well, my mom is a fan of beans so she would load her chili down with extra cans of beans and I just wasn’t a fan. I wasn’t a fan of the after effect those beans had on some of my family members either, but that is whole different story…

At the very least, she would religiously serve it with grilled cheese, so I had something I could eat for dinner. Personally, I would have much preferred she had gone with my childhood favorite, Rustic Italian Chicken Cacciatore!

My husband has recently hopped on the healthy eating bandwagon so I was brainstorming recipe ideas that he would not only like but that would work great for leftover lunches while I was at work. Turkey chili was the first obvious choice!

I used the 99% extra lean Jennie-O ground turkey, but I was nervous it would be a little too lean for his liking and he would miss all the fat from hamburger. I used a McCormick Chili packet and V8 juice to sneak in some extra nutrition while keeping it simple with only a few ingredients.

I enjoyed a bowl myself then packed up all the leftovers in freezer friendly containers. My husband was gone for the weekend on an ice fishing trip, so I anxiously awaited his feedback when he got back. Monday after work I called him to ask if he liked his lunch. He LOVED it! He didn’t comment at all on the meat being too lean and frankly I’m not quite sure he even realized it was made with turkey!

Needless to say, all of the Light Turkey V8 Chili disappeared before it could even make it’s way to the freezer! I will be whipping up a double batch soon and am thinking about topping some baked potatoes with this cold weather goodness and stashing the rest in the freezer for easy last minute meals.

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