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This Turkey Bacon Chili Mac is a perfect weeknight dinner the whole family goes nuts for!
This time of year is so great to be in the kitchen. I don’t know if it’s the cooler weather or what, but I love breaking out my big cast iron pots and whipping up a new hearty recipe.
We have chili on a very regular basis and I have been wanting to put a fun new twist on it for a while now. I decided it would be fun to create a Turkey Bacon Chili Mac. It was a huge hit with my boys. We had it as leftovers for a few days too. Comfort food in a pot. Win!
Hope you enjoy!
You’ll need some chopped red bell peppers, chopped onion and a mild green chili pepper. I used an Anaheim.
Saute those babies until softened.
Add two pounds of ground turkey and season.
Once the turkey is browned, add your broth, tomatoes and tomato paste.
Add your cumin and chili powder.
I added a small packet of dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning. This is optional, but it went great with the turkey and bacon. You could add 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt if you choose to leave the Ranch seasoning out.
Add some cooked pasta and your bacon.
Let simmer until ready to serve. Mmmm!
[ziplist]
Turkey Bacon Chili Mac
Prep time: 15 min | Cook time: 13 min | Total time: 30 min
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup chopped white onion
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup diced Anaheim green chile or other mild chile
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 pounds lean ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 36 ounces broth, I used chicken
- 10 ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes, mild
- 4 ounces tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 packet dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning
- 4 cups cooked (slightly undercooked) Ditalini pasta
- 20 strips cooked, crumbled bacon pieces (I used the microwave ready)
Directions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, red bell pepper, green chili and garlic. Cook and stir until softened, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add turkey, salt and pepper. Cook until crumbled and browned. Add broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, garlic salt and Ranch Dressing Seasoning. Stir to combine.
- Stir in cooked pasta and bacon pieces. Simmer on low until ready to serve. Serve with chopped green onions if desired.
Makes 12-15 Servings
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Perfect meal for a chilly day!
I love the comfort of this recipe! Perfect for fall and winter.
Bacon and chili are two of my favorite things! Pass me a bowl!
Mine too Lauren 🙂 xo
Love this family meal!!!
Yum! This totally helps when feeding a big crowd…or small group with big appetite. Very comforting, indeed.
This would be a great recipe to put together at the end of the day, and I am sure the leftovers would be just as good or better.
The leftovers were great, my boys loved it for days 🙂
Full of delicious comfort!
This looks FANTASTIC Jenny. My family would love this!
Thanks Sandy! Can’t wait to see you tomorrow!!
Perfect for this weather. Thanks
Easy comforting foods when its chilly outside. It makes me want to put on stretchy pants go sit by the fire with a big bowl of this chili mac.
Haha! Me too Meagan 🙂 xo
What a great chili dinner. Love the “mac” part! (so would my kids!)
Thanks Aggie! My boys ate the leftovers for days 🙂
This looks great! I love a hearty noodle stew/mac!
major comfort food Jenny!
Love this flavor combo! Great dinner idea!
I must try this soon! A savory, gorgeous, dish! I love fall comfort food!
Look at ALL of that bacon! This looks SO good, Jenny!
Thanks so much Julie!!
This looks SO hearty and delicious for the upcoming fall weather. Anything with bacon in it is certainly worth trying!!
Thanks Jessica! WE love Bacon in our house 🙂
Made this last night – it was a big hit! And tons leftover! This will become a standard this fall and winter.
This is a great chili dish for a cold day. I substituted black beans for the pasta. And everyone loved the dish at the pot luck dinner.
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!