I have some very picky eaters at my house, so imagine my surprise when I made this Chipotle Chocolate Chili for the first time last year and everyone ate it right up! This is no ordinary chili– the super-secret ingredient? Unsweetened chocolate. Wait! Come back! Have we led you astray yet? I didn’t think so. Hear me out…
The bones of this recipe come from Cooking Light. However, the consensus of the online reviews were that there was waaaay too much chocolate in the chili–they felt it tasted muddy and bitter. So when I made it, I kept that in mind. And then I started tasting and adding and simmering and adding some more. Until I got it right. And it’s so, so right.
I’m betting there are some chili cook offs in your future, so give this twist on an old classic a shot! And don’t be afraid to change things according to your personal tastes–that’s part of the magic of chili!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Lean ground turkey – I’d recommend 93/7, meaning 93% lean and 7% fat. 99% lean is 100% breast meat and can lack moisture and flavor. A blend of light and dark meat provide a nice, flavorful turkey that doesn’t dry out.
- Onion
- Bell pepper – The recipe calls for red, but feel free to use up whatever you have on hand!
- Fresh garlic
- Canned diced or crushed tomatoes
- Canned kidney beans
- Beef broth
- Brown sugar
- Chili powder
- Ground cumin
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Kosher salt
- Canned chipotle chilies in Adobo sauce – These canned chilies can be found in the Mexican/ Hispanic Foods aisle of your grocery store. They provide a smoky heat to the finished chili.
- Unsweetened baking chocolate – Grated or chopped. Find this in the baking aisle near the cocoa powder.
- Red wine vinegar
- Toppings as desired – Sour cream, chopped green onions, shredded cheese, Fritos, etc.
How to Make Chipotle Chocolate Chili
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Sauté onion, garlic, bell pepper, and ground turkey until meat is cooked through.
- Add salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, and unsweetened cocoa powder. Add the tomatoes, beans, and beef broth. Add all of the chipotle sauce from a small can of chipotle chilies.
- Heat to boiling and then reduce to a simmer (uncovered), stirring occasionally, until thickened as desired (I like it about 30-40 minutes). If desired, add some chopped chipotle chilies. Add 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar. Chop or grate 1/2 ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate and add a little at a time until desired richness is reached. If necessary, add more red wine vinegar to cut the sweetness of the chili. This is where you can play around a little with the flavors.
- When thickened and seasoned as desired, serve with chopped onions or green onions, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 4-5 days for best results.
- This chili freezes well. Freeze individual portions for a quick meal on busy days! Reheat gently over medium heat. You can always add a splash of broth or water if it seems too thick.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Chili is great reheated, so feel free to make it a day in advance and heat up gently over medium heat when you’re ready to eat.
I mean, you CAN, but I highly suggest giving it a try as written!
Sure! As written it’s not too incredibly spicy, but you could always cut back on the chilies in Adobo sauce. You could also use smoked paprika in place of the chilies to achieve a smoky flavor without the spice. If you’d like it spicier, feel free to add more chilies or some chipotle powder.
Chipotle Chocolate Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey lean
- 1 onion, large chopped
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 2 15-oz. cans diced or crushed tomatoes
- 2 14.5-oz. cans kidney beans drained
- 1 15-oz. can beef broth
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 can chipotle chilies in Adobo sauce
- ½ oz. unsweetened baking chocolate grated or chopped
- 3-4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- Toppings: sour cream, chopped green onions, and shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, bell pepper, and ground turkey until meat is cooked through.
- Add salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, and unsweetened cocoa powder. Add the tomatoes, beans, and beef broth.
- Add all of the chipotle sauce from a small can of chipotle chilies, straining out any seeds. Heat to boiling and then reduce to a simmer (uncovered), stirring occasionally, until thickened as desired (I like it about 30-40 minutes). If desired, add some chopped chipotle chilies, but be aware they are very spicy. Add 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar.
- Chop or grate ½ ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate and add a little at a time until desired richness is reached. If necessary, add more red wine vinegar to cut the sweetness of the chili. This is where you can play around a little with the flavors.
- When thickened and seasoned as desired, serve with chopped onions or green onions, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese.
Notes
- The nutritional information was calculated without the use of toppings.
- Store finished chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 4-5 days for best results.
- This chili freezes well. Freeze individual portions for a quick meal on busy days! Reheat gently over medium heat. You can always add a splash of broth or water if it seems too thick.
Questions & Reviews
Made this last night to use up some chipotles I had opened. My husband was incredibly skeptical when I told him I was using a “new” chili recipe because he regularly requests my “regular” chili. As soon as he took a couple of bites he said this should be my new “regular” chili recipe. Delish & thanks!
This was delicious and easy to make! Haven’t tried a recipe I didn’t like! You guys are ah-maze-ing!
This is Cincinnati Style Chili! I live in Cincinnati, so I can get it on every corner – i’m sure it’s slightly different than what you’ve made here but here you either love Skyline or Goldstar – one has chocolate, the other has cinnamon! DEE-LISH!!
I decided to try this chili a couple of weeks ago and I thought it came out great. But the best compliment I got on it was just when my sister — who normally hates chili — told me she kept thinking about how good it was and asked if I would make it again!
Since it was a cooking Light recipe, do you have the nutrition info for this recipe?
Jamie, I tweaked it so much that I don’t think the original CL nutritional info will be relevant at all. There are lots of sites that calculate nutrtional info, though–try googling spark people recipes.
kristennw–Yep, very freezer-friendly! Most soups are, just be careful of the cream-based ones or ones with bread/dumplings/noodles in them.
I am excited to try this recipe but am curious how spicy it is with the chipotle sauce. My husband has a very low tolerance for spice.
I would just add a tiny bit at a time to taste- you can control the spice that way. I have a low tolerance myself!
Was excited to try something different other than my regular homemade chili from my garden stewed tomatoes. Had never done chipotle peppers,wasn’t even sure what they were. googled how hot on the Scoville scale they were(it does not say how hot they are on the can just FYI) I like hot spicy, husband does not this was way off the Hot scale chart for all of us. I had to pull all the peppers out and just use the sauce, which was good flavor but still very hot hot hot hot even my throat hurts! And thankfully, I bought two size cans, as recipe doesn’t state size or ounce and I used the smaller size and still picked all the dried peppers out of it before they got cooked in. My husband even scolded me and said why would you make this and I said hey the lady said her “family was very very picky and even they enjoyed it and that it would win an award at a chill cook off”.! lol yeah my son couldn’t even finish a bowl and he is the kind that goes and gets Subway with a hot habanero bread, hot habanero peppers, jalapeño cheese anything with hot sauce and like I said he was in the bathroom and couldn’t even finish his bowl! We all had good laugh. It was very good flavor but way too hot and I didn’t even add chili seasoning. So be ware add to taste for sure and start small first .
Do you think this would freeze ok?
Hi, Kim! You can either use 2 15-oz. cans or 1 28-oz. can. Hope that helps!
Does anyone know how big a can of diced tomatoes to use? I only have giant cans in my grocery store, but the pic doesn't look that big.
Made this last night (minus the chipotle sauce) and ohhmygoodness!!! I normally stay away from ANYTHING with ANY kind of bean… but this was absolutely incredible!!! Best comfort food ever!!