Delicious Keto Chili Recipe Ideas
You can make your chili with ground beef, but there are also chicken and turkey options that are just as delicious. Here are a few ideas you can add to your meal ideas that taste great and won’t make you feel like you’re missing out on the carbs.
Is Chili Keto?
Technically, chili is a keto food since it doesn’t contain obvious carbohydrates like grains and is mostly made of ground meat, which is full of protein. You can also add other low-carb vegetables like butternut squash or sweet potatoes to enhance the taste of the chili, add nutrients like vitamin A and iron and make the meal more satisfying.
To ensure that you’re staying within the carb count for your keto meal, you can make the chili without beans or add half a serving of white or kidney beans. Beans add protein to the chili, but too many of them can make the meal too high in carbs.
Keto Chicken Chili Ideas
If you love chili but prefer chicken instead of ground beef, which is traditionally used for chili, you can follow several recipe variations to get the flavors you want. You can roast or sautee chicken breasts with fresh herbs, cumin and sea salt with olive oil and shred the chicken to prepare it for the chili. You’ll need a pound of chicken breast to make an entire pot of chili. You’ll also need:
- 1 ½ cups of chicken broth
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1 can of chopped green chilis
- 1 diced jalapeno
- ½ a diced onion
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 ounces of cream cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cayenne, cumin and oregano to taste
Instructions:
- After you shred the chicken, put it to the side and sautee the veggies in a pot.
- Add the broth and allow the mixture to cook down for a few minutes.
- Soften the cream cheese and combine it with the whipping cream.
- Add the cream mixture to the pot as well. Allow all the ingredients to cook for about 15 minutes on low to medium heat.
- When the chili is done cooking, you can top it with shredded white cheddar or jack cheese and sliced avocado.
Here is the nutritional profile for keto chicken chili:
Fat | Protein | Fiber | NET Carbs | Total Carbs | Calories |
30g | 39g | 1g | 4g | 4g | 481 |
As you can see, this meal helps you stay under your carb and calorie count and keeps hunger at bay. You can also take the chili to work or school and have it for lunch. Bring a few chopped fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro to sprinkle on top to enhance the flavor of the chili and improve digestion.
Keto Turkey Chili Ideas
If you prefer ground turkey in your chili, you can customize this recipe to your liking as well. You can prepare the ground turkey the same way you would ground beef. Use high-quality olive oil to cook the meat and add your favorite taco seasonings. You can also use liquid aminos and coconut vinaigrette to enhance the taste of the chili.
If you want to add vegetables to the chili, you can sautee onions, celery and tomatoes to add to the turkey for added nutrition. Onions have antimicrobial and digestive properties, tomatoes are rich in lycopene, which helps protect the body against cancer and celery is a natural diuretic that helps eliminate water weight. You can give the turkey more of a chili consistency by adding tomato paste and beef broth for a creamier consistency.
Customizing Your Keto Chili Recipe
You can make your chili recipe your own by adding homemade guacamole with sea salt, olive oil, chopped onions and minced garlic. You can also make parmesan crisps to eat with your chili. If you normally eat chili with rice but are trying to follow the keto diet, you can use cauliflower instead. Of course, you can also top your chili with cheese, which is keto-friendly. If you’re trying to limit your dairy intake while still on the keto diet, there are several dairy-free kinds of cheese made from almond or pea protein that will make your meal complete.
Keto Chili Instant Pot Ideas
If you want to make your keto chili in an instant pot or crockpot, you can add several ingredients to enhance the flavor of the dish. Since the chili will cook in the pot for hours at a time, fresh herbs are a great choice to improve digestion and make the dish especially savory without adding too much salt.
To make your chili both keto and paleo, you can make your instant pot chili without beans. Beans are too high in carbs to consume regularly when you’re paleo and you should limit them on the keto diet as well. If you want to make bean-less chili, you can combine a combination of ground turkey or chicken with fire-roasted tomatoes, chili powder, sea salt, pepper and chopped onions and peppers. You can also mix a little chicken or beef broth with almond or cassava flour to form a paste and add this to the chili to make it thicker. You can put these ingredients in the pot in the morning before work or school and it will be ready to eat in time for dinner.
You can also make your keto chili dinner, especially filling by making cornbread from almond flour as a side dish. You can also grill some veggies like mushrooms and bell peppers to add more nutrition to the meal.
Of course, you can also freeze your chili for a make-ahead meal that comes in handy when you’ve had a busy day and want to make sure you’ve got a balanced meal that meets your dietary guidelines.
Whether you like chili that has a more traditional flavor or want to make lighter chili that is made from chicken or turkey meat, this easy and delicious keto chili will likely become a staple for your keto-friendly diet.