As we were watching the Super Bowl last night, I found myself wanting chili. Sure I had plenty of delicious food right in front of my face, but I couldn’t get chili out of my head!
Today I figured I’d make chili for dinner, only when I opened the pantry, I noticed that the only canned beans we had were chickpeas! Not exactly a chili staple…
Still, I didn’t let that deter me and set out to make some kind of a make-shift chili using ingredients we had on hand.
Into the crock pot went:
- 1 can no salt added diced tomatoes (undrained)
- 1.5 cups chickpeas
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 3/4 onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
- 1 packet McCormick original chili seasoning mix
After chillin’ in the crock pot on high for about 4.5 hours, my “chili” was ready!
When I scooped out my bowl of chili, I drained off some of the access liquid, so it was more like a ground turkey scramble.
It definitely didn’t look like typical chili, full of beans and beef like my favorite black bean chili, but it was quite delicious, especially after I topped it with copious amounts of shredded cheese.
Would you like some chili with that cheese? 
Both Ryan and I liked it a lot and commented on how the chickpeas actually were a nice addition. Who knew?
Time to entertain Sadie for a bit before settling down to watch The Bachelor!
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
I love chickpeas! I have been roasting them with different spices lately and using them on anything – pizza, tacos, nachos, in salads or as a snack!
way to be creative! chickpeas really are so versatile… i always try to have them on hand in my pantry. enjoy the Bachelor tonight! i’ll be watching it tomorrow. 😉
That looks very tasty! I never would have thought to put chickpeas in my chili. I have a can in my pantry that has been in there forever. This is a great excuse to use them!
Nothing topped with that much cheese can ever taste bad!
Sometimes those meals where you just create something out of whatever you have on hand turn out the best! Plus, it makes eating dinner into an adventure… you never know what the end result is going to be 🙂
Chick peas are great in everything. Have you had Chocolate Covered Katie’s chick pea dip/sweet hummus? She has three different sweet hummus recipes and they’re amazing!
ChickPea Chili sounds right up my alley!
I’ve hardly eaten chickpeas since college when they were always at the salad bar in the dining hall. I think I need to bring them back, chili style!
Chickpeas in chili; genius idea. Looks delicious!
I do that all the time…open the pantry thinking I definitely have something on hand to discover I don’t. Hate that! Luckily you made due 🙂
fyi- (since I know you hate typos) I think you meant “excess” liquid, not access.
Oh and look at me with my typo in a comment correcting yours! *do haha
That looks delicious! I really like Wilson’s TEX MEX chili seasoning. Give it a try! e
my hubs REALLY gets ticked when I put carrots in my chili!!
That’s so funny. I did manicures at a private party during the Superbowl so I missed out on all the goodies. But I was badly craving chili too so I went through Wendy’s (they have healthy, amazing chili) and got myself a hot cup to go. Yummmm!
Cheese makes everything better. Enough said 😀
Can’t WAIT for the Bachelor tonight! I’m so addicted now!
certainly unique but I can dig it!
This looks delicious Julie! I just love chili-ish foods. <3
That chili looks like it would make a great dip with fresh tortilla chips too!
Funny because I got home tonight and all I wanted was chili, but at 8pm who could be bothered with making it. My makeshift chili was a bowl of oatmeal with some black beans and spinach cooked in it seasoned with a ton of chili powder and cayenne pepper. I know it sounds really wierd, but it tasted good!
Put cheese on anything and it will taste amazing!
I actually discovered chickpeas in chili the same way. I had ground turkey for it but didn’t have any kidney beans on hand. Now I always go with the chickpeas. They hold their shape better and the texture contrasts nicely with the ground meat. Basically–I am a chickpea convert! lol
That’s so interesting – chickpeas in chili! I never would have thought of adding them, but I bet they were good!
I always put chickpeas in my chili. They’re yummy and they add a nice boost of protein.
I think the addition of chickpeas sounds delicious! But I like chickpeas in pretty much anything. And definitely layer on the cheese!
I love chickpeas in almost anything–so I bet that was tasty!!
I am on a chickpea kick lately- Allie recently put up a recipe for chickpea patties which are super yum and easy to make!
I’ve often thrown in random beans into my chilli when out of red kidney bean…works just as good!
Wish I liked Chili:(
Yumn that looks sooo good!
Hi! Love that recipe, looks delish! What kind of cheese did you use as a topper?
“fancy” shredded mozzarella!
I think that chili looks delicious! The more cheese the better in my opinion 😉
pulverize the leftovers into tukey chili hummus? 😉 hehe
Yum! definitely have to try this!
Love it when things turn out that way in the kitchen! You never know hahaha! When I cover stuff with that much cheese, the boyman attributes it to my “cheese problem” lol it happens every time I eat cheese. I love it! A little is not enough
I think chickpeas WOULD be a great addiction to chili! I’ll have to remember that for next time.
When I’m in a hurry, I make “fake” homemade chili. I brown some beef or turkey, then add a can of pre-made chili, tomato sauce, beans and corn and seasonings. Truthfully, I could probably leave out the can of chili. But maybe it’s a real-life example of stone soup…