Today I'm partnering with Lifeway Kefir to create a hearty and satisfying turkey chili pot pie!
I know everyone is looking for healthier meals once January comes around but it's also very cold. And I don't know about you but cold weather makes me crave comfort food. So, to hit two birds with one stone, I'm making a healthier pot pie. This turkey chili pot pie with kefir scallion manchego biscuits uses whole wheat flour and Lifeway kefir for biscuits for a healthier biscuit topping. At the same time, the turkey chili is loaded with vegetables, creamy beans, and kale for a lighter soup that still delivers on flavor. Comfort food that borders on being considered healthy? I'll take it.
Recipe
Turkey Chili Pot Pie with Kefir Scallion Manchego Biscuits
Ingredients
White turkey chili
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 14 ounces ground turkey
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 4 ounces canned diced green chilies
- 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon red chili flakes
- salt and pepper
- 15 ounces canned cannellini beans rinsed and drained
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 bunch kale stems removed and leaves torn
Kefir scallion manchego biscuits
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cold butter cut into small chunks
- ½ cup shredded manchego cheese
- ¼ cup scallions chopped
- ½ cup plain kefir plus extra for brushing on biscuits
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare the white turkey chili. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepot over medium heat. Add the ground turkey, onion, celery, and garlic and saute until the turkey is browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add the diced green chilies, flour, cumin, oregano, coriander, fresh thyme, cinnamon, and red chili flakes, stirring to combine. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 1 minute. Add the rinsed and drained beans and chicken stock to the pot. Bring the chili to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the biscuits. In a medium bowl, combine the flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Use a pastry cutter or your hands to cut the butter in to the dry mixture. The mixture should resemble coarse sand. Add the manchego cheese and scallions, stirring to combine. Slowly add the kefir, mixing continuously until a rough dough comes together. Shape the dough into a rectangle and pat down until it's 1-inch thick.
- Lightly dust the dough and a clean work counter with flour. Fold the biscuit dough in half and pat down until it's 1-inch thick. Turn the dough 90 degrees and fold once more. Repeat two more times. Cut the dough into 6 biscuits using a round biscuit cutter. Set aside.
- Add the torn kale leaves to the chili and simmer for another minute. Season the chili with salt and pepper once more and remove from heat. Transfer the chili to a baking dish.
- Arrange the biscuits on top of the chili and brush kefir on top of the biscuits. Bake the turkey chili pot pie for 30 minutes or until the biscuits are done. Remove from the oven and serve hot.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
Chili has a reputation for being unhealthy. However, you can easily turn it into a much healthier soup. Take this white turkey chili for example. You have a pot with lean turkey paired with fresh vegetables, cannellini beans, beautiful spices, green chilies, and even kale. Just looking at the list of ingredients you can tell it's going to be a healthier chili. But don't worry because it'll still taste amazing! And it gets even better because we're topping the chili with scallion kefir manchego biscuits. Sounds promising, right?
To make the white turkey chili pot pie, let's start by making the chili itself. Heat oil in a large pot and saute the onion, celery, and garlic along with the ground turkey. Use a wooden spoon to break up the turkey into small pieces as it cooks.
Once the turkey is browned and the vegetables have softened, add the spices, flour, and diced green chilies to the pot. Stir everything together and simmer for another minute.
Then, add the drained beans and chicken stock and continue to simmer the chili for about 15 minutes. If you don't like beans, you can omit them.
While the turkey chili is cooking, prepare the scallion lifeway manchego biscuits. I love using kefir for biscuits because it makes the biscuits so incredibly tender. It also adds a bit of tang and adds a rich flavor without adding extra fat, just what we want.
I used white whole wheat flour but you can also use whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour. Use a pastry cutter or your hands to incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients. You can also use a food processor but it's a lot easier to overmix the dough which can lead to tough biscuits.
Add the shredded manchego and chopped scallions, stirring until combined. Then, add the kefir, mixing the dough just until combined.
To create incredibly fluffy biscuits, we're going to use the folding method. The idea is to fold the dough, flatten it, turn the dough 90 degrees, and repeat. Ever since I started to use this method, my biscuits have always risen beautifully.
Cut out 6 biscuits using a biscuit cutter and arrange them on top of the turkey chili. Brush the top of the biscuits with kefir and bake the pot pie for about 30 minutes or until the biscuits are cooked.
Now grab a spoon and dig into that beautiful turkey chili pot pie! As soon as I took a bite, I knew this was going to hit the spot. The biscuits are so incredibly tender thanks to the kefir and the chili is bursting with flavor. Everything I want in one dish.
For more turkey recipe inspiration check out these Tuscan meatballs with sun-dried tomatoes!
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