Comfort food will always have a place in my world. Always. There is absolutely no reason to eliminate foods that give you that warm cozy feeling. The only thing needed is a little tweak or two to keep comfort food classics a part of your healthy lifestyle.
On days when the only thing that will work is an ooey gooey bowl of cheesy macaroni and cheese then give this Chili Turkey Mac with Jalapenos a try. I found this recipe from Cooking Light and have been dying to try it for weeks now.
It is everything you would expect out of macaroni and cheese recipe. It is cheesy, creamy, and beyond comforting. The flavor is spicy and delicious. I threw in some pickled jalapeños but you can reduce the amount or leave them out all together if you want. We love spicy in my house so it was perfect for us.
The original recipe called for ground beef but I decided to use ground turkey instead. This reduced the fat quite a bit without losing any flavor. I also used full fat cream cheese instead of the reduced fat version. It only called for 4 ounces so I felt full fat would be fine.
I also use whole grain elbow macaroni. This adds fiber and extra nutrition. If you want, throw in some black beans for even more fiber and protein. However, between the turkey and whole grain pasta I think this recipe has a nice amount of protein.
This Turkey Chili Mac is very easy to make and only took about 30 minutes from start to finish. It also reheats really nice. I made a batch on the weekend, stored in the refrigerator, warmed it up a couple days later and it was still delicious. It also freezes great too so you can feel comfortable adding it to your freezer cooking rotation. This recipe is definitely going to be a new family favorite.
Here are other of my favorite macaroni and cheese recipes
Buffalo Chicken Macaroni and Cheese
Skinny Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili power
- ¼ salt plus more to taste if needed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilis
- 2 cups dry whole wheat elbow pasta
- ½ cup pickled jalapenos chopped
- ½ cup 1% milk
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix together granulated garlic, onion powder, ground coriander, cumin, chili powder and salt.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven heat olive oil on medium high. Add ground turkey and cook until no longer pink. Stir in the spices and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in beef broth, diced tomatoes, and dry pasta. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.
- While the pasta is cooking pour milk into a small pot and heat up slowly over low heat. After the milk is warm and steaming add the cream cheese and stir until it is melted.
- Add the shredded cheese to the milk and cream cheese. Stir until it is melted.
- Pour the cheese sauce into the pasta mixture and stir until the pasta is evenly coated.
- Stir in the pickled jalapenos. Give it a taste and add a little more salt if needed. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
Rachel C. says
One of my favorite recipes ever! I’ve been making it for years and just made it again tonight. Thank you!!
Lia says
We have been making this recipe for years now. It is a family staple that we all love! Thank you!
Tammy Overhoff says
Thanks so much for writing this comment. This is definitely a fav in our house too.
M H says
Been making this since 2016 and have shared many times. We are vegetarians now so we substitute equal amount with impossible meat or mushrooms and zucchini and always add black beans. This recipe is so good. Use pepper infused olive oil for more heat!
Lauren says
I made this last night and it’s pretty good but I wished I knew what the serving size is. I portioned one cup into 8 servings and the 8th serving I didn’t have enough for, and 1 cup doesn’t look like it’s enough to keep you full.
Brittany| Coffee and Sarcasm says
I Made this tonight and HOLY COW ITS AMAZING. I have kids so I tweaked it a bit by halving the Jalapeno and then adding in Green Chiles. Great Recipe. I will be making it again!!
teresa says
can you give the smart points value for this recipe ? the nutritionn facts does not have all the info for me to calcuate the smart points value . Thank you
Darby says
How much are the WW points
Lindsey says
This is fantastic! I made a few tiny tweaks.
1. I didn’t use any oil for the meat.
2. I added a dash of curry powder. (It may or may not have made any difference)
3. I used Green Mountain Farms Greek yogurt cream cheese
4. I used reduced fat mild cheddar.
RC says
This was great and my husband loved it too. Second recipe I’ve tried from your site and they’ve both been winners. Thank you so much!
Sharon Traficante says
This was wonderful. I put Panko breadcrumbs on the top
And put it in the oven for 25 mins at 350. Delicious!
Ashley says
This is delicious! I made it without the jalapeños so that it would be kid friendly.
H says
This was indeed a very good recipe. I omitted the beans and added carrots & turmeric powder though I doubt the latter was noticeable.
Jessica says
delicipus. My husband and I are both in love with this recipe. I normally double the spices, omit the jalapeños (too spicy for me) and use 1c of milk and it’s delicious. Thank you!!!
Whitney says
What percent fat ground turkey did you use?
beth says
I made this tonight and it was seriously delicious! I have to say that every recipe from this site that I have made so far has been fantastic.
Nadia says
Do you switch off from counting carbs to counting calories to doing WW points?
Tammy Kresge says
No I just count calories…but a lot of my readers do watchers or count carb so I try to provide that info too.
Rachel says
I made this tonite and really enjoyed it. My calorie count was a bit higher because instead of the suggested seasonings I used a ‘Sante Fe simmer sauce’. I also used unsweetened coconut milk and only used a half cup of cheese because thats all I had. It came to 372 calories for 10.4oz.