25 Healthy Chili Recipes for Weight Loss
When you're embarking on a weight loss journey, having go-to quick and easy recipes handy can set you up for success. There are so many healthy recipes for weight loss out there, but chili stands out as a comforting, nutritious, and easy-to-make choice. Many healthy chili recipes are one-pot wonders where you can throw your ingredients into a slow cooker or Instant Pot and have a delicious meal with minimal effort.
But what makes a chili recipe good for weight loss? Healthy chili recipes should contain a high protein and fiber content while being low in calories. This nutrient trifecta is key to helping you lose weight: protein increases satiety and builds lean muscle mass, fiber improves gut health (which has been linked to better weight management), and low-calorie meals can help you reach a calorie deficit.
To help you find your new favorite chili for weight loss, we curated a collection of 25 recipes that tick off these crucial boxes. From classic renditions to bold and innovative twists, each chili recipe promises both flavor and nutrition. Read on, then check out the 17 Best Soups for Weight Loss.
Turkey Chili
You can still have a perfectly healthy bowl of chili with ground beef, but using turkey instead—like in this simple Turkey Chili recipe—helps you keep the protein levels high while significantly lowering the calorie and fat content.
Get our recipe for Turkey Chili.
Smokey Crock-Pot Chili
We love how much flavor this Smoky Crock-Pot Chili packs into one meal, using ingredients like chuck roast or sirloin, onions, garlic, chipotle peppers, cumin, pinto beans, and your choice of an IPA or stout beer. Even though it's packed full of tasty ingredients, each serving has only 250 calories and tons of protein to keep you feeling full.
Get our recipe for Smoky Crock-Pot Chili.
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chicken Chili
You don't have to wait until fall hits again to enjoy this Pumpkin Chicken Chili. Made with canned pumpkin, boneless chicken thighs, chickpeas, and plenty of vegetables, this chili packs in 28 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber per serving.
Get our recipe for Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chicken Chili.
Easy Chili and DIY Chili Powder
You feel too intimidated to imagine making your own chili powder, but fear not! This recipe is super simple and tastes so good you'll never want to go back to the store-bought bottles. Add the homemade powder to nutritious ingredients like pinto beans, chuck roast, onions, tomatoes, and peppers, and you'll have a tasty bowl of chili to help you in your weight loss goals.
Get our recipe for Easy Chili and DIY Chili Powder.
Crock-Pot Vegetarian Chili
If you want a vegetarian chili option that has no meat but still plenty of protein, this recipe is a great choice. With ingredients like black beans, kidney beans, corn, and sweet potatoes, you'll also get a boost of filling fiber, too.
Get our recipe for Crock-Pot Vegetarian Chili.
Copycat Wendy's Chili
If you're a lover of Wendy's Chili but want to avoid the almost 1,000 milligrams of sodium or a long list of preservatives, or you just don't want to leave the house, you can make your own copycat version with this recipe!
Get our recipe for Copycat Wendy's Chili.
Instant Pot Chili
This is a classic chili recipe made in an instant pot, so you can save yourself time and energy while making a nutrient-dense meal that can fit your weight loss goals. It calls for ground beef, but you can make it vegetarian by replacing the beef with kidney or pinto beans.
Get our recipe for Instant Pot Chili.
Pumpkin Mole Chili
This chili has the classic mole flavors you love but with a pumpkin twist! Using cocoa powder, green chiles, canned pumpkin, pinto or black beans, tomatoes, and ground beef, you'll have a hearty bowl of filling chili packed with unique flavors.
Get our recipe for Pumpkin Mole Chili.
Jalapeño Sweet Potato Chicken Chili
With 30 grams of protein, 9 grams of fiber, and only 337 calories in each serving, this bowl of chili is the perfect weight-loss recipe. The use of sweet potatoes, beans, tomatoes, chili powder, and jalapeños gives every bite a punch of flavor.
Get the recipe from Pinch of Yum.
Slow Cooker Chicken Chile Verde
If you're a fan of salsa verde, this recipe is for you. Made with your salsa verde favorites like poblano peppers, jalapeños, diced chili peppers, and cilantro, this bowl of chili will satisfy your cravings and have you coming back for more. And the even better news? It has only 300 calories but is packed with over 30 grams of protein in every serving.
Get the recipe from Ambitious Kitchen.
The Best Healthy Turkey Chili
This healthy turkey chili recipe from Ambitious Kitchen includes lots of veggies—including red bell pepper, corn, onion, and crushed tomatoes. And you get tons of protein from 99% lean ground turkey and kidney beans.
Get the recipe from Ambitious Kitchen.
Sweet Potato Chili
Looking for a yummy vegetarian chili recipe? Make this one from Chocolate Covered Katie, which calls for sweet potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, and black beans. The best part? It cooks in just 20 minutes.
Get the recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie.
Easy Homemade Beef Chili
You can still make chili with ground beef and achieve your weight loss goals. This one from Healthy Fitness Meals calls for lean ground beef and gets tons of flavor from chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Plus it has extra veggies with two bell peppers.
Get the recipe from Healthy Fitness Meals.
White Chicken Chili
Not all chilis have to be tomato-based. This white chicken chili from Well Plated by Erin calls for chicken breast and white beans (such as Great Northern, cannellini, or white kidney beans) will give you lots of protein and fiber to keep you full.
Get the recipe from Well Plated by Erin.
Low-Calorie, Almost Fat-Free Vegetable Chili
If you are watching your calorie and fat intake, this low-calorie vegetable chili recipe from The Spruce Eats is also almost fat-free. It has red bell pepper, green bell pepper, corn, carrot, and kidney beans, with a bit of soy sauce for extra umami flavor.
Get the recipe from The Spruce Eats.
Butternut Squash Turkey Chili
Fall is the season for butternut squash, so it's a great ingredient that is the center of this healthy chili from Chew Out Loud. Together with bell peppers, turkey, 7 cloves of garlic (you read that right!), black beans, and more, it's the perfect dish for a chilly autumn night.
Get the recipe from Chew Out Loud.
Sweet Potato Turkey Chili
This sweet potato chili gets inspiration from Mexican flavors, with ingredients like black beans, corn, sweet potatoes, and lots of spices. The most surprising? Cinnamon!
Get the recipe from Evolving Table.
Healthy Spicy Beef and Black Bean Chili
If prepared as instructed, this beef chili only has 298 calories per serving. Made by The Girl Who Ate Everything, it calls for ground sirloin or beef, a packet of taco seasoning (easy!), black beans, and corn.
Get the recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything.
Homemade Vegetarian Chili
This veggie and bean chili recipe by Cookie + Kate is full of flavor. It has two kinds of beans (pinto and black), as well as loads of veggies like celery, carrots, red onion, and red bell pepper. And it gets a tangy kick at the end thanks to sherry vinegar (or lime juice).
Get the recipe from Cookie and Kate.
Healthy Buffalo Chicken White Chili
If you need a buffalo chicken fix, you can get it in this bowl of chili from Delicious on a Dime. With ingredients like celery, onion, Frank's Red Hot Sauce, and a homemade ranch dressing addition, your tastebuds will be totally satisfied.
Get the recipe from Delicious on a Dime.
Vegan Black Bean Chili
Short on time? This healthy vegan chili from Midwest Foodie takes just 15 minutes to make. It has black beans and split red lentils, which are known to cook quickly.
Get the recipe from Midwest Foodie.
Butternut Squash Chili with Beef and Beans
Craving a non-traditional beef chili? This beef and butternut chili from Julia's Album also contains corn, green bell peppers, kidney beans, and canned tomatoes.
Get the recipe from Julia's Album.
Healthy White Bean Chicken Chili
This low-sodium chicken broth-based white bean chicken chili has lots of cannellini beans, corn, and green chiles. Created by Eating Bird Food, you can make it spicier by adding fresh jalapeno slices and extra chili powder.
Get the recipe from Eating Bird Food.
Easy Three Bean Vegan Chili
This easy three-bean chili recipe from The Simple Veganista is vegan and loaded with fiber from kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans. It also gets a deeper flavor from cocoa powder (yes, the same thing in chocolate!) and chipotle powder.
Get the recipe from The Simple Veganista.
Ground Chicken Chili
This chili recipe from This Healthy Table calls for ground chicken. Rather than being a white chicken chili, it has a tomato base—as well as two types of beans (black and pinto).
Get the recipe from This Healthy Table.
This story has been updated since its original publish date to include additional entries and remove outdated information
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