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Slow Cooker Southwestern Turkey Stew

5 from 6 votes

Total Time: 8 hrs 20 mins

By Carol

Updated Jul 14, 2021, Published Mar 10, 2020

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Slow Cooker Southwestern Turkey Stew is hearty, flavorful, easy and healthy.  You probably already have most of the ingredients on hand!

“Very delicious stew and easy to make.“

The inspiration behind this recipe:

With spring right around the corner and because I have an aversion to wasting food, I’m trying to use up things hiding in the freezer.  As the weather warms, we’ll want to get out and start grilling in addition to planting our garden.  We’re barely into March and we already have fresh perennial herbs like mint peeking up from the ground.

A small package of cooked, smoked turkey from our Thanksgiving celebration I put in the freezer when we started to get “turkeyed out” was begging to get used.  We also had a small butternut squash from last year’s garden still hanging out in our pantry in addition to a TON of roasted and peeled Poblano peppers in our freezer.

And what’s better than a slow cooker meal simmering away when you’re busy with indoor and outdoor spring cleaning?

How to make Slow Cooker Southwestern Turkey Stew:

• Finely chop the onion and place it in a bowl.
• Add salt and let it sit while prepping and chopping the other ingredients.  The salt is necessary to give the onion a “head start” to soften it up as I have found it MAY not soften all the way in your slow cooker.  Just remember to taste the stew at the end before adding additional salt.
• If you’re sensitive to salt, give the onion a brief saute in a little oil before placing it in the slow cooker.
• Place the onion and the accumulated liquid, Poblano peppers, red bell pepper, butternut squash and garlic in the slow cooker.

• Add the spices, chicken broth and both cans of tomatoes to the slow cooker.

• Stir all the ingredients together and let simmer away in your slow cooker.

• Add the cooked turkey and black beans when you have an hour to go if cooking on HIGH or two hours to go if cooking on LOW.
• Now, I know what you’re going to ask….

Can I use raw turkey (or chicken) in this stew?

• Yes.  Just place raw, cubed turkey in the slow cooker at the beginning so it has plenty of time to cook along with everything else.

That’s it!  Spicy, hearty, healthy, delicious, easy!

Stir in chopped fresh cilantro and serve with diced avocado, sour cream and lime wedges.

Serve this stew with:

• Simply Pumpkin Muffins

For more Southwestern-inspired soups and stews, be sure to try my:

• Turkey, Black Bean and Quinoa Chili
• Slow Cooker Chipotle Split Pea Soup with Ham
• Skillet Turkey and Pinto Bean Chili with Pepperjack Biscuit Topping
• Slow Cooker Colorado Green Chili
• Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup with Ham
• Beef and Chorizo Chili with Black Beans For A Crowd
• Roasted Poblano, Corn and Potato Chowder with Bacon and Gouda Cheese
• Chipotle Chicken and White Bean Chili

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5 from 6 votes

Slow Cooker Southwestern Turkey Stew

By Carol | From A Chef’s Kitchen

Slow Cooker Southwestern Turkey Stew is hearty, flavorful, easy and healthy.  You probably already have most of the ingredients on hand!

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 8 hours hrs

Total Time: 8 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Servings: 8

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Equipment

• Wusthof Chef Knife
• Cutting Board
• Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls
• Crockpot Slow Cooker

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 large onion, finely chopped
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 3 Poblano peppers, seeded and finely chopped –OR– 6 roasted and peeled poblano peppers, chopped
• ▢ 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• ▢ 1 medium Butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• ▢ 1 heaping tablespoon chili powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• ▢ 2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• ▢ 4 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 1 can (15-ounce) crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
• ▢ 1 can (10-ounce) diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
• ▢ 1 1/2 pounds turkey breast meat, cooked and shredded
• ▢ 1 can (15-ounce) black beans, drained and rinsed
• ▢ 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ▢ Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ▢ Diced avocado
• ▢ Lime wedges, for serving if desired
• ▢ Sour cream, for serving if desired

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Instructions 

• Place finely chopped onion in a small bowl. Add the salt and let sit while prepping and chopping the remaining ingredients.
• Place the onion along with any juices in the slow cooker.
• Add poblano peppers, red bell pepper, butternut squash, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes and tomatoes with green chiles in the slow cooker and stir to combine.
• Cook on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 6 hours.
• Add the cooked turkey meat and black beans and continue cooking on HIGH 1 more hour or LOW 2 more hours. (TOTAL COOK TIME: 4 hours on HIGH, 8 hours on LOW).
• Stir in chopped cilantro, black pepper and salt if more salt is needed.
• Serve garnished with diced avocado, lime wedges and sour cream.

Notes

If you wish to use raw turkey (or chicken), add it at the beginning along with all the other ingredients and cook as directed.

If you’re sensitive to salt, give the onion a brief saute in a little oil before placing in the slow cooker.

REHEATING INSTRUCTIONS:

• Reheat in a saucepan on the stovetop or in the microwave, stirring halfway.

FREEZER-FRIENDLY:

• Place in airtight containers in the desired quantity.  Freeze for up to 3 months.
• Thaw in the refrigerator or microwave.
• Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Calories: 365kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 21gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 913mgPotassium: 742mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 10912IUVitamin C: 84mgCalcium: 92mgIron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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