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Stove Top Chili Bread Boats

November 17, 2013 4 Comments

Dan’s lunchtime eating habits are laughably predictable. Tell me what day of the week it is, and I’ll know exactly what he’s having for lunch. Monday? Buffalo chicken wings from a place near his office with 10 cent wings on Mondays. Tuesday? Chili. Wednesday? Chili. Thursday? Chili again. Friday? If you were thinking chili, you’d be wrong – Fridays are for Mexican food. Obviously.

But yeah…Dan likes chili. A lot. It’s actually one of the few things I make that he enjoys the leftovers of. One giant crock pot full of chili = a week of happy Dan. But, that takes kind of a long time to cook, and I don’t make it often during the week. So when he was craving chili for dinner last Tuesday (how this is possible, I don’t know…he’d already had chili for lunch), I decided to throw together a faster (but equally delicious) stove-top version of our favorite slow cooker chili. And, inspired by this Pinch of Yum recipe, I decided to go really nuts and make cheesy chili-filled bread boats. Can’t go wrong with cheese, chili, and toasted bread, you know?

Aside from the fact that I used ground turkey instead of ground beef, and cooked this on the stove for 30 minutes vs. in the slow cooker for 4 hours, this is basically the same recipe as my crock pot chili. The consistency is a little bit thicker, which makes it more conducive to filling a bread boat, but the same delicious flavors are there. Dan grumbled a little bit when he saw me using the ground turkey (“why can’t we ever have beef in our chili…”), but had zero complaints after I handed him his cheesy, chili-packed bread boat. How could he? The toasted ciabatta  bread was the perfect vehicle for the chili – crunchy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, and so great for sopping up any errant chili bits/juices. The chili itself was also fabulous – meaty, tender, juicy, and so flavorful. Considering the whole recipe only took about an hour from start to finish, this may be my new favorite way to cook chili.

Print
Stove Top Chili Bread Boats
Author: justputzing
Recipe type: Lunch/Dinner
Cuisine: American
Yields: 6 to 8
 
Crusty ciabatta bread boats stuffed with meat stove-top chili - easy and delicious!
Ingredients
  • 1 lb ground turkey (or beef, or whatever you feel like eating)
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
  • 4 oz tomato paste
  • 1 15-oz can pinto beans, drained
  • 4 heaping tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • Salt/pepper to taste
  • 6-8 ciabatta loaves
  • Cheddar or colby jack cheese, grated (for garnish)
Directions
  1. In a deep skillet or wok, saute diced onion and minced garlic over medium-high heat until soft and fragrant.
  2. Add ground turkey to brown, breaking the chunks of meat apart thoroughly with a wooden spoon or spatula.
  3. When turkey meat is uniformly browned/crumbled, add diced tomatoes (with the juices), tomato paste, diced bell pepper, and drained pinto beans. Stir to make sure all ingredients are fully incorporated.
  4. Add chili powder and cayenne powder, stirring well after each addition.
  5. Taste your chili mixture, then season with salt/pepper to taste.
  6. Turn heat down to medium, and allow mixture to simmer for 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally to incorporate the juices that come to the top. (Eventually your mixture should thicken and be less liquid. When I turned my stove off, my chili had some liquid floating on top/around the edges, but when I gave the mixture a quick store, all that liquid was absorbed into the chili and I was left with a nice thick chili – kind of like the consistency of sloppy joe filling.)
  7. Turn off your stove and allow your chili to cool slightly.
  8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  9. Cut the tops off of the ciabatta loaves in a V-shape, leaving plenty of space inside the loaf for chili.
  10. Generously spoon chili into your bread boats. Sprinkle with plenty of grated cheese.
  11. Bake for 10 minutes, until bread is crispy on the outside, and your cheese is fully melted.
  12. Enjoy immediately, with more cheese. (Maybe even some raw onions and sour cream?)
Notes
I didn't actually make all my bread boats at once - I made them to order when we wanted to eat them. But, if you want to save yourself time and make life super easy, you can assemble all your boats ahead of time and stick them in the freezer for later. Pinch of Yum notes that if you're cooking them in the oven straight out of the freezer, cook time will need to be longer, 20-30 minutes.
3.2.1284

(Inspired by Pinch of Yum’s recipe)

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Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch, Poultry Tagged With: chili, hearty, poultry, sandwich

Comments

  1. Karl says

    November 17, 2013 at 1:41 pm

    What’s your 4 hr version?

    Reply
    • justputzing says

      November 17, 2013 at 1:57 pm

      Right here – https://www.justputzing.com/2011/11/crock-pot-chili.html

      Reply
  2. Kirbie says

    November 18, 2013 at 3:27 pm

    Guess what one of my D’s favorite is? I’ve been meaning to make him chili for a long time. We even got a slow cooker for our wedding. Must try out this recipe.

    Reply
    • justputzing says

      November 18, 2013 at 3:41 pm

      😀

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Tina - D.C. based attorney, lover of reality and food-related television, stress-eater, and unabashed fantasy/sci-fi dork. Read More…

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