Pumpkin Chili
Pumpkin Chili is the best comfort food dinner in the fall! This beef chili recipe features both, fresh pumpkin and pumpkin puree, two types of beans, a medley of vegetables, and bold chili seasoning mix.
Enjoy more of my favorite chili recipes like the classic Beef Chili, Turkey Chili and Vegetarian Chili.
Table of Contents
As weather gets cooler, it’s time to pull out all of our favorite comfort food recipes out and start making soups, stews, and (my favorite) chili.
Chili is actually a year-long dish in my house. My kids absolutely love chili and I love that they eat it so well. Also, the health benefits if chili are amazing! I’m sure every parent would love it if their kids ate chili every day.
Whether you make chili with turkey, chicken, beef, or pork, it will be loaded with protein, iron and fiber. Meat and legumes are wonderful sources of protein, iron, fiber, and vitamin B. Not to mention the veggies that you can pack into chili.
Every fall, I put a seasonal twist on my chili and use fresh pumpkin in my chili. It gives me a chance to not only add another healthy vegetable to chili, it also gives it a nice flavor twist.
Ingredient Notes
Pumpkin – Make sure you use a cooking pumpkin, usually called a “pie pumpkin” at the grocery store. Try to get a smaller pumpkin, between 1.5-2 lbs. But even if you have leftover pumpkin or get a bigger one, use it to make pumpkin puree or simply dice and sauté it as a side.
Pumpkin Puree – I love using Homemade Pumpkin Puree in this chili recipe. However, a store-bought can works just fine. Make sure to get pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie mix!
Beef Stock – This is another ingredient I love using the homemade version of! If you have some extra time to play with, I highly recommend making Homemade Beef Stock.
Vegetables – You’ll need a simple medley of yellow onion (white works in a pinch), tomatoes and red bell peppers.
Seasonings – Create the very best flavor with garlic powder, oregano, paprika, sugar, chili powder, black pepper, salt and cumin. Feel free to adjust these spices once you’ve done a taste test!
Beans – I like to use both navy and kidney beans in this pumpkin chili recipe. Be sure to strain most of the liquid from the beans before adding them to the pot.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Pumpkin Chili
Sauté the onions. Add some oil to a pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions until translucent (1).
Cook the veggies. Stir in the diced pumpkin and bell peppers (2). Cook for just a few minutes and stir in tomatoes (3). Let it cook another couple of minutes.
Smash the garlic before mincing it, make a little well in the veggies and add garlic (4). Let it sauté for a few seconds until fragrant and stir it into the veggies.
Cook the ground beef. Move veggies to the sides of the pot. Add ground beef to the center of the pot (5), break it apart, cover the pot with a lid, and let it cook for a few minutes.
Add remaining ingredients. Once meat is mostly browned, stir in the seasoning, stock, pumpkin puree, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and beans. (6)
Stew. Bring the chili mixture to a low boil and then lower the heat to low (7). Cover with a lid but leave a crack for the steam to escape.
Cook on low for about 1.5-2 hours and make sure to stir from time to time. Take the lid off half way through and cook the rest of the time uncovered (8).
Recipe FAQs
Remember that spicy does not mean flavorful because heat level is not the same as flavor. If you do like a little more heat, there are a few ways to adjust the heat level to your own preference. Note that this chili recipe is about medium heat level.
It’s very easy to adjust the spice level by adding or taking away a few ingredients. If you want your chili more spicy: choose older jalapeños with more veins on the skin, leave the jalapeño seeds in, choose spicier chili peppers instead of jalapeños, and/or add more chili powder.
To make the chili less spicy: choose younger jalapeños with smooth skin, discard the seeds, and don’t add extra chili powder or add a little less chili powder.
My first go-to toppings for this chili includes pepitas (pumpkin seeds), sour cream, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. Some more options include sliced avocados, sliced jalapeños (seeded or not based on how spicy you prefer your chili), cilantro and green onions. You can also make it cheesy with some shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese.
Absolutely! You can load your chili with veggies like carrots, celery, bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, corn, butternut squash, acorn squash, and avocado as a topping only. You can always make a chili similar to a combination of my Vegetarian Chili and meat Chili.
What Beans to Use in Chili
Beans and legumes are excellent sources of iron, fiber, protein and B vitamins. I’ve used bean recipes for my kids to bring up their iron level often.
No matter which beans you choose, you’ll get a rich source of these nutrients. Although, some beans are higher in one of these nutrients than others. For example, kidney beans and navy beans are excellent sources of iron, and navy beans and pinto beans are great sources of fiber.
Choose your beans according to your needs or likes. These are the beans that will go great in a beef chili:
- Kidney beans
- White Beans
- Navy beans
- Pinto Beans
- Black Beans
Storing and Freezing Instructions
To store: Make sure to cool the chili completely to room temperature prior to storing. Store your leftovers in an airtight food storage container in the refrigerator. It will stay good for about 4-5 days.
To freeze: After your pumpkin chili is cooked, you will want to cool it as quickly as possible if you plan on freezing it. This gives bacteria less of a chance to build, extending the shelf life of the chili. The best way to cool pumpkin chili quickly is to place the pot of chili into a larger container filled with ice. Make sure to give it a stir from time to time as it cools down. Once it cools, portion it into smaller bags, let all the air out, and close it well. Don’t forget to date and label! Freeze for up to 2 months.
To thaw: Pull the frozen bag of pumpkin chili from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator. Let it slow-thaw overnight. Reheat it in the microwave or on stove-top over medium heat.
More of Our Favorite Chili Recipes
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Pumpkin Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 2-3 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 1 large onion
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 oz garlic (4-6 cloves)
- 1 red bell pepper
- 12 oz diced pumpkin (half of a small (2.5 lbs) pie pumpkin)
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 cup beef stock
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 3 oz tomato paste
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 15 oz can kidney beans drained
- 15 oz can white beans drained
- 1 tbsp chipotle chili powder more or less to taste
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp white granulated sugar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1-2 tsp coarse sea or kosher salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Start by cutting pumpkin and other veggies. To cut pumpkin: pop the stem off with a large knife (knife always facing away from you) and cut pumpkin in half. Scoop out seeds and membrane. I like to use an ice cream scoop because it easily scoops up the membrane. Cut pumpkin halves in two and peel the tough skin off with a vegetable peeler.
- Dice pumpkin, onions, bell pepper, and tomatoes. Try to get the cuts as even as possible.
- Preheat the pot over medium heat and add oil.
- Add onions and saute until transparent.
- Add pumpkin, and bell peppers. Cook for a few minutes. Mix in tomatoes and cook a couple more minutes.
- Make some room in the middle and add minced garlic. Sauté until garlic is fragrant and mix it into the veggies. Stir and cook until veggies are softened.
- Move veggies to the sides of the pot. Add ground beef to the center of the pot, break it apart, cover the pot with a lid, and let it cook for a few minutes. Stir as it cooks and try to break up all the lumps as much as possible.
- Once meat is mostly browned, stir in the seasoning, stock, pumpkin puree, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and beans.
- Bring the chili mixture to a low boil and then lower the heat to low. Cover with a lid but leave a crack for the steam to escape.
- Cook for about 1.5-2 hours and make sure to stir from time to time. Take the lid off half way through and cook the rest of the time uncovered.
Notes
- To store: Make sure to cool the chili completely to room temperature prior to storing. Store your leftovers in an airtight food storage container in the refrigerator. It will stay good for about 4-5 days.
- To freeze: After your pumpkin chili is cooked, you will want to cool it as quickly as possible if you plan on freezing it. This gives bacteria less of a chance to build, extending the shelf life of the chili. The best way to cool pumpkin chili quickly is to place the pot of chili into a larger container filled with ice. Make sure to give it a stir from time to time as it cools down. Once it cools, portion it into smaller bags, let all the air out, and close it well. Don’t forget to date and label! Freeze for up to 2 months.
- To thaw: Pull the frozen bag of pumpkin chili from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator. Let it slow-thaw overnight. Reheat it in the microwave or on stove-top over medium heat.
Nutrition
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in October, 2018.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
I have made this many times. It is a great way to use my frozen pumpkin. I sometimes use ground turkey and chicken broth. I sometimes add can corn. It is so versatile.
I am so glad you liked the recipe, Charlotte!
This is a great alternative to chili. It adds additional texture and fall favor.
Glad you liked it, Janet!
This turned out absolutely amazing!! We went heavy on the pumpkin, peppers, and tomatoes, because I have way too much of these things coming out of my garden right now! We also added an extra can of beans. We added some hot pepper flakes we made from our spicy peppers this year. It was sweeter, more savory, and spicier than any chili recipe I’ve ever made! The pumpkin was killer! This is the only chili recipe I’ll make from now on! Wish I could post a pic!
Thank you, Claire! This comment has made my day, I am so glad you liked it!
I absolutely loved this – I used a whole small pumpkin, and 3 different cans of beans, added a can of pickled red jalapeños, and a tablespoon of cinnamon – got huge wows from the family – it was even a thought to substitute a fall beer for the beef stock! Great recipe😊
Thanks, Lisa! I love that you made it your own and it turned out so well! I think the beer would be good too! 😉