I posted a picture of this chili the other night on my Instagram stories and had TONS of people ask for the recipe. I wasn’t planning on putting it on the blog since I just sort of made it up as I went, but based on the DMs and Al’s and I’s opinion that it was SO good, I decided to post it.

I have heard of pumpkin in chili recently and must admit that at first it sounded…not good. But yesterday the temps dropped (lol to 70s oh wow so cold!), and something cozy and warm was needed. I happened to have all of these ingredients on hand so thought what the heck and dumped it all into the slow cooker.

The result was outstanding. The pumpkin really added a nice depth of flavor and complexity to the chili, which I find can often be one-note. It was sweet and savory and even my kids ate it up! (Well, the picky eater ate mostly shredded cheese, but the fact that he ate it even after it touched his “soup” was a win in my opinion).

THIS is my favorite slow cooker (here on nordstrom) because you can put the insert on the stove to brown things - saving you a pan to wash and keeping the yummy flavors in the pot. If you’re not a slow cooker person you could totally do this in a Dutch oven on the stove, I would just let it simmer for at least an hour so the flavors really develop.

Highly recommend serving his with some corn bread crumbled on top. It brings out the sweetness of the pumpkin and thickens it up a bit. I firmly believe that Jiffy corn bread mix is the best and make it according to the box directions and use my mini muffin pan to make the perfect soup-topper (and kid friendly) sized muffins.

Pumpkin Chili

Total Time: 4-5 hours Hands-On Time: 15-30 minutes (depends how fast you chop and can open cans)

Makes: 6-8+ servings

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. lean ground turkey (you can use ground beef or ground chicken here too!)
1 lb. mild Italian sausage (you can use 2lbs ground beef if sausage isn’t your thing, but I think this is what really gave the soup good flavor)
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can diced green chilis
2 Tablespoons cumin
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon dried oregano rubbed between palms before adding
pinch of cayenne (optional)
1 (15.oz) can pureed pumpkin (make sure you don’t buy pumpkin pie filling!)
2 to 3 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed (I only had 2 cans, but probably will do 3 cans next time. Makes the recipe stretch more too!)
1 can rotel or diced tomatoes - do not drain!
2 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper

Topping Suggestions:

Corn muffins (Jiffy mix is the best!)
Corn chips
Cilantro
Avocado
Diced onion
Hot sauce
Shredded cheese
Sour cream
Scallions or Chives

Directions:

In a medium size pan or aluminum slow cooker insert placed on stove (THIS IS THE BEST SLOW COOKER OF ALL TIME), heat pan to medium-high and add olive oil. Once hot add onions and sprinkle with salt. Cook 3-5 minutes until beginning to soften.
Add ground meat and sausage to pan with onions, breaking it up with a spoon. Season with salt and pepper. Add minced garlic. Cook until meat is nice and brown. (You can drain the fat if you’d like, but I think it adds flavor. There shouldn’t be much if you use lean turkey, just what comes from the sausage which is pure flavor!)
Add cumin, chili powder, oregano, cayenne (optional), and diced green chilis. Combine with the meat and allow to cook 2 minutes until spices are fragrant.
Transfer meat and spice mixture to slow cooker (or if you have the best ever slow cooker, remove the insert from the stove and place it back in the cooker).
Add pumpkin, drained and rinsed beans, rotel, and chicken stock. Stir to combine.
Cook on high for 4 hours (or if using stove-top simmer on low for 1-2 hours), stirring occasionally. Taste and season with salt and pepper at the end.
Serve with suggested toppings above. Highly recommend sprinkling your corn bread/muffins on top. Leftovers the next day taste even better!

P.S If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my other super simple soup Slow Cooker Taco Soup!