As soon as the temperature drops, I start craving chili. Nothing beats the smell of a pot of chili simmering in the kitchen. I personally love a creamy chili, but I wanted to try getting that creamy texture by using pumpkin puree instead of cream. The result is a deliciously seasonal spin on everyone’s favorite comfort food.
I’m making it even easier on myself by throwing everything in my slow cooker and letting it simmer all day, making my house smell amazing! If you’re feeding a crowd or looking to stock your freezer for a rainy day, I highly recommend doubling the recipe.
Ingredients and Substitutions
How to Make It
Storing
Tips
Reasons to Love It
Pumpkin Chili Recipe
I like using ground turkey in chili because it’s a mild, lean meat that doesn’t take over the flavor of the whole chili, especially for this pumpkin version. I prefer 93% lean because the higher fat content provides noticeably more flavor. You could also use lean ground beef or pork instead.
Onion and garlic help build the base of the flavor for your chili. You can blitz them in a food processor instead of chopping my hand.
This recipe uses both tomato paste and fire roasted tomatoes. When adding the fire roasted tomatoes to the slow cooker, you can add the liquid as well — there’s no need to drain them first.
I use a combination of black and (white or red) kidney beans in my pumpkin chili, but you can use any combination you like best. No need to make your beans from dried, canned is fine!
Make sure to get pure 100% pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling. The only ingredient should be pumpkin.
This is one of my favorite chili ingredients. They add a ton of flavor and are easy to find at grocery stores.
How you spice your chili is a personal choice based on how spicy you want it. I use chili powder, which you can halve or omit if you want it more mild for kids, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, paprika, and cinnamon for a little hint of fall spice to go with the pumpkin.
The chicken broth might not be necessary, but I always have a carton on hand. Use chicken broth or water after the chili is done cooking to thin it out to the desired consistency.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add turkey and cook while breaking it up with a wooden spoon or meat masher.
Once cooked through, add the onion and garlic and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until the onion starts to soften.
Stir in the tomato paste until combined and contrite to stir for about 2 minutes. Turn the heat off.
In a slow cooker, add the tomatoes, beans, pumpkin, chiles, seasoning and the ground turkey mixture. Stir to combine.
Cook on low for at least 5 hours or on high for at least 3 hours. Add chicken broth if needed to thin it out. Serve with your favorite toppings!
If you have enough leftovers to freeze, you can store this pumpkin chili in an airtight container or freezer bags (once completely cooled) in the freezer for up to 6 months. Otherwise, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To reheat from the fridge, either warm it in a saucepan on the stovetop over medium-low heat until warmed through, stirring occasionally, or microwave in a microwave-safe bowl for 2-3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so until warmed through. You might need to add a little water or broth to thin it out as some of the ingredients might have absorbed some of the liquid while in the fridge.
To reheat from frozen, either move the chili to the refrigerator to thaw overnight or soak it in a water bath until completely thawed. Use the same reheating instructions as above.
Hi, I’m Carissa Stanton aka @broccyourbody. I run my food blog full time out of Los Angeles, CA.
