It’s that time of year… pumpkin everything.

A few weeks ago, my husband’s work had a chili cook-off and I decided I wanted in… until I realized I mixed up the dates and wasn’t available. But, all that talk of chili had me craving something hearty, warm, and spicy. Since it was a cold and rainy day, I had no intention of leaving the comfort of my home, so I had to use what I had on hand.

Which brings me to a mealtime challenge I like to have with myself from time to time… what can I create with what I already have in the house? Have you ever done that? Make a recipe up with what you have?

While I recognize that I may have an unusually large quantity of canned beans and an array of veggies on hand, I like to get creative and see what I can do with what I have. This challenge led me to the best pumpkin chili I have ever made. Seriously.

Now you can play around with the ingredients – use what you have in your home!

Pumpkin Chili Ingredients

Contents hide

1 Pumpkin Chili

1.1 Ingredients

1.1.1 Ingredients

1.1.2 Garnishes

1.2 Instructions

1.3 Notes

1.3.1 Expert tip! Purchase low sodium beans and use the entire can in the recipe to get all the micronutrients that may be lost with draining and rinsing of the starchy liquid. If you choose to drain and rinse the beans prior to adding them to the slow cooker, you may need to add ~1/2-1 cup water to replace the fluids.

Pumpkin Chili

Print Recipe

Servings 24 1 cup servings

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large carrots, medium dice
• 2 medium yellow onions, medium dice
• 2 medium red peppers, medium dice
• 1 cup butternut squash ~ 1in cubed (frozen works well too and should soften during cook time)
• 1 (29 ounces) can pumpkin
• 1 (15 ounces) can sweet corn
• 2 (15 ounces) can beans (I had black beans and cannellini beans on hand but any beans will do)
• 1 (14.5 ounces) can diced tomatoes
• 2 (4 ounces) can mild diced green chilis
• 3-4 cloves of garlic or 3-4 teaspoons minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Garnishes

• Shredded Cheese
• Avocado
• Cilantro

Instructions

• Coat slow cooker with olive oil; set on low or high heat depending on cook time.
• Rinse and chop carrot, onion, peppers, and butternut squash; add to slow cooker.
• Add pumpkin and 13 remaining ingredients; stir until combined.
• Cover and cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low until the vegetables are tender.
• Garnish with shredded cheese, avocado, and cilantro.

Notes

Expert tip! Purchase low sodium beans and use the entire can in the recipe to get all the micronutrients that may be lost with draining and rinsing of the starchy liquid. If you choose to drain and rinse the beans prior to adding them to the slow cooker, you may need to add ~1/2-1 cup water to replace the fluids.

Mix in the spices, then cover and cook!

Pumpkin Chili Pre-Garnished

Pumpkin chili ready to eat!

Baby.

Taste.

Testing. Approved!!! Her face liked it too!

What is your favorite chili recipe? What do you love about it?

Find more in the hashtag #healthyisyummy