Pumpkin Chili
First off, thanks for all your lovely comments on Saturday. I managed to pound out 10 miles on the treadmill later that afternoon. Side note: I detest the treadmill, and doing 10 miles on it was not fun. That still only put me at 19 miles last week, which I was feeling majorly bummed about. Ahh well, I’ll make up for it this week. I’m doing 18 miles on Wednesday and if it goes half as well as Lisa’s 18-miler I will be a happy camper!
OK, onto the yummy pumpkin chili I made yesterday afternoon!
Autumn is in the air. Kind of. Meaning out comes my crock-pot and my favourite fall flavour:
I originally got this recipe idea from Hungry Girl and this recipe is loosely adapted from that one!
Ingredients (whoops, just realized I had the French side facing out on most of the cans for this photo! I’m so used to having French AND English on our food here that I don’t even notice anymore!!):
- 2-ish cups chopped zucchini
- 1.5-ish cups celery
- 1-ish tablespoon garlic (I may have been a little heavy-handed on the garlic and stunk up our whole apartment. Whoops!)
- 1 can of black beans
- 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 can of sliced mushrooms
- 1 can of pumpkin puree
- 1.5-ish cups red kidney beans
- Salt
- Paprika
- Cumin
- Pepper
Eric was not impressed.
The amount of garlic I used resulted in us lighting every candle we own. Whoopsie!
So basically I chopped all the zucchini, celery and garlic and then threw everything in the crockpot. I then let it simmer on medium heat for 4ish hours!
I know the pumpkin seems weird, but I swear you can barely taste it! It makes the chili have a really distinct flavour, almost a bit sweeter?
I served it with some cornbread that I unthawed from the freezer and packed up plenty of leftovers for lunches and dinners this week.
I think Pumpkin is definitely my favourite fall flavour/food. I use it in SO many things: smoothies, oatmeal, pies (obviously), lattes and now chili!
Are you a pumpkin fan? What’s your favourite food that uses pumpkin? And do you use a crockpot, if so, what’s your favourite crockpot meal?
I love, love, love pumpkin – but I typically only use it in sweet dishes. I have a bunch of savory dish recipes but have never tried them for some reason. Great job on getting even the 10 miles in the treadmill…it’s hard to pound out the miles on them!
I have that Hungry Girl cookbook! She has so many great recipes in there but the pumpkin chili is one I kind of glossed over because pumpkin in chili? Doesn’t sound so appetizing! I’m actually not big on pumpkin, though. I don’t like pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread for some reason. I do LOVE pumpkin seeds, though.
That looks good. I will have to try that once the weather takes it down a notch. I cant fathom eating anything warm like that now
I don’t use pumpkin often. But I think I’ll be trying it out in oats this fall- it seemed “all the rage” last year and I’m sorta curious.
That looks amazing! I’ve never tried using pumpkin in anything other than pumpkin pie. You use it in smoothies?? Teach me your ways.
Oh yum! My SIL has that deceptively delicious cook book and she makes a mac & cheese w/ pumpkin in it – she said it’s so good and you can’ teven tell there is pumpkin in it…
I am more of a savory person than a sweet person, so I am not a huge fan of pumpkin – unless it’s prepared in a savory way. When I was in Australia, we went out for Thai food and we got this amazing dish w/ chunks of pumpkin in it. It was AMAZING.
I am crossing your fingers that you have a great 18 miler like I did!
I LOVE pumpkin! I’m definitely going to be making this recipe! Thanks! (I have a great recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip cookies that I love to make).
Pumpkin chili? Interesting. I would like to try that sometime.
Love pumpkin pie! Ken also made a pumpkin spice roll! I seriously could not stop eating it! It had a cream cheese filling. SO GOOD!
I have a crockpot. I use it mostly for stews or roasts. We used it once a week a few years ago but now its been on the shelf for the last year.
YUM, that looks really good. I love pumpkin! I am so ready for Starbucks to start selling their pumpkin spice lattes again. Fall is definitely my favorite time of year.
My fave crock pot meal is my mom’s mac and cheese.
yumm this sounds so good. i am saving it to try later!
One of my favorite first-course soups is pumpkin soup. I mince onion and shallots and cook in a bit of olive oil for about an hour on very low heat until they are quite soft (I imagine the crock pot would work well here too), then add pumpkin puree, broth, lemon, and spices. I’m heavy-handed on the cumin – it produces a wonderfully fragrant and beautiful soup. I serve it in dainty teacups as a first course, topped with spiced sour cream (stir cayenne into sour cream the day before). Everyone raves!
Wow – thanks so much for sharing this. Sounds AH-MA-ZING and I adore pumpkin soup. Will definitely be trying this!!
I LOVE pumpkin – thanks for sharing that recipe! And aww, if my house smelled like garlic I would refuse to let D light any candles – I think it’s one of the best smells ever!
I made a pumpkin cheesecake last year for Thanksgiving which turned out really well – I’ll have to dig out the recipe again as I guess the autumn is really not that far away!
I really like pumpkin, but as my dad HATES pumpkin (and just about anything in the squash family unless it’s made into a cake) I only get to have pumpkin based foods when I go out. I’ve had pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin soup, pumpkin cake, pumpkin beer…lol
Oh yes! Pumpkin the the BEST autumn flavour! I’ve never heard of it in chili, but I’m intrigued. Thanks for sharing!
I love pumpkin- I use it the most in my oatmeal but I am definitely going to try this recipe. I wish I was better about using my crock pot but it’s HUGE and we have it hidden away so I really have to motivate myself to take it out. Maybe I will though. Good for you for busting out 10 miles on the treadmill. I don’t mind the treadmill but I don’t think I could do past 4 or 5 miles on it!
I think the only way I like pumpkin is in pie! But it’s gotta be REAL pumpkin pie, with the roasted pumpkin filling and all!
I’m still “learning” how to use my crockpot, lol. I only ever make chili and spaghetti sauce.
That recipe sounds great! Can’t wait to use my crockpot again. I looove pumpkin, but the manfriend doesn’t so much. I’ll have to sneak it in.
He won’t even notice, swear
I love pumpkin in breads or muffins. I use my crockpot occasionally – usually for curries.
I’ve never had pumpkin in chilli before, but your recipe sounds delicious!
I’m not quite ready for fall yet…it hasn’t been warm enough all summer here for me to be sick of the heat yet!
I love pumpkin in cakes and cookies, it gives such a warm and spicy flavor. Puts me in the mood for autumn!
i know this is really not what you want to hear but many many runners have shared this with me and i feel the need to share it with you. once you have missed a workout, let it go. do NOT fret about it- do NOT try to make it up, just move on. spending this entire week stressing about last week’s run isnt worth it. right now its all about endurance and running for long periods of time. making up a mile here and there wont make a difference..
please consider this. it will make your life a LOT easier. i came to terms with training when i decided once a run was missed, it was misssed. great job on 10 
I think it sounds really interesting and I would definitely been willing to try to. As for the crockpot, we do have one, but only for a month or so. And we’ve only cooked about two things with it, so I can’t quite say I have a favorite. But I am definitely looking forward to winter making all types of things with it!
oh you are too clever!!! pumpkin chili!! i just saw a post about sweet potato chili which was amazing, and now im seeing pumpkin.. YUM YUM YUM
I think I’m the only one that doesn’t like pumpkin pie!! I’ve never liked it or anything else pumpkin, until last fall/winter, this lady at work made pumpkin loaf for treat day.
OMG it was ammmmmmmazing!!! That’s the only pumpkin I’ve had.
We use the crockpot a lot….chilis, stews, roasts…..my fav would be….all of the above lol
i’m obsessed with pumpkin! it’s very common in Australia, almost every restaurant has it on their menu. hard to find pumpkin in a can though, you’ll only find it in one store that specializes in overseas groceries. (where you’ll also find a case of 24 dr. pepper for $50!!! can you imagine?) anyway, my favourite way to eat pumpkin is on pizza
I love pumpkin!
I hate pumpkin pie, which is weird, but whatev. I love pumpkin and I have HG books…I might have to try this recipe…
Great recipe. I have cooked pumpkin curry before but never chili. I will have to try your recipe.
As a side note: I wonder if anyone else noticed the miniature cat sitting on one of your candles! I hope it wasn’t too hot for him.