Pumpkin chili: a very easy dinner to make. Onion, garlic, carrots, and ground turkey all browned with a simple pumpkin and tomato blend. Filled with short cut pasta of your choice, this is a hearty meal that will please anyone this fall and winter.
What you need to make pumpkin chili:
- Dutch oven – I love using my dutch oven for this recipe. It’s easy! Here’s the one I recommend. You can also use a large pot.
- Another pot – boil the pasta and add it to the chili at the end. This way we don’t have mushy noodles.
How to make pumpkin chili
Start with the vegetables. For this recipe, I used carrots, red bell peppers and yellow onion. I did NOT include beans because….I didn’t have any on hand. BUT you could add those if you’d like.
Brown the veggies all over with some garlic for a few minutes until softened. Then add lean ground turkey. To up the ante on this dish I seasoned the turkey with cumin, chili powder (of course) and cinnamon! This pairs well with the pumpkin so I wouldn’t skip this part!
Then add the pumpkin purée, tomato purée and chicken broth. Then we just let it simmer for 30!
Add the pasta to the pumpkin chili
For this recipe, short cut pasta is the best so use whatever you’d like. I used ditalini, but you can use orzo, wagon wheels or elbow macaroni.
Prepare these noodles like you normally would in a separate pot!
What to put on your pumpkin chili
Here are some suggestions to dress up your bowl once it’s ready:
- parsley
- white cheddar
- pumpkin seeds
- sour cream or greek yogurt
- more cinnamon
Or, just eat it as is!
How to store your pumpkin chili
If your refrigerator allows, leave the leftovers in the dutch oven and store it, covered. To reheat, just put in on a burner and reheat the chili on medium heat. Otherwise, move to a plastic container and consume within 3-5 days.
More fall dinners
If you liked this pumpkin chili, try these other dishes:
- Harvest Chicken Salad
- Pumpkin Hummus
- Apple Butter Cookies with Maple Cream Frosting
- Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Carrot and Potato
- Turkey Chili with Sweet Cornbread
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Pumpkin Chili
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large pot
- medium pot
- knife
- cutting board
- strainer
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 15 oz pumpkin purée
- 1 cup tomato purée
- 1 lb lean ground turkey
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 cup short cut pasta
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- ⅓ cup carrots chopped
- parsley for serving
- white cheddar shredded, for serving
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a dutch oven or large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until warm, and then add the onion, peppers, carrot and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and brown the vegetables for 4-5 minutes.1 tbsp olive oil, 1 yellow onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 red bell pepper, ⅓ cup carrots, salt and pepper
- In the same pot, add in the ground turkey and continue to cook everything, stirring the turkey until browned all over.1 lb lean ground turkey
- Add in the pumpkin purée, tomato purée, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder, and salt and stir. Add in the chicken broth. Turn the heat on low and allow the sauce to simmer for 30 minutes.15 oz pumpkin purée, 1 cup tomato purée, 1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp salt, 2 cups chicken broth
- In the meantime, make the pasta. In a pot, boil a few cups of water and add the pasta. Cook on high for 6-7 minutes and then strain.1 cup short cut pasta
- After 30 minutes, add the pasta. Serve chili with parsley and white cheddar.parsley, white cheddar
Nathan Fleischer
fantastic!