I have off work today!
Woop woop paarrttaayyyyyyy ??
And by party I mean eat breakfast, write this blog post, go to target and spend a little birthday money, order some Chinese takeout for dinner, and rellaaxxxx.
But to some people that is more fun than a party.
And by some people I mean me.
So why do I have off work today when it’s not a holiday or anything special?
Because we had parent teacher conferences until NINE pm last night. NINNNEEEEEEE.
It actually wasn’t bad. All the parents were super nice and supportive. But by nine pm I was having trouble talking in complete sentences and not slurring my words together.
Since every teacher had to be there all day/night for parent teacher conferences, we had a big pot luck dinner where everyone signed up to bring something.
This worked out extremely well for me because my fridge has been overflowing with food since Seth has been gone. This soup and this Pumpkin Chili were taking up a large amount of room and every time I opened the fridge they would say “You are going to have to eat me for every meal for the next two weeks before I go bad. You will never ever want to see a bowl of chili or a bowl of chicken soup again.”
So I signed up for soup, threw my huge amount of leftover chili into a Crock-Pot, and set off for the meetings.
Super convenient, right?!
The chili was a big hit – it got a lot of good reviews ?.
In fact, one of the teachers (she specifically told me to write about this on here) absolutely hates vegetables, and she made a specific point to come over and tell me how much she loved the chili despite the visible “chunks of vegetables” in there ? (fist bump) ?.
So a few things you should know about this yummy bowl of comfort:
- You don’t really taste the pumpkin. Its role in this dish is texture. 100% texture. It makes the chili so thick and luxurious, it thickens everything up really nicely, and it just adds a velvety-ness that you can’t really get from anything else. It was a delicious discovery!
- There are no beans. In my opinion, beans and chili aren’t necessarily a required combination. They function largely as a filler. I was planning on adding them, but then I tried the chili as it was, and I didn’t want to change anything! Feel free to add beans, though, if that’s how you like your chili. It will still be wonderful!
- Like all chili and most soups, this stuff gets better as it sits in the fridge. It’s a great make-ahead-meal!
This would work great as a Crock-Pot recipe as well. Break up the ground beef, throw everything in together, and cook on low for four-five hours or so. It’s a very relaxed recipe. You can change it up, you can leave it as is, you can add yummy toppings, you can eat it by itself – this chili is your oyster ?.
Yummy, yummy. Happy Friday! I’m going to take a nap…I’m still tired from yesterday. Whew!
PrintPumpkin Chili
Whole 30 and paleo approved!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 onions, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 oz can pumpkin puree
- 4 tablespoons chili powder
- 3 tablespoons cumin
- 32 oz box beef stock
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Instructions
- Add the beef to a large pot, season with salt and pepper, and brown
- When the beef is browned, add your onion and garlic + a splash of beef broth to deglaze the pan, and cook for a few minutes until the onion has softened
- Add the pumpkin, stir to combine, and cook for a minute or two, stirring often
- Add your chili powder, cumin, both cans of tomatoes, and your beef stock. Season well with salt and pepper
- Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring periodically
- Stir in your cocoa powder and season to taste with salt and pepper!
*This recipe is gluten free*
In the mood for more yummy chili recipes? Check these out:
30 Minute One Pot White Chicken Chili
Light Turkey Chili Mac and Cheese
This is a great-looking recipe! Definitely making this when my mother-in-law when she comes over tomorrow. I’m going to roast a sugar pumpkin from my garden and use it instead of the canned pumpkin. I also may add black beans and some tomato paste for texture. Maybe sour cream and scallions to garnish?
Great ideas!! I think all of that would be wonderful (especially the fresh roasted pumpkin – yum!). I hope it’s delicious!
This chili was absolutely the best! I made this twice. Once for my work pot luck and again for my husband. Both times it was a huge success. The only change I made was I used ground turkey instead of beef. In the words of my husband, “This is the only way to make chili.”
★★★★★
That makes me so happy!! There is nothing I love hearing more than people trying and loving my recipes :).
Tastes good, but initially it is like chili soup. Cooking it down. Hope it looks like the picture.
★★★
That’s strange, JoAnn! Mine was thick right from the start. Hope cooking it down works for you!
Turned out perfect. Cooked it down a bit. It’s delicious.
I’ve made this twice now and it’s one of my new favorite chili recipes! Last time I forgot the cocoa powder and it was still delicious. Love using up those extra cans of pumpkin I have clogging up the cabinets!
Alyssa @ My Sequined Life recently posted…Pomegranate Moscow Mule
I’m so glad you love it Alyssa!! You’re so right – this is a perfect post-fall recipe to get rid of all that extra pumpkin!! Good point :).
I love how delicious and flavorful this pumpkin chili is — sounds so good! I love the addition of cocoa in here too! I have everything on hand to make them too. Will try this soon. :)
Thanks, Anu :). You will love it!!
That sounds like the perfect day off to me, I hope you enjoy it :)
I just love the addition of pumpkin in chilli. It adds lots of flavour and makes it filling without adding loads of extra calories.
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy recently posted…Comment on Vegan Chocolate Cherry Truffles by Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
Thanks, Dannii :). Yes! I love the extra nutrition it brings! And it makes the texture wonderful :).
Mmm you had me at pumpkin chili! This looks fantastic, Annie! Such a great comfort food meal!
Gayle @ Pumpkin ‘N Spice recently posted…No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Trifle
Thanks, Gayle! It really is the perfect comfort food :).
This chili looks amazing! I love that there are no beans because I kind of hate them. I mean, I’ll eat beans, but I’d rather not and I think that’s why I’ve never been fond of chili. So, I’m definitely going to make this! And yay for having the day off – that must have been a crazy long day!
Keri @ Fashionable Foods recently posted…Whole30 Week 1
Thanks, Keri! I agree…beans are never my favorite part of chili, I always just added them in because they are “supposed” to be there. I like it SO much better without them! You should try it :).
Our conferences are in two more weeks. Super long days….I think I’ll need this chili to help get through it! Glad yours went well!
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop recently posted…Halloween Hot Dog Mummies
So long! I think you definitely need the chili to get through it :).
So funny… I started reading this post, got side tracked for an hour, still had this up in my office, came back and saw you had left a comment on my site while I was messing around.. are we stalking each other? Or am I stalking you because I’ve had your site up on my computer for well over an hour. Lol. Anyways, (see I get side tracked easy) a parent teacher conference till 9?? Dang! That IS long, but I’m sure it was nice meeting all the students ‘rents (sure it explains a lot about the kids. Lol) AND you got to show off this fabulous chili!! I’m not shocked at all that this delicious baby was well recieved! I’ve never had pumpkin in my chili before, because clearly I am super lame. Obviously this needs to happen stat! Looove how “fall” this is! It looks super comforting, like the kind of thing I want to devour in my pj’s and then take a nap. :) Pinned! Cheers to a beautiful weekend, chicka! Xo
Haha! That is so funny! We were stalking each other. In the least creepy way possible. Or maybe it was creepy…I’m fine with it either way. It was very long, but (like you said) really nice to meet everyone’s parents. Yaassss it is super comforting and super fall-y :).
This looks so good! I’ve been dying for chili lately and I can’t wait to try this out
Morgan @ Morgan Manages Mommyhood recently posted…Friday Favorites #26
If you have been in the mood for chili, you should definitely try this one out! It is very yummy :).