Slow cooker pumpkin chili
A thick, gently sweet fall chili of beans, peppers and canned pumpkin with a whisper of cinnamon, meatless and so cozy you won’t miss a thing.
- 380 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 6
- About $1.55 a serving
- 270 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can canned pumpkin, 15 oz
- 1 can diced tomatoes, with the juice
- 1 vegetable bouillon cube, check the box: most cubes make 2 cups each
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ cup sour cream (optional)
- 2 tbsp pepitas (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
Each serving has about 270 calories, 14 g protein, 50 g carbs and 2 g fat, and costs about $1.55 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No red bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
- No diced tomatoes? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No sour cream? Plain Greek yogurt works.
- No pepitas? Sunflower seeds work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion and bell pepper, the garlic, and and all three cans of beans.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Put everything except the sour cream and pepitas in the slow cooker and stir until the pumpkin is mixed in.
Dolly’s tip: Make sure the can says pure pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, which is already sweetened and spiced.Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 3 hours.
Timer: 360 min
Stir well and taste. Add salt, or a little more chili powder if you want it spicier.
Ladle into bowls and top with a spoonful of sour cream and a sprinkle of pepitas.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Slow cooker quinoa enchilada casserole
200 min
Cheesy rice and bean casserole
55 min
Slow cooker BBQ beans with baked potatoes
390 min
Slow cooker chickpea korma
330 min
Vegetarian dinners ›Pantry dinners ›What to make with canned tomatoes and bell peppers ›What to make with black beans and bell peppers ›What to make with black beans and canned tomatoes ›