It’s The Great Pumpkin Chili Brown!

Yes I went there. Yes I have another Pumpkin Chili Recipe. Yes you’ll want to try this one too!

Another year, another AOH Chili Cook-Off, and I need just the right recipe to surpass my 2nd and 3rd place finishes from last year. Why not re-enter last year’s Smoky Chicken Chili again and let the voters be reminded of it delicious flavor and bump it up in the ranks? Honestly, I thought about it, but I can’t help myself…I love trying something new.

So here she is and with 8 million ingredients (it’s called layers of flavor people!!) later, you too can sit down once the crock finishes all the heavy lifting and enjoy this seasonally appropriate, hearty and healthy chili.

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 lb ground beef (ground turkey would work too if you have that on hand instead)
2 apples shredded (with peel) I used Gala for some sweetness
2 carrots peeled and shredded
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
4 oz. Butternut squash cubed (I bought this pre-cut at the store to save me time)
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 shallot, minced and separated in half
1 sweet onion, minced and separated in half
4 oz. white mushrooms roughly chopped
3 stalks of celery, diced
1 can pumpkin purée
1 can each kidney, black, pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can fire roasted garlic diced tomatoes
28 oz. chopped tomatoes, undrained
1 can chilies and tomatoes (chipotle if you can find!)
1 can tomato paste
1 can chilies in adobo, puréed
1/2 cup roasted red peppers (add with chilies in adobo and purée)
16 oz beef broth
1 bottle of beer (I used traditional Yuengling, but use what you like!)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbs minced garlic
2 Tbs ginger paste
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 Tbs pumpkin pie spice
1 Tbs cumin
1 Tbs chili powder
1/2 Tbs cayenne powder
1/2 Tbs paprika

INSTRUCTIONS:

LINE YOUR CROCKPOT. Save yourself the mess and cleanup, you’re welcome!
Add apples, carrots, sweet potato, squash, peppers, celery, beans, all tomatoes except paste, chilies and roasted red pepper blend, half of the onions and shallots, pumpkin purée and ginger paste to the crockpot.
Add the mushrooms and remaining halves your shallot and onion to a skillet with your olive oil and cook til translucent.
Add your ground beef and be sure to break up large chunks to it will cook through faster.
Once browned, add pumpkin pie spice, tomato paste and mix through. Add this mix to your crockpot.
Deglaze pan with your beer and pour into crockpot.
Pour beef broth into your crockpot (if you can’t fit it all, save the remainder, you may want it to thin out your chili after it’s done cooking)
Add your remaining spices (cumin, chili powder, cayenne, and paprika) and give the contents of the crock a stir to thoroughly combine.
Cook on low for 9 hours. IF you can open and stir midway, that will allow the top layer to get folded back in and will prevent crunchy veggies. If you can’t, don’t worry about it!
Stir in lemon juice….seriously! It will brighten all the flavors in your chili. You can add slowly if you don’t trust my methods, and stop when you’ve reached your preferred taste.
OPTIONAL STEP: after letting this sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours after cooking, I like to reheat as a whole and then run my immersion blender through. If you prefer lots of big chunks in your chili, you can skip this, but I’ve found that blending some of them down makes for a better overall taste.