Pumpkin Chili
This gluten free Pumpkin Chili Recipe is a twist on the classic, incorporating rich, earthy pumpkin puree for a fall-inspired comfort meal! Garnish with sour cream and fresh cilantro for a hearty and satisfying meal that celebrates the flavors of fall!
Why We Love This Best Pumpkin Chili Recipe
To me, fall is chili season. Even more so than winter. I love simmering big pots of traditional chili once the weather turns cold, to serve with fluffy cornbread.
Usually, I add beer to my traditional chili recipe to offer a deeper note. In this Pumpkin Chili recipe, I carried on the fall flavors by pouring in apple hard cider instead. The apple undertones in the chili balance out the spice and make this chili recipe very hard to resist!
I know that adding pumpkin to chili sounds odd, but trust me when I say it offers so much flavor for this savory pumpkin chili! Substituting pumpkin for tomatoes does several wonderful things…
- It gives the chili a sweet rustic essence and deep flavor.
- It provides a thicker luxurious texture.
- It’s a fabulous platform for fall spices.
- And it tastes great with pork or chicken, if you aren’t a beef lover.
Update: Last fall, my daughter Ava and I entered this pumpkin chili recipe in a local chili cookoff… And won! In the last two years since I originally posted this recipe, I’ve had several people email me to say they had also used this recipe for neighborhood, state fair, and sponsored chili competitions and they all placed in first or second place!
Ingredients You Need
Healthy gluten-free pumpkin chili uses minimal ingredients for a super flavorful stew. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Ground Pork or Chicken – for a richer chili, use ground pork
- Onion – sweet onion is best
- Red Bell Pepper – diced
- Garlic Cloves – freshly minced
- Chipotle Peppers – canned in adobo sauce and chopped
- Pumpkin Puree – 100% canned pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
- Hard Cider – for a depth of flavor
- Kidney Beans – or black beans, for added protein and texture
- Chicken Broth
- Spices – chili powder, cumin, salt, cinnamon, bay leaves and salt
How to Make Homemade Pumpkin Chili
Place a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the ground pork and break into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Add the chopped onion, bell pepper, garlic and chipotle peppers. Cook until the meat is browned and the onions are soft.
Pour the pumpkin puree, hard cider, beans and chicken broth into the pot. Add chili powder, cumin, salt, cinnamon, and bay leaves. Stir well.
Simmer for at least 30 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream, cilantro, red onion, and avocado! Enjoy!
Get the Full (Printable) Pumpkin Chili Recipe + VIDEO Below!
Serving Suggestions
Pumpkin Chili can be enjoyed on its own as a hearty and comforting meal. I highly recommend topping your bowl off with all of the fixin’s like sour cream, cilantro, red onion, avocado, and some crushed tortilla chips or Fritos!
If you are looking to serve some sides along with your chili, try serving it with some of my favorites:
- Fluffy Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread
- Roasted Root Vegetables
- Homemade Tortillas
- Cornbread Muffins
- Sweet Potato Biscuits
Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely! You can use any ground meat you prefer. Ground beef, ground pork, ground turkey, or ground chicken are all great options. For a leaner pumpkin chili recipe, you can use ground chicken or turkey!
To make a vegetarian pumpkin chili, omit the ground meat and increase the amount of beans you add to the recipe. You can use a combination of kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans, or use just one or two of them. Use water or vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. This pumpkin chili is already dairy-free, so for vegan pumpkin chili, simply use vegan toppings!
To store, place in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave until heated through!
Generally, yes. You want to simmer your pumpkin chili for at least 30 minutes, but it will develop more flavor the longer you simmer it. If you can simmer it for up to one hour, that would be ideal to let the flavors really come together!
More Chili Recipes We Love
- Roasted Red Pepper Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker Chili Mac and Cheese
- Best Turkey Chili
- Frito Chili Cheeseburgers
- Nachos with Chili Con Carne
- New Mexican Green Chili
- Vegan Chili
- Paleo White Chicken Chili
- Paleo Chicken Chile Verde
Pumpkin Chili Recipe + Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground pork, or ground chicken
- 1 large sweet onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
- 29 ounces 100% pure pumpkin puree (1 can)
- 2 bottles hard cider, gluten-free (12-ounce bottles)
- 2 cans kidney beans, drained (15-ounce cans)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1-2 bay leaves
- Optional Toppings: sour cream, cilantro, red onion
Instructions
- Place a large sauce pot over medium heat. Add the ground pork and break into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Add the chopped onion, bell pepper, garlic, and chipotle peppers. Cook until the meat is browned and the onions are soft.
- Pour the pumpkin puree, hard ciders, beans, and chicken broth into the pot. Add chili powder, cumin, salt, cinnamon, and bay leaves. Stir well.
- Simmer for at least 30 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Serve warm with toppings if desired.
I made this last night but modified it only to make it vegan by subbing veggie broth for the chicken broth and lightlife vegan meat for the meat. It was absolutely fabulous. Thank you so much for this beautiful fall chili which is now permanently part of our repertoire.
I intended to make this chili just for my husband and me, but my workplace was having a Wellness Week and on one of the days we were encouraged to make and bring a healthy dish- so I chose to make this chili. The only modification I did was to use Pumpkin Cider, a large bottle, rather than hard apple cider. The result was AMAZING!!! Just like the blog said, it is a crowd-pleaser! There was not a drop left (much to my husband’s disappointment, even though I had put aside some for him, too!). Everyone raved about it and several people asked for the recipe, so I printed it out and gave them copies. My husband is now begging me to make this again- soon- and not take any of it to work!
You said you sometimes use beer? What kind? Is that in place of cider? Is cider better?
Hi Sarah,
I like cider better in this recipe because to pairs well with the pumpkin. However, a light crisp beer is great in any chili recipe! I usually add one 12oz bottle.
I just made this for my school’s annual chili cook-off, and I won best unique chili! Thank you for posting it. The end result was amazing!
Hi Quinn,
YES!!!! I love it. You just made my day. :)
Would this work with regular apple juice? I don’t have access to cider here in Turkey
Hi Bonnie,
Absolutely! That is a great substitution.
Is it possible to use another bean instead of kidney (not a fan!)..say, pinto or great northern?? Thank you, this sounds SO yummy!
Hi Mimi,
Yes, you can use any canned bean you like. :)
Great recipe. Have made mostly tomato based with the occasional white chili. Usually less ingredients. This was a huge hit. Amazing depth of flavor. Followed the recipe except for 1 more chipotle pepper. Thanks
What a ground pork ground beef mixture work in this recipe?
Hi Sherri,
Absolutely! We’ve made it with ground turkey before as well.
This is was SO delicious. I love savory pumpkin dishes like this and using the pork was a nice twist.
Pumpkin should ALWAYS be in chili. This is a game changer and was a huge hit! Thanks for sharing!
The secret ingredient in this recipe is absolutely brilliant! Yum!
Love pumpkin chili! I’ve always added a can of pumpkin to whatever chili I make, but decided to follow along with this recipe for a change and I’m so glad I did! It was a huge hit!
I know I am just going to LOVE this! I can’t wait to make this!
I made this chili in the slow cooker. It was really good, and I will make it again, but I am adjusting the spices to 1tsp of cayenne powder (I don’t have chili powder), 1/2 tbsp of cumin and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. For us, it was too spicy, we loved that itwas really creamy and nice with the pumpkin purée instead of tomatoes, and felt very much like fall comfort food!
You say to add the chicken broth in with the ciders, but you don’t have chicken broth listed in the ingredients, or how much to add.
Sorry about that Kayleigh,
We are in the middle of a recipe format update and there have been some glitches. All fixed!
This looks so good! What are your thoughts on using a slow cooker? Could I put everything in there for 2-3 hours on low instead?
Hi Janelle,
If you have a multi-cooker and can sauté the veggies and get the pork started at a higher heat first, that would be best. Then turn it down to slow cook and leave it for several hours. If not, I would do this in a skillet, then combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker.
I did use the slow cooker for two hours, but it smelled so amazing after one hour that we couldn’t resist and ate it then. It is amazing!
i only used 1 cider and 1/2 cup of chicken broth as this seemed to be way too much liquid – turned out wonderful and was a hit for a party!
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