A veggie-packed chili that tastes like fall and everyone can enjoy.

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There are a million ways to make chili and they are all so unique. I love this recipe especially because it combines my love for sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and spicy chili. It’s a winner.

I’ve been playing with this recipe a couple of times and love how it has turned out and the balance of smooth pumpkin, soft sweet potatoes, and beans. I also highly recommend the toppings because they are delicious and add a lot of flavor to the chili. My favorite added texture is the mushrooms. I finely chopped the mushrooms and cooked them first and they add an amazing meaty texture to the chili. Try this one out and let me know what you think!

Ingredients Description:

• Garlic – Always do lots of fresh garlic. It protects you from vampires.

• Yellow Onion.

• Fire-roasted tomatoes – this adds some extra spice and flavor.

• Vegetable broth – Try to get low sodium broth. It makes the chili taste a lot more natural without all the added salt.

• Sweet potato – You will need a medium to large sweet potato. Peel and cut into small cubes (1/2″). You want to have chunks of sweet potato in the chilli, but you don’t want to make it difficult to cook through and soften.

• Carrots. Use one carrot or a cup of chopped carrots.

• Pumpkin puree – I used Libby’s, but any brand of pumpkin puree will do as long as it doesn’t have added sweeteners. It’s soo good in this chili and adds a natural creaminess.

• Crushed tomatoes – This adds more moisture to the chili and tomatoes in a chili are a must.

• Kidney beans, Pinto Beans & Black Beans.

• Bella (where the hell have you been, loca?) Mushrooms – I love adding in mushrooms to this chili It provides an extra meaty texture, great flavor, and more nutrients! I honestly used to despise mushrooms before I became vegan. I would pick them off of foods, or just not even touch food that had mushrooms. Turns out, if properly cooked, they are amazing! I think also being vegan helps expand your palate and helps you learn to love things from nature more than just piling loads of dairy cheese onto everything.

• Seasonings – Cumin, chili powder, crushed red pepper, coriander, salt. I’ll provide measurements, but I also encourage you to try adding them in slowly and finding the sweet spot where you like your seasonings. We all have different spice preferences. I once tried a chili recipe that wanted like half a cup of just chili powder. That’s a big no for me!

• Olive Oil (optional).

• Optional Toppings – Sour cream, vegan cheese, avocado, tortilla chips.

Detailed Instructions:

• Chop and cook garlic and onion. Dice onion and mince the garlic finely with a knife. Add oil to a medium-large pot with olive oil and cook on medium until onions are translucent.

• Add chopped mushrooms. Finely chop onions until they almost resemble cooked ground beef. You can also give it a few spins in a food processor to acheive this texture. Add to the pan and cook for a few minutes to get the mushrooms more cooked and the flavors expanding.

• Cook sweet potato and carrots. Chop sweet potato and carrot into small pieced and throw into the pan. Cook until the outside of the veggies look lightly cooked.

• Add in beans, tomatoes, and broth. Pour them in and stir well to mix in the flavors.

• Pour in pumpkin. Slowly stir in the can of pumpkin until it blends well with the rest of the ingredients.

• Add seasonings. Slowly add in the seasonings, checking that you’re happy with the way it tastes. I would really only do a tiny bit of the crushed red pepper though. It goes a long way.

• Simmer – Turn down heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes or longer until you are ready to serve. The longer this cookes the better it tastes!

Recipe List

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes or more

Serves: 10+

Ingredients:

• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 yellow onion
• 15oz fire roasted tomatoes
• 32oz crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 carrot (or 1 cup)
• 8oz bella mushrooms
• 15oz pumpkin
• 15oz black beans
• 15oz pinto beans
• 15oz kidney beans
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp coriander
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• salt to taste
• ***Optional Toppings – Vegan sour cream, vegan cheese, avocado, tortilla chips.***

Detailed Instructions:

1. Mince garlic and dice onion, cook in medium-large pot with olive oil until translucent.
2. Finely chop mushrooms with knife or food processor and add to pan.
3. Dice sweet potato and carrot and combine in pan. Cook until slightly softened (about 5 minutes).
4. Add all beans, tomatoes, and broth.
5. Pour in full can of pumpkin and stir well.
6. Add in seasonings.
7. Lower temperature and simmer for 30 minutes or until you would like to serve. Enjoy!

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