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White Bean Pumpkin Chili

5 from 18 votes
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You can all thank my sister Karami for this recipe – and introducing me to how amazing pumpkin is in chili. Pumpkin chili might just be one of my new favourite things. Yes, we all might be “over” the pumpkin craze now because it’s November and technically we are moving on to bigger, more Christmas-y things. I must confess however that I am a pumpkin lover all year-long.

White Bean Pumpkin Chili in a large serving bowl

How to Make Pumpkin Chili

Sometimes it seems thanks to (wonderful) things like Pinterest and Facebook that we are besieged by everything in season and then…crickets. I honestly have started to tune out all of the pumpkin recipes that are all over the place come September and October. I want to eat pumpkin year round and not just when Starbucks releases their pumpkin spice latte and  we all go crazy for it.Thus my writing up of a pumpkin chili recipe in mid-November. Man, I’m such a rebel.

a bowl of White Bean Pumpkin Chili with 2 spoons beside it

The secret to an amazing soup, chili or stew is to puree a small amount of it at the end to thicken it up. I haven’t bought a new hand blender in years and the one I have now works well, but this one is infinitely better.   We used it at my sisters to blend up the chili in a rather small pot, without making a mess.  Remember that secret of mine : always blend in a small amount at the end of cooking and you’ll have the best tasting chili/soup ever!

blending up the chili in a small pot using a hand blender

This chili is pretty darn fast to make and it’s healthy to boot. You use a can of pumpkin puree ( not pie filling!) which helps to thicken it up and gives it a slight hint of pumpkin taste. You’d be surprised how it doesn’t overpower the entire chili, it simply infuses a little flavour – and a lot of health benefits – into it.

Did I mention that we add in a little cinnamon as well? Don’t be scared. It’s ok.

A bit of cinnamon in this chili is simply wonderful. You may even want to add more! Think of how cinnamon is amazing in curries and you will understand how cinnamon in a chili is a very, very good thing. I would actually add more but I didn’t want to scare my family off too much at first. Cinnamon in a chili is something that you almost mentally have to get over first.

close up bowl of White Bean Pumpkin Chili

Who would have thought pumpkin was great in chili? Not Mike, that’s for sure, yet he loved this chili. It’s going to be a new favourite this winter!

Happy cooking!

Love,

Karlynn

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White Bean Pumpkin Chili

This White Bean Pumpkin Chili will soon become a new family favourite! Use turkey or ground beef in it, the choice is yours.
5 from 18 votes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
American
Servings
6
Calories
310
Author
Karlynn Johnston

Ingredients
 

  • 1.5 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1 large white onion diced
  • 14 ounces pure pumpkin puree
  • 14 ox diced tomatoes
  • 19 ounces white kidney beans
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder or to taste I use around 2 1/2
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons onion salt
  • 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • extra salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Fry ground beef and onions in the bottom of a large stock pot until the ground beef is brown and the onions are soft. Drain grease.  
  • Mix in the pumpkin, tomatoes, beans and spices.
  • Simmer in the pot until the beans soften slightly. The longer you simmer, the more time the spices have to meld together.
  • At the very end, use your hand blender to puree a small amount in the pot, (maybe a cup) this thickens the chili and makes it amazing!!!
  • Serve and enjoy.

Recipe Notes

You can use ground turkey in this recipe if you want to make a leaner chili.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 6g, Calories: 310kcal, Carbohydrates: 29g, Protein: 33g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 70mg, Sodium: 899mg, Potassium: 979mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 11085IU, Vitamin C: 5.4mg, Calcium: 81mg, Iron: 6.5mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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This White Bean Pumpkin Chili will soon become a new family favourite! Use turkey or ground beef in it, the choice is yours. #pumpkin #chili

Karlynn Johnston

I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

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Reader Interactions

Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!

  1. FlorenceCochrane says

    My favorite soup is vegetable chicken noodle.

  2. Rebby says

    Curried Carrot soup is one of my favourites!  Also Beef Barley 🙂

  3. DawnMonroe says

    My favorites are potato soup and French onion.

  4. nancyloring317 says

    My grandmother was Portuguese and she was the best cook. One of my favorite meals  that she made was Portuguese Kale Soup. She always added extra pieces of linguica because I would pick at it all day while it simmered.

  5. nancyloring317 says

    I signed up for your newsletter nancyloring317@gmail.com

  6. SteveWeber says

    I am an email subscriber – groogruxking40 @ gmail dot com 

  7. SteveWeber says

    I am an email subscriber – groogruxking40 @ gmail dot com

  8. Jo Mar says

    Wonder what would happen if you added pumpkin pie filling. The spices certainly wouldn’t hurt the recipe. Any comments?

    • The Kitchen Magpie says

      I prefer to add to taste as I definitely DO add cinnamon to this! I think it might be too much….

  9. Jo Mar says

    Entered. Recipe sounds absolutely delicious. Can’t wait to try it and use my new blender.

  10. JudyC says

    My favourite soup is a toss up between Cream of Broccoli and Chicken Noodle, both homemade of course!  (Judy Cowan)

  11. dmarie824 says

    I love baked potato soup.  Homemade only, please!

  12. Susan Marcellus says

    This will be on my menu this week fo sure! Looks luscious.

  13. WhitneyGratias says

    This sounds so good! Will definitely have to try this recipe!

  14. jewelwood55 says

    My favorite soup is Crockpot Chicken and Noodle Soup that I love this time of year!

  15. SandraRoutliffe says

    I signed up for your newletter.  :)  This looks delicious. 🙂

  16. SandraRoutliffe says

    I signed up for your newletter.  🙂  This looks delicious. 🙂

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