
It’s winter, which means it’s cold, everyone is sick and it’s time for some hearty chili. It’s really hard to screw up chili, you just need to throw a bunch of ingredients in a big pot, put some spice on it and let it cook for a bit and ta da! Chili. I’ve been making chili for so many eons that I rarely experiment with variations but today I felt inspired! I wanted something super robust and chock-full of nutrition so I incorporated pumpkin and quinoa into my basic recipe. The results are mouth-watering. Enjoy!
Three Bean Pumpkin Quinoa Chili
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, diced
1 carrot, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 jalapeño peppers, minced
1 12oz pumpkin beer
1 tbsp chipotle pepper powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp cumin
2 bay leaves
3 cups vegetable broth
1 15oz can pumpkin puree
1 280z can crushed tomatoes
3 15oz cans of beans (I used 1 kidney, 1 pinto, 1 northern)
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup frozen corn

Instructions
1) Warm olive oil in a large soup pot or dutch oven. Add onions and kosher salt. Sauté for 3-5 minutes then add bell pepper and carrot. Sauté until fragrant.
2) Add garlic and jalapeño pepper and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
3) Add pumpkin beer and mix well. Cook down for 3-5 minutes. Add spices (chipotle powder, cayenne, cumin).
4) Add remaining ingredients except quinoa and corn. Cook at medium to medium high for 30 minutes then bring back to a boil and add quinoa. Cook until quinoa is cooked through then add frozen corn and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.
5) Cook longer if too thin, add more liquid if too thick. Remove bay leaves and serve.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1-1.5 hours
Servings: 6-8 bowls
I can’t wait to try this recipe! (And by try it, I don’t mean cook it, I mean EAT it.)
Thanks! There is a TON! Please eat lots and lots and lots of it.
This looks SO GOOD! I’m so happy to see your post. Your blog is one of the first I started when I went vegan. I miss you!
JL! I miss you too! Sorry I left Twitter. Thank you for the comment. I’ll email you soon!