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