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Cauldron Pumpkin Chili

A thick, smoky chili with real pumpkin folded in. The dinner to serve before the doorbell starts — one pot, and it holds all evening.

Cauldron Pumpkin Chili — Halloween recipe
Prep time
1 hr
Serves
8
Difficulty
Easy
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The dinner to serve before the doorbell starts. One pot, thick and smoky, with real pumpkin folded in for body — and it holds on low heat all evening while people come and go.

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs ground beef or turkey
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 28 oz crushed tomatoes
  • 15 oz pumpkin puree
  • 2 cans kidney beans, drained
  • 2 cups beef or chicken stock
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • Salt and pepper
  • Sour cream, pepitas, and cilantro to serve

Instructions

  1. Brown the meat hard in a heavy pot and set it aside, leaving the fat behind.
  2. Soften the onion, pepper, and garlic in that fat for 6 minutes.
  3. Add the dry spices and stir for a full minute until fragrant — this is where the depth comes from.
  4. Return the meat and add the tomatoes, pumpkin, beans, stock, and brown sugar.
  5. Simmer uncovered 40 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick enough to hold a spoon upright.
  6. Season well and serve with sour cream, toasted pepitas, and cilantro.

Why it works & making it ahead

Brown the meat hard and cook the dry spices in the fat for a full minute before any liquid goes in; that minute is where the depth comes from. Simmer uncovered until a spoon stands up in it. Better the next day, and it freezes for a month.

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Serve it in a hollowed sugar pumpkin for the table and no one will forget the night.

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