Spiced Pumpkin and Chorizo Chili
This spiced pumpkin and chorizo chili is a dish that I make the second that glimpses of fall start to peak through summer. Smokey spices, pumpkin, crispy chorizo, and glazed apples make for the perfect fall meal. If you’re anything like me you love chili and cinnamon rolls together. Try my pumpkin sourdough cinnamon rolls with this spiced pumpkin chili!
Related: Homemade bone broth recipe
Related: Roasted Garlic Sourdough Bread Recipe
SUPPLIES YOU’LL NEED FOR THIS RECIPE
- Cutting board
- Large chef’s knife
- Dutch oven (how to clean dutch ovens)
- Stand mixer (optional)
- Flat beater attachment (optional)
- Immersion blender
Ingredients for Spiced Pumpkin and Chorizo Chili
- 1 tablespoon ghee or butter
- 1 diced sweet onion
- 4 minced cloves garlic
- 4 tsp harissa (or chili) paste (Trader Joes has a great harissa paste)
- 4 cups pumpkin puree
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups bone broth – use my homemade bone broth recipe here.
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (I use raw cream or coconut cream)
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese plus more for topping (I use raw cheddar cheese)
- 1 large honeycrisp apple chopped
- 1 tbs maple syrup
- 1 cup chorizo (or 1 pack of Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo)
- optional side roasted garlic sourdough bread
instructions for spiced pumpkin and chorizo chili
Time needed: 25 minutes
Spiced Pumpkin and Chorizo
- Dice and shred ingredients
Dice your onion and apple and shred your cheese.
- Saute Onion
In a dutch oven or large stockpot preheat some ghee over medium heat and then add your onion. Saute the onion until it has softened and started to become translucent. Then add your minced garlic and saute until fragrant. This step should take about 3-5 minutes.
- Add harissa paste
Toss your harissa (or chile) paste in with the onions and stir it up. Let these flavors blend together for about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in pumpkin and bone broth
Stir in your pumpkin puree and bone broth until it’s all combined.
- Add your spices
Toss in your chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper then stir until combined.
- Simmer
Let the chili simmer for about 5-10 minutes over low-medium heat. The flavors will marinade together and it’ll start to smell like fall in your house!
- Puree (optional step)
This is totally optional, and I sometimes omit this step entirely. Either use an immersion blender or transfer the chili to a stand blender and puree until smooth. Sometimes I’ll just puree a little bit so there are still some chunks of onion.
- Add cream and cheese
Add your cream and cheese, stir into the chili and let simmer while you make the chorizo and apples.
- Glaze the apples
Preheat a cast-iron skillet and then some ghee over high heat. Toss in apples, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Toss the apples until caramelized. Remove the apples onto a plate but keep the sauce in the pan.
- Crispy chorizo
Make the crispy chorizo component by adding your chorizo directly into the pan with the glaze from the apples. Cook until crispy and then set aside on a plate.
- Dish and serve
Serve the soup with some glazed apples, crispy chorizo, and some cheese on top. Then enjoy the taste of fall in a bowl with this heart-healthy chili!
how to prepare leftover chili
To store this chili you’ll want to keep the topping and the chili separate. Store each in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To reheat, simply scoop some chili into a saucepan and heat on medium-low on the stove. Crisp up the chorizo and apples in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Then serve just like you did on day 1.
Another option is to toss the chili in the microwave with the toppings already on it – you’ll lose some of the crispiness of the chorizo, but the flavors are just as good!
tips to make this chili healthy
These tips can be used for any chili recipe to make it a little cleaner and nutrient-dense!
- Use ghee instead of butter
- Use pure pumpkin puree – not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling has a ton of added sugar.
- Use bone broth instead of chicken stock or broth. Bone broth is filled with a ton more nutrients and great collagen!
- For the cream component – use either coconut cream or raw cream (if you’re comfortable with that).
heart healthy vegetarian chili
To make this a vegetarian chili all you need to do is use the Trader Joe’s soy chorizo – tastes exactly like the real thing!
how to reduce sodium in chili
- Don’t use a spice blend, or make your own such as this low sodium taco seasoning.
- Use low sodium bone broth or homemade bone broth
- Use lemon to flavor the chili – lemon brings out the flavors of food just like salt
- Use sea salt instead of table salt. Sea salt actually contains many nutritional benefits, whereas table salt is devoid of nutrients.
how do you fix over-seasoned chili
Did you accidentally use a little too much spice in your chili? Here’s how to fix it!
- Add more bone broth
- Increase dairy – add more cream, cheese, sour cream, milk or coconut milk.
- Use an acid – like lemon juice, wine, apple cider vinegar
- Serve with something starchy
Spiced pumpkin chili inspiration
Do you know when you have a half-full can of pumpkin puree sitting in your fridge? I’m always looking for creative ways to use that thing! So, I wanted a fall-y chili recipe that could help get rid of it. I made this recipe using the inspiration from Half Baked Harvest’s pumpkin chili recipe and my love for everything harvest season!
what makes this chili heart healthy
- Pumpkin contains fiber, potassium, and vitamin C which all support heart health!
- Apples contain polyphenols, flavonoids, and fiber that contribute to heart health and lowering your LDL cholesterol and increasing your HDL cholesterol.
- Onions are rich in antioxidants and help to fight inflammation.
Related: Pumpkin Spice Granola Bark Recipe
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- Dutch oven
- Stand mixer
- Boos Block Butcher Block
- 12 inch Cast Iron Skillet
- Cutting board
- Large chef’s knife
- Flat beater attachment (optional)
- Immersion blender
more easy dinner recipes
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Chicken and sourdough dumplings
pin it for later – spiced pumpkin and chorizo chili
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print the recipe – spiced pumpkin and chorizo chili
Spiced Pumpkin and Chorizo Chili
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Dice your onion and apple and shred your cheese.
- In a dutch oven or large stock pot preheat some ghee over medium heat and then add your onion. Saute the onion until it has softened and started to become translucent. Saute the onion until it has softened and started to become translucent. Then add your minced garlic and saute until fragrant. This step should take about 3-5 minutes.
- Toss your harissa (or chile) paste in with the onions and stir it up. Let these flavors blend together for about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in your pumpkin puree and bone broth until it's all combined.
- Toss in your chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper then stir until combined.
- Let the chili simmer for about 5-10 minutes over low-medium heat. The flavors will marinade together and it'll start to smell like fall in your house!
- This is totally optional, and I sometimes omit this step entirely. Either use an immersion blender or transfer the chili to a stand blender and puree until smooth. Sometimes I'll just puree a little bit so there are still some chunks of onion.
- Add your cream and cheese, stir into the chili and let simmer while you make the chorizo and apples.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet and then some ghee over high heat. Toss in your apples maple syrup, and cinnamon. Toss the apples until caramelized. Remove the apples onto a plate but keep the sauce in the pan.
- Make the crispy chorizo component by adding your chorizo directly into the pan with the glaze from the apples. Cook until crispy and then set aside on a plate.
- Serve the soup with some glazed apples, crispy chorizo, and some cheese on top. Then enjoy the taste of fall in a bowl with this heart healthy chili! Serve with some homemade sourdough bread on the side.
Notes
how to prepare leftover chili
To store this chili you’ll want to keep the topping and the chili separate. Store each in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, simply scoop some chili into a saucepan and heat on medium-low on the stove. Crisp up the chorizo and apples in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Then serve just like you did on day 1. Another option is to toss the chili in the microwave with the toppings already on it – you’ll lose some of the crispiness of the chorizo, but the flavors are just as good!tips to make this chili healthy
These tips can be used for any chili recipe to make it a little cleaner and nutrient-dense!- Use ghee instead of butter
- Use pure pumpkin puree – not pumpkin pie filling. Pie filling has a ton of added sugar.
- Use bone broth instead of chicken stock or broth. Bone broth is filled with a ton more nutrients and great collagen!
- For the cream component – use either coconut cream or raw cream (if you’re comfortable with that).
heart healthy vegetarian chili
To make this a vegetarian chili all you need to do is use the Trader Joe’s soy chorizo – tastes exactly like the real thing!how to reduce sodium in chili
- Add the salt at the end
- Use low sodium bone broth or homemade bone broth
- Don’t use pre-made spice blends – mix up your own spice blends
- Use lemon to flavor the chili – lemon brings out the flavors of food just like salt
- Use sea salt instead of table salt. Sea salt actually contains many nutritional benefits, whereas table salt is devoid of nutrients.
how do you fix over-seasoned chili
Did you accidentally use a little too much spice in your chili? Here’s how to fix it!- Add more bone broth
- Increase dairy – add more cream, cheese, sour cream, milk, or coconut milk.
- Use an acid – like lemon juice, wine, apple cider vinegar
- Serve with something starchy
About Me
Please let me know your questions and how you like this recipe!
Hi! I made this recipe last night and it was absolutely DELICIOUS!! I had no harissa on hand, so subbed in some thai curry paste and it actually gave it a wonderful little twist of flavor. I also only had half and half in the fridge, but felt like it didn’t even need full cream thanks to the richness of the cheese. My only note would be that I minced garlic as per the ingredient list, but then didn’t see where it should go in the steps? I ended up tossing it in (because we love garlic) and I think it did okay because we blended. Kids even had seconds!! Thanks so much.
Hi Christina,
Thank you so much for sharing that review! I’m so glad this is even kid-approved. 🙂 I will adjust the recipe instructions to add the garlic. I sometimes add the garlic as I’m sauteing the onions – or if I forget I do what you did and toss it in with the soup. We are a HUGE garlic fam too.