October 1, 2018

Easy Crockpot Pumpkin Chili

Name: Easy Crockpot Pumpkin Chili
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 360 min
Total time: 370 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef (80/20); 1 lb ground meatball mix (veal, pork, beef mix); 1 tbs olive oil; 2 cups sweet potato (about 2-3 large, peeled and cubed); 1 onion (diced); 3 garlic cloves (minced); 1, 15 oz can of cannellini beans (drained and rinsed); 1, 15 oz can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed); 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes (drained); 2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg; 1/2 tsp ground ginger; 1/2 tsp all spice; 2 tsp paprika; 2 TBS chili powder; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 bay leaf; 1 whole cinnamon stick; 2 cups pumpkin puree ((not pumpkin pie mix)); 1 TBS maple syrup; 1 12 oz bottle Pumpkin beer (or beefvegetable stock); Salt and pepper (to taste); Sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped onion (for serving, (optional))

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Hearty, slow cooker chili with cozy fall spices, pumpkin beer and sweet potato. This crock pot pumpkin chili with pumpkin cornbread is certainly an easy fall recipe, perfect for football Sundays or a cool crisp day.

Football season is back which means endless food, smack talking, cheering, yelling and occasionally tears (only during playoffs). There’s something about doing nothing except spending time with friends that are family, cheering (or rooting against) teams, and staying in sweats all day that makes the end of a weekend the cherry on top.

And what says Football better than chili?

Easy Crockpot Pumpkin chili with warm fall spices, sweet potato and robust pumpkin ale…total game changer (no pun intended!)

Serve with a dollop of sour cream, cheese and some pumpkin cornbread and whoaa was this chili a game changer (no pun intended)!

It’s got a nice subtle pumpkin flavor too, that’s not over the top and perfect for a crisp autumn day. Something about beer and chili go hand in hand, and the pumpkin beer definitely adds another delicious dimension of flavor.

The best thing about this easy crockpot pumpkin chili is that you literally throw everything in the slow cooker, set it on low, and let it work its magic.

The other great thing is that you can serve it right in your slow cooker so it stays nice and hot throughout the day.

And that’s it my friends…you’re done cooking for the day so you can relax, grab a glass of wine, a bowl of this easy pumpkin chili and enjoy the football games :).

A couple notes:

*I use what’s called meatball mix that I find at my local market. It’s a mixture of beef, pork and veal which I think really gives this chili a nice flavor. If you can’t find the meatball mix, you can certainly buy a combination of ground pork/beef/veal but I know that can be costly and a pain so feel free to use just good old ground beef. I would suggest the fat/lean ratio be at least 80/20 because the fat is what gives the chili its base of flavor. (We are definitely not worried about calories on football Sunday (that’s my cheat day) so if you want to make this healthier and use a leaner ground beef/turkey/chicken, by all means go for it!)

*The star ingredient (which in my opinion brings all the flavors together!) is 1 bottle (12oz.) of pumpkin beer. If you are not a big beer drinker, some liquor stores let you buy single bottles rather than a whole 6 pack. If you want to skip the beer all together, just replace with beef or vegetable stock.

*I made this pumpkin cornbread (Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy) to serve with the pumpkin chili and it is a MUST… It had the right amount of pumpkin, spice and sweetness to not overpower the chili. I have to say the leftover cornbread toasted with some butter in the morning was heavenly!