Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chili (No Beans)
Calling all pumpkin lovers! Hearty, warming, and simple to prepare; this easy slow cooker pumpkin chili is loaded with tender ground beef, onions, bell pepper, a whole can of pumpkin puree, spices, and is made without beans. The perfect cozy fall crockpot meal to cozy up with, it’s filling, nourishing, and oh-so easy to make!
5 star review
“Made this during the week. Fabulous and very quick and easy. Ready when I came in from work.”
– Janet
Pumpkin Season Is Here! Grab the Crockpot & Let’s Get Cozy
Calling all pumpkin lovers! This hearty, no-bean chili is packed with pumpkin (an entire can to be exact), plus simple warming spices, along with some veggies and tomatoes.
The truth is, you can’t really taste the pumpkin all that much, but it is definitely there in the background adding plenty of body and richness to this hearty, beanless chili.
It’s just a touch spicy from the addition of diced tomatoes with green chili, plus some ground chili powder, but if you’re sensitive to heat, go ahead and swap in regular diced tomatoes and skip the chili powder.
Either way you go, just make sure you have plenty of chili toppings on hand — or go wild and whip up a batch of my one-bowl homemade pumpkin bread to really take the fall vibes over the top.
Welcome to My Kitchen! Let’s Make Pumpkin Chili 🎃
A Couple of Recipe Notes From Me to You!
This pumpkin chili begs for alllllll the toppings. Think grated cheese, sour cream and chopped white onion, plus corn chips for dunking. As for sides, these are my favorites to serve with chili. I tested the chili with both ground beef and ground turkey, and both worked equally well, so use what you have and what you like.
That little bit of cinnamon adds the “pumpkin spice” vibes, without making it sweet, but if you’re iffy, you can leave it out. Same goes with the sugar — it doesn’t make the chili sweet, but rather balances out the earthiness of the pumpkin. You can skip it if you’d like. Finally, if you’d like to add beans, go for it! You can reduce the meat to one pound and add to cans for drained black or white beans instead.
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chili (No Beans)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 pounds lean ground beef, or lean ground turkey
- 1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (15-oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilis, such as Rotel
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon mild chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 (15-oz) can pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
To Add at the End
- 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring to combine. Cook until just starting to soften, about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the ground beef, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt, and stir to break apart with a spoon. Cook until browned and just cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Add the cooked beef mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, cinnamon, sugar, pumpkin, and 1 teaspoon salt, stirring until well combined.
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 5-6, or until the meat is very tender.
- Uncover, and add the lime juice, stirring to combine. Taste and add more salt or lime juice if desired and serve with any desired toppings.
Hi Alycia, I don’t typically add any extra broth or water, but some slow cookers cook a lot hotter so yours may have reduced down to a thicker consistency. Good idea to add broth and love the idea of adding carrot!
Katie, hmmmm, I’m not sure what I’d suggest in place of the tomato paste. It adds body and acid, plus a touch of sweetness. If you omit it you might be able to add some kind of acid (lime juice, for example) and maybe extra pumpkin? Let us know if you try it and it works out!
I made the chili this evening! Since I currently have a lot of strange allergies that I’m working through, I made some adjustments to the recipe… no onion or tomato 🙁 I didn’t even put 3 cups of pumpkin since I only had 1 can. I did add a can of black beans and a little fresh chopped spinach at the end of cooking. And I did top with cilantro. The color of the chili is different (I wish I could post a picture), but it is pretty delicious! The consistency is fine actually and I think I’ll add this to my recipe book! 🙂 Thank you for all of the hard work you put into this blog!
Katie, thank you so much for sharing your modifications, I know they will help others with allergies. So glad you made it your own!
Has anyone made this with ground chicken in place of turkey?
Lisa, ground chicken should work in place of turkey!
Made this last night with beef and on the stove instead of slow cooker (I waited too long to start dinner and wanted to drain the fat from the beef). I only had one can of pumpkin so added about a cup of water so it wasn’t too thick and some corn at the end bc I felt like I wanted more veggies. It was delicious and my husband loved it! Oh and I was out of chili powder so used some black pepper and topped with some mustard greens (which I don’t recommend ;p )
Love your recipes Robyn, please keep them coming!!
Lila, yay, so glad you adapted this one to make it work and that you enjoyed!
Lacey, we do have a butternut and beef chili that is paleo and has more texture if you’re interested.
Delicious! I only used 1 pound of beef and added butternut squash. It is a perfect Fall meal! Also, don’t skip the lime when you are enjoying!
Yum, love that you made this one your own and used butternut squash! Happy you enjoyed, and thanks for leaving a review!
What is the serving size?
Hi Christina, this recipe makes about 6 servings. I’ve updated the recipe card to reflect that information. I hope you enjoy!
My whole family loves this chili. It is a go-to because it is so EASY and healthy!
Erika, yay, so happy to hear you’re enjoying this easy and healthy recipe. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!
This really is yummy. It was a bit more of a mushy consistency than I expected so I wish I doubled the meat – but I like a meaty chili. I definitely plan to make this again. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed and agree about doubling the meat! You can also cook the beef first if you’d like a firmer consistency — which adds a step but might be worth it depending on your preferences. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Made this during the week. Fabulous and very quick and easy. Ready when I came in from work
Janet, don’t you just love having a warm meal ready when you come home from work? So glad you enjoyed this one and thanks so much for leaving a reivew!
I made this today and it’s delicious. I made a couple of alterations – I omitted the tomato sauce and added a half cup of chicken broth instead. I also added 4oz of pinto beans. The spices were just right and the lime cut the heaviness of the chili. Thank you Robyn!
Ellen, thanks so much for sharing your notes — great to know this one works without tomato sauce! Thanks for leaving a review, too!
The addition of pumpkin gives the chili, the best texture inconsistency, without an overpowering pumpkin flavor. When everyone in the family eats & is happy, I’m happy! Another great slow cooker option going into our regular rotation!
Such a great description of this recipe, I’m sure others will appreciate it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
The addition of the pumpkin gives this chili the best consistency, without an overpowering pumpkin taste. When the whole family eats and is happy, I’m happy! Another great one to add to our slow cooker rotation, thank you!
I don’t see in the recipe where the pumpkin is added…I’m assuming its into the crockpot when you combine everything?
Meggen, yes, the pumpkin goes in along with all the other ingredients. I’ve updated the instructions as well. Thanks for the note on that missing step!
This was good I can’t eat onions and don’t like bell peppers but used everything else. I did substitute regular sugar for coconut sugar. I can have green onions though so maybe will try putting some in it.
Jody, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this one! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and for leaving a review. 🙂