This Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili is the perfect answer to a cold, Autumn Day. And even if it’s not yet cool where you live, I promise this still makes one heck of a lunch or dinner when you get that craving for a comforting bowl of chili beans. What’s even better, it’s jam-packed with veggies and the season’s favorite ingredient, pumpkin, giving it an extra silky texture. But, I assure you, your kids won’t even realize they’ve eaten all that wholesome goodness until after they’ve licked their bowls clean, if they notice at all.
A good bowl of chili is one of those dishes I find myself keep going back for more. Whether it’s loaded with all the right toppings or eaten with a handful of tortilla chips to scoop up every last bit. When it’s done right, it just works and the need for enough leftovers the next day is big. This is exactly how I feel about this Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili Recipe. In fact, it has become our must-have meal for Halloween dinner and the fact it feeds a crowd means plenty for everyone. And and, the fact it’s packed with zucchini, bell peppers, corn, black and kidney beans makes me a little more relaxed about all the sugar being consumed that night.
I used to make this chili in the Slow Cooker. The whole make it in the morning, set it and forget it thing is priceless. I was tempted to try the slow-cook function of my Instant Pot for this, but I have read that the glass lid works much better than the pressure cooking lid for slow cooking. And I don’t have the glass lid, nor do I have a slow-cooker here in Istanbul, so pressure cook it was. The results were fabulous and the chili took much less than the 6 or 7 hours I usually cook it for. In fact, the first time I threw this together was late one afternoon, far past when I should have started dinner, and I definitely appreciated the Instant Pot’s ability to make something that usually required so much more time in quite a bit less.
But, if you don’t have an Instant Pot or prefer your slow cooker, you can definitely still make this, I’ll include adjustments below in the recipe. If you have neither, a Dutch oven or big pot will work well too.
In regards to the meat, my preference here is ground turkey. I have made it with beef as well though, and it’s great too. I use black and kidney beans but you can use whatever combination of beans you’d like. And here in Istanbul, where organic canned chopped tomatoes aren’t so easy to find, I’ve used fresh chopped tomatoes in their juices with great results. For the toppings, the usual suspects like sour cream or yogurt, shredded cheese, avocado, sliced jalapenos, and cilantro are my favs. And if you can get your hands on some good tortilla chips or even some Frito scoops, you won’t regret it.
Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground turkey (beef is ok too)
- Salt and pepper to season meat
- 1 medium red onion (finely diced)
- 1 small orange bell pepper (finely diced)
- 1 small yellow bell pepper (finey diced)
- 1 lg or 2 small zucchini (finely diced)
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin you can use less if you don’t love cumin like I do
- 2 tsps chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 15-oz can red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
- 1 15-oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
- 1 small can corn drained
- 1 can pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie filling
- 2 14.5-oz cans petite diced tomatoes with juice
Toppings-
- cilantro, nonfat yogurt, sour cream, avocado, shredded cheese or sliced jalapenos
Instructions
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Set the Instant Pot to the Normal Saute setting. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and add the diced onion, bell peppers and zucchini and cook about 3 minutes, until the vegetables are just starting to soften.
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Add the ground turkey, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the turkey is thoroughly cooked throughout breaking up the turkey while doing so.
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Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, cinnamon and salt. Saute a couple of minutes more and then press cancel on the Instant Pot.
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Add the drained beans, corn, pumpkin puree, chicken broth and diced tomatoes with their juices. Stir everything to combine and scrape up any browed bits from the bottom of the pot. Set the Instant Pot to the Beans/ Chili setting for 25 minutes , place the lid on the pot and make sure the steam valve is closed When it's done release the pressure manually or allow it to release naturally if time allows.
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If you like a thicker chili, saute for about 5-10 minutes after it's done pressure cooking.
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Serve immediately or keep warm, then top with desired garnishes.
For Slow Cooker
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If you have a slow cooker with the sear function, heat the pot up, or use a skillet. Follow steps 1, 2 and 3 of the Instant Pot instructions.
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Then either keep everything in the slow cooker pot or add all from the skillet to the slow cooker. Add the beans WITH ALL THEIR JUICES, corn, pumpkin puree, chicken broth and diced tomatoes with their juices. Stir everything to combine and scrape up any browed bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook on LOW 6-8 hours or High for 4 hours.
For Stovetop:
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Follow Instant Pot instructions using a large pot or dutch oven, follow instructions 1-4, then once everything is in the pot, simmer on low heat for 1 1/2 -2 hours partially covered.
Recipe Notes
*I use a 6qt Instant Pot.
*This freezes beautifully for about a month or two.
*This is relatively mild so increase the chili as necessary.
*Jalapeno juice from a can of pickled jalapenos adds a nice kick.
This chili is just delicious! I’m making it for the second time in 5 day to freeze for company coming in a couple of weeks. The ground turkey was tender, the cinnamon, cumin and oregano seasonings were subtle and complex, and the pumpkin pulled it together and smoothed it out. My daughter uses her Instant Pot everyday so I cooked it on my stovetop. The only change was out of necessity. I only had one can of tomatoes. I substituted a can of Rotel which increased the heat a bit. Yum.
Why have I not been putting pumpkin in chili all my life?! 11/10⭐️