Harvest Chili Recipe

This Harvest Chili recipe is a hearty, family-friendly dinner that’s packed with rich flavor and wholesome ingredients, making it the perfect meal for cool weeknights. Made with ground beef (or your favorite blend of meats), tender butternut squash, tomatoes, and warm spices, this easy chili recipe delivers the perfect balance of savory and subtly sweet flavors in every bite. Using frozen steam-in-bag squash keeps prep simple, so you can have a comforting homemade dinner on the table with minimal time and effort. Serve it with warm jalapeño cornbread or crusty sourdough and a dollop of sour cream for an easy fall dinner your whole family will love.

Harvest Chili

This Harvest Chili recipe is a hearty, family-friendly dinner that's packed with rich flavor and wholesome ingredients, making it the perfect meal for cool weeknights. Using frozen steam-in-bag squash keeps prep simple, so you can have a comforting homemade dinner on the table with minimal time and effort.

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Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 8

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 lbs ground meat beef, bison, lamb, or combo of these 3
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, grated
• 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp all spice
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 cups diced butternut squash *see notes*
• bread and creme fresh/sour cream for serving

Method

 

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, begin browning the meat, breaking it apart as it cooks. When it is about halfway cooked through, add in the diced pepper, onion, and garlic. Stir and continue cooking until the meat is browned and vegetables begin to soften.
2. Season with chili powder, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper, cinnamon, allspice. Add in tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, and cocoa powder. Stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer until veggies are soft and then stir in the steamed squash. *see notes*
3. Serve with warm jalapeno cornbread or sourdough, top with a dollop of creme fresh or sour cream.

Notes

*Note: I buy frozen, steam in bag butternut squash to make this go much faster, but feel free to use fresh, peeled and diced squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips, or a combo of them all. Just allow extra time for them to cook during the simmer!