Sharing is caring!

The whole family will love the best pumpkin chili with turkey sausage recipe. When the weather starts to change, the leaves start to turn and you are heading to a high school football game, chili is one of the first foods that come to mind.

As we get excited for the cooler weather, and the colors of the leaves changing, I get excited about chili,  and one of my favorite new recipes is this pumpkin chili. You will not believe the taste. Rich, filling and your family will never know that it is loaded with fiber rich 100% pure pumpkin.

Chili goes hand-in-hand with football, hot dogs, and the approaching elections series season. Our church traditionally on election Eve of every year has a chili cook-off where the attendees of the potluck all bring a chili recipe and vote that night on their favorite chili.  I loved going to church potlucks as a child. All the preparation in our home before and seeing and tasting all the new dishes.

Pumpkin time is also the time our family has a pumpkin festival at my husband’s family farm. There are tons of pumpkins, hayrides, and hay play areas. I always had a hard time getting my son to stop playing in the hay tunnels.

Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes. 17 recipes that we all love and remember from family childhood dinners and new modern favorites.   Made easy with simple ingredients and modern appliances for busy families.  Grab your copy right now to get a jump on holiday planning.

But pumpkin chili is a great combination of flavors and filled with a punch of fiber. This dish satisfies your tastes and feels you up  The original recipe that I have used called for ground turkey, however, I have also tried making the recipe meatless, and most recently I made it with sweet Italian turkey sausage.   I removed the casing from the sausage and browned the sausage.  The turkey sausage gives a wonderfully sweet spicy flavor to this chili. I have also loaded this recipe with an additional portion of onions, green peppers, and beans.   This increases the nutrition of this healthy meal.

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission which helps keep my blog up and running but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.  

Why Add Pumpkin to Fall Chili?

You are trying to add more vegetables into your family’s meal and this effort is not always appreciated. Pumpkin is a great source of fiber low fat, 2 grams of protein, and potassium.   At first, glance, adding pumpkin to chili may seem a little odd, but it packs a large nutritional punch and you will never notice the flavor.  In fact, the pumpkin is what makes the chili thick and delicious consistency.

Pumpkin chili is a great combination of flavors and the turkey sausage adds protein without adding fat.  This dish satisfies your tastes and feels you up. The original recipe I say called for ground turkey, however, I changed and made this recipe with sweet Italian turkey sausage.  I also make it with hot turkey sausage and both are fabulous.

The turkey sausage it gives a wonderfully sweet spicy flavor to this chili. I have also loaded this recipe with an additional portion of onions, green peppers, and beans.   This increases the nutrition of this healthy meal. You too can change up the amount of spices or make it vegetarian by leaving out the turkey altogether.

How to Make Pumpkin Chili a Quick Dinner Meal

• First chop up the onion, garlic, and peppers.  I just my favorite chopper that I have had for years that make this so fast and no worry about cutting your fingers when you are distracted by little ones. If you do not have a Vidalia Chipper, that is not just for onions, you need to get it right away.

• Add the olive oil to a large dough oven or any large pot.  Heat to medium heat and add the onion and salt. Cook the onions for about 2 minutes, add the green or red peppers and cook until soft.
• At this time add the chopped garlic.
• Have the turkey sausage in bit size pieces.  I just use my kitchen scissors to cut into pieces. Works better than a knife.
• Cook the turkey sausage until it is no longer pink.
• Next, you will add the tomatoes.  I used our own homegrown canned tomatoes from our garden. Our canned tomatoes have a lot of water so I do not add any additional water.  If you are using store bought tomatoes you may need up to 1 cup of water to get the consistency you would like.
• add in all the spices and stir
• Rinse and drain the 2 cans of red kidney beans add to the chili and stir.
• When the chili comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook over medium to low heat for 30 minutes to have the flavors combine.

This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission which helps keep my blog up and running but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Click here to read my full disclosure policy.  

Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes. 17 recipes that we all love and remember from family childhood dinners and new modern favorites.   Made easy with simple ingredients and modern appliances for busy families.  Grab your copy right now to get a jump on holiday planning.

The Best Pumpkin Chili with Turkey Sausage

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Your family will love delicious pumpkin chili with turkey sausage. You will love all the vegetable goodness packed in the pumpkin and the kidney beans. Simple to put together, and quick to cook you will have dinner on the table in no time.

• Author: Craftingafamily
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: serves 8
• Category: main dish
• Method: stove top

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 green or red bell peppers, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 package of turkey sausage, sweet or hot, cut into chunks
• 2 can of small diced tomatoes, 28 oz (large can)
• 1 cup of water optional
• 1 can of 100% pumpkin, 15 oz can
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cans of red kidney beans, drained and rinse.

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil.
2. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the green or red peppers and saute for 2 minutes
4. Add the garlic and cook until the peppers are soft.
5. Add the bite size pieces of turkey sausage and cook until no longer pink.
6. Add the tomatoes, and water if you want a thinner chili.
7. Add all of the spices, stir.
8. Add the pumpkin and the kidney beans and stir well.
9. Bring to a boil.
10. Reduce the heat to medium or low and simmer for 30 minutes.
11. Serve with bread and/or a little sour cream on top.

Equipment

Kitchen Shears

Buy Now →

Vidalia Onion Chop Wizard

Buy Now →

Keywords: Best Pumpkin Chili with Turkey Sausage

Recipe Card powered by