If you know how to open a few cans, you can make this vegetarian drunken pumpkin chili recipe. Its that easy! I kept this recipe seasonal by using some pumpkin. You could easily leave out the pumpkin part of the recipe, and still have a very yummy chili.

In the summerI use zucchini in this recipe instead of the pumpkin. But no matter what season you make this chili, make sure to use a beer you actually like. Dont use a beer that is too bitter, it will make your entire chili bitter. As a tribute to Oregon’s amazing local beers, I used a beer from here. But any pale lager or medium bodied beer will work. Serve the same beer with your meal.

This is a great recipe to make ahead or to feed a crowd. The recipe is also very forgiving, you can adjust the seasonings as you like, leave out the pumpkin, use different beans, cook it too long, too less..it will still taste good! Meat lovers will like this dish too.

Drunken Pumpkin Chili Recipe

Serves about 6

Ingredients
one 1.5 lb pie pumpkin or sugar pumpkin
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
one 15 oz can kidney beans, drained
one 15 oz can pinto beans, drained
half a 15 oz can sweet corn, drained
two 14 oz cans of diced tomato
1 tablespoon tomato paste
one 12 oz can of beer (pale or medium lager)
2 cups meatless crumbles like Yves ground round or Morningstar crumbles
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

Method
Pre heat oven to 375f

Using a sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and membrane. Place the pumpkin halves on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, cut side down. Bake in a 375f oven for 15 minutes or just until the pumpkin is soft enough to peel the skin away. 

When the pumpkin is done, remove from oven. Wait for it to cool enough to handle it. Peel the skin, and discard. Also discard the stem end of the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes. You should have about 3 cups of cubed pumpkin.

In a large pot, heat the oil and add the diced onion. Cook on medium heat till the onion is soft. Then add the carrots, paprika, chili powder, and cumin. Stir for about 30 seconds.

Add the kidney beans, pinto beans, sweet corn, and tomatoes, tomato paste, beer, the baked and peeled pumpkin, and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, while stirring. When the chili boils, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or till the pumpkin is soft.

If the chili gets too thick, add 1-2 cups water.

When the pumpkin is soft, stir in the meatless crumbles and cook just untill the crumbles are heated through. If using frozen crumbles, make sure they get completely heated.

Taste and adjust for salt. At this point if you like, you can add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the chili for some sweetness or 2 tablespoons lime juice for some tang. Both are optional.

Serve drunken pumpkin chili with sprinkled cheese on top and tortilla chips or brown rice.

Two bloggers came together to make this post possible. A while ago, the lovely Trupti from The Spice Who Loved Me blog blogged about a chili infused chocolate. As a lover of all things chili, I wrote to her asking where I can find this chocolate. ‘Local grocery store’, she said. A few weeks later, Trupti so thoughtfully wrote to ask me if I had found the chili chocolate. I told her I had looked and looked, but couldnt find it

The next thing I know, I receive an “Air mail Par avion” packet (“pacquet“, this case) from Canada! With a slab of Lindt excellence chili infused chocolate and a Lindt cherry and chili bar from Trupti!

ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou, Trupti!

The chili infused chocolate is my favorite. It tastes like Lindt dark chocolate at first, but it finishes with a hint of red chili in the back of your throat – just sensational! I knew just the perfect recipe to use this chocolate in. Yasmeen’s, almond milk hot chocolate. Yasmeen’s Healthnut blog is full of healthy recipes and great nutritional information. Ever since she posted her almond milk cocoa recipe, Ive been wanting to try it.

So here’s what I did – make Yasmeen’s almond milk recipe and melt in the chili chocolate sent by Trupti.

Almond Milk Hot Chocolate with Chili
makes 2 cups

2 cups Yasmeen’s Almond milk (its easy – soak almonds overnight, grind them with water in a blender and then squeeze out the milk)
4 squares Lindt excellence chili bar substitute with chocolate chips or cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch cayenne pepper

Place the almond milk and chocolate squares in a pan on low heat. Heat the almond milk whisking constantly, till the chocolate melts. Once the chocolate is completely incorporated in the almond milk. Turn off heat, whisk in vanilla and cayenne.

Chili lime salt is a great way to add interesting flavors to your foods and flavored salts are so easy to make. Try sprinkling  flavored chili lime salt on roasted nuts or popcorn or use in your everyday cooking.

Ingredients

Kosher Salt – 1/4th cup
Paprika – 2 tsp
Lime Juice – 1 tbsp

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend together – as coarse or fine as you like. If needed, adjust lime and chili according to taste. Store chili lime salt in an air tight container.