Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili

This Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili is a healthy chili made with ingredients that are nutritious, but also totally satisfying. Prep the chili in the morning and dinner will be ready by the time you get home from work!

Want to know one of the best feelings? Waking up at 6:30am, getting ready for work, then stepping into the kitchen to chop some veggies in preparation for that night's dinner, and hopping in the car to head to work. Knowing that when you get home that afternoon you'll come home and dinner will be ready. All because of a slow cooker.

That's exactly how last Friday went for me. While I must admit I was a bit nervous leaving the slow cooker running all day unattended (it was my first time using it while I wasn't home!), but it was well worth stressing out over all day at work when I got home and my whole apartment smelled like delicious, warm chili. Instead of a fire. And cozying up to a bowl of chili is by far one of my very favorite things to do this time of year. Oh my gosh and toss in a football game and that would just be the best day ever.

I found this recipe for Skinnytaste Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili while we were teaching our Promoting Your Blog course last week at the Boston Center for Adult Education. I saw that one of the students in the class, Erin the blogger behind A Girl and Her Mutt, posted about the recipe, originally from Skinnytaste, and I definitely got side-tracked while teaching because the chili looked so darn good. I think I actually blurted out that I planned on making it, hehe. And that I did. I changed the recipe up a bit from the original, but was so thrilled with how it came out.

The recipe is so short it's almost comical. Thus why there are only about 2.5 photos in this post.

You'll need to brown the turkey in a pan and then brown the onions and garlic in that same pan (unless your crockpot allows you to brown right in it!). But then? All the ingredients go right into the slow cooker.

The photo above was taken early in the morning and evidently I was half asleep. It's a little blurry. Also, please note the splatter of pumpkin puree on my sugar canister. Oye.

But once it's all in the crockpot, you're ready to "set it and forget it." Simply cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. You might want to leave the house at this point or else the delicious smells will probably drive you crazy!

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waiting

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Come home from work 8 hours later and dinner is ready. I actually ended up getting home from work around 3:30 and ate two bowls of this turkey pumpkin chili for a very early dinner. Because it smelled so good and I couldn't help myself.

The pumpkin taste was nice and subtle, not at all overpowering. And although chili is typically filling I like the substitute of ground turkey instead of beef; I think it lightened it up nicely. Since I cut back on the turkey from the original Skinnytaste pumpkin chili recipe, my chili was definitely a bit more liquid-y than usual. I actually really liked this since it felt like a cross between a chili and a soup... Also? It made for some excellent bread dipping. However, you can feel free to cut back on the chicken stock by ½ cup if you want.

This is the perfect "healthier" chili and has convinced me that I should be adding pumpkin into all my chili from now on! The turkey and beans help you feel totally full and satisfied and like I mentioned, you can always serve some nice crusty bread on the side. Or break up some tortilla chips to top the chili with.

I think I'm fully in the fall spirit, but now I'm craving more ways I can utilize my slow cooker this fall and winter! I'm obsessed with coming home from work to dinner already on the table (well, in the crockpot, but you know what I mean!)

Do you have a favorite slow cooker recipe to share?

📖 Recipe

Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili

This Turkey White Bean Pumpkin Chili is a healthy chili made with ingredients that are nutritious, but also totally satisfying. Prep the chili in the morning and dinner will be ready by the time you get home from work!

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Course: Entree

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chili, Pumpkin, Turkey

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 8 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Makes: 6 servings

Author: Sues

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoon olive oil, divided
• 1 lb. 99% lean ground turkey
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 can Northern or Navy beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
• 1 can (4.5 oz.) chopped green chiles
• 2 cups low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, for topping
• Chopped cilantro and chives, for topping

Instructions

• Heat a large sauté pan and add 1 teaspoon olive oil. Brown the turkey, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon, until white. Add to slow cooker.
• Pour remaining olive oil into the same pan and add the onions and garlic and sauté for about 3-4 minutes. Add cumin and continue to sauté for another couple minutes. Add to slow cooker.
• Add  beans, pumpkin puree, green chiles, chicken broth, chili powder, oregano, and bay leaves to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
• Serve in bowls topped with sour cream or Greek yogurt and chopped cilantro and chives.

Notes

• Recipe adapted from Skinnytaste

Share a Photo of Your Finished Recipe!Mention @wearenotmartha and share a photo if you've made the recipe!