This hearty and cozy one-pot meal is a quick and easy dinner option for the whole family. My vegan pumpkin chili takes less than 15 minutes to prepare and only 30 minutes to cook from start to finish. This family-friendly dinner is made with fresh pumpkin puree, soy mince, black beans, and tomato passata.
Lately, I’ve been making vegan chili weekly. Both my kids love it served with some tortillas and avocado, so it’s a great way for everyone to eat pulses and enjoy a one-pot meal that only takes 30 minutes to cook.
This time of the year, I wanted to add something to make it more seasonal, and having some leftover pumpkin in the house from Halloween, I made this hearty and super cozy pumpkin chili that got the instant approval from the whole family.
Ingredients
Pumpkin puree. For this recipe, you’ll need some pumpkin puree. You can make your own just like I did by roasting some pumpkin and blending it, or buy a can of pumpkin puree.
Vegan mince. To make vegan chilli, you’ll need a plant-based mince to substitute the minced meat that is normally used for the classic Chilli con carne. I like going to Müller, a German store where I find a wide range of different options. Soy mince, soy chunks, sunflower seeds mince, chickpea-based mince, etc. For this recipe, I'm using soy mince, previously hydrated in water or stock.
Beans. My favourite beans when it comes to chilli are black beans. I find them slightly harder than white or kidney beans, so they don't go mushy after cooking. Feel free to use any other type of beans, even garbanzo beans, if that is what you have on hand.
Tinned tomatoes or tomato passata. Use one or another depending on the texture you like for your chili. My family prefers it when I use passata, so the chilli doesn't have that much texture from the chopped tomatoes. You can also mix chopped tomatoes and passata as we do for our Vegan Lasagna Soup.
Tomato paste. Adding a little bit of tomato paste adds more flavour to your chili.
Sweetcorn. For me, sweetcorn is a must when making chili. You can use fresh, frozen or tinned corn.
Spice mix. To make our Vegan Pumpkin Chili, we use cumin, oregano, sweet paprika, black pepper, and salt. If you enjoy spicy food, feel free to substitute sweet paprika with smoked paprika. We use sweet paprika so the whole family can enjoy the meal.
Onion and Garlic. As in most of our recipes, onion and garlic are the base of the dish.
Toppings
For this Pumpkin Chili, I use plant-based yogurt, pumpkin seeds, fresh avocado, tortilla chips, and some shredded vegan cheese.
Cooking Method
Leave the soy mince soaking in hot water or stock for a few minutes, until it softens. Heat some olive oil in a pan and add finely chopped onion. When it starts to soften, add pressed or finely chopped garlic, cumin, sweet paprika, and tomato paste. Stir and leave cooking for 5-6 minutes.
Next, add the soaked soy mince, the pumpkin puree, the black beans, the tomato passata, and oregano. Stir and leave simmering for about 15 minutes. You can add some salt at this point if you didn’t use stock to soak the soy mince. I normally prefer using stock and then adjusting the seasoning with a pinch of salt. If the tomato passata is a bit acidic, you can also add a little pinch of sugar.
Last, you can add the corn. Stir, leave to cook for two more minutes and turn the heat off. Your chilli is not ready to be served with your favourite toppings.
For serving, my kids always expect avocado mash and tortilla chips. Also, I like adding pumpkin seeds, plant-based yogurt, and some vegan shredded cheese.
Other Vegan Toppings for this Pumpkin Chili
- Freshly Chopped Cilantro
- Pineapple Pico de Gallo
- Lime
- Chili flakes
- Vegan Cheese and Sweetcorn Scones
Vegan Pumpkin Chili
Ingredients
- 3,5 oz soy mince
- 1 onion
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 can of black beans
- 24 oz tomato passata
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 4 oz sweet corn
Toppings
- Plant-based yogurt
- Pumpkin seeds
- Lime
- Avocado
- Tortillas
Instructions
To make fresh pumpkin puree
- Cut into chunks around 14 oz of pumpkin. Place on a sheet pan and roast for about 35 minutes or until the pumpkin is fork-tender.
- Transfer the roasted pumpkin to a belnder jug and blend until you have a smooth consistency.
Pumpkin Chili
- Heat some olive oil in a pan and add finely chopped onion. When it starts to soften, add pressed or finely chopped garlic, cumin, sweet paprika, and tomato paste. Stir and leave cooking for 5-6 minutes.
- Add the corn. Stir, leave to cook for two more minutes and turn the heat off. Your chilli is not ready to be served with your favourite toppings.
Newsletter
Nutrition
Serving Suggestions
This pumpkin chili can be served in different ways to make the most of this one-pot meal.
Normally, the day we prepare this one-pot bean chili we serve it in a bowl with our favorite toppings. The day after, as we normally have leftovers, we like serving it with wraps so we can make our own chili wraps with some avocado mash, shredded vegan cheese, and sometimes, we also cook rice.
What about making some vegan quesadillas the day after? My kids love this variation, we use the leftover chili to prepare quesadillas with some vegan shredded cheese.
Other options are serving it as a rice bowl, cooking some long grain rice and serving it with the chili, or over your loaded nachos.
This is one of the recipes that from one big pot you can make two different dinners.
FAQ and Tips
Absolutely! This chili tastes even better the next day after the flavors have had time to develop. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4–5 days.
Yes. Let it cool completely, then portion it into freezer-safe containers. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Add chili flakes, smoked chipotle, or a diced jalapeño. You can also stir in hot sauce, chili flakes or chili powder at the end to adjust heat to taste.
You can substitute with lentils, chopped mushrooms, quinoa, tempeh, or another type of TVP (textured vegetable protein), such as sunflower seed or chickpea based.
Terry ?️ says
This recipe looks good, will give this a go. May just break my cardinal rule and use a avocado, I always prefer sustainable ingredients-never easy, I like the aspect it being vegan and healthy, also simple to make for a light snack. Thanks for sharing this.
Chandice Probst says
Yum what a great meal that’s filling and flavorful!
Laura says
thank you Chandice!
Peter Wiggins says
Fabulous recipe. Recipe card instructions don't say when to add the red peppers, presume with the garlic?