Easy Turkey Pumpkin Chili
Updated May 02, 2025
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Quick, easy, and healthy Turkey Pumpkin Chili made with ground turkey, canned tomatoes, pumpkin puree, beans, and lots of hearty spices.
Adding pumpkin to chili is one of my favorite secrets to make thick, rich, healthy chili. The pumpkin adds a great texture, a nice sweetness to complement the acidic tomatoes, and a beautiful color to chili. The best part is your family will never know that you snuck a nutrient-packed vegetable into their favorite chili. Pumpkin is my secret ingredient to our favorite Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili as well as this one.
This easy Turkey Pumpkin Chili is on repeat all year long in our house because it’s so filling, healthy, and flavorful. I’ll fill out the meal with our favorite Cornbread Recipe or Mom’s Four Loaf Wheat Bread Recipe, some fruit, our Veggie Box, and some hummus too. It’s a simple, healthy, family-favorite meal that comes together easily. (BONUS: you can make this in the slow cooker, too! See the notes under the recipes for instructions and cooking times.)
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Healthy: The lean turkey and pumpkin keep things light while also adding a boost of healthy stuff!
- Comfort Food: Chili just screams warm cozy nights. A bowl of it is so comforting and delicious.
- Easy: This chili has all the hearty goodness of the kind that simmers for hours but you can have it on the table in about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- Ground Turkey, or other ground meat
- Onion
- Garlic
- 15 ounce can Diced Tomatoes
- Tomato Juice
- Chicken Stock
- Cooked Beans
- Pumpkin Puree
- Chili Powder
- Salt & Pepper
- Smoked Paprika
- Cumin
- Toppings such as sour cream, minced fresh cilantro, grated cheese, hot sauce (optional)
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to Make Easy Turkey Pumpkin Chili
Step #1. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, brown the ground meat with the onion. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
Step #3. Simmer chili for at least 15 minutes.
Step #2. Add remaining chili ingredients to the pot. Stir to combine.
Step #4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with desired toppings.
Recipe FAQs
I used pinto beans – use what you like. You can also use a mix of beans. I like to cook dried beans in my Instant Pot and keep them in 2-cup portions in my freezer.
You can use ground turkey, chicken, beef, or even elk or venison in this recipe. Use what you like or have on hand.
Expert Tips
- Easy Turkey Pumpkin Chili freezes well! I’ll often freeze half of the batch before the pan hits the dinner table so that I know I have a second meal in the freezer.
- This recipe works great in the slow cooker! Just cook the meat, onion, and garlic as directed and then add it to your slow cooker. Stir everything else in and let it cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours.
- You can let this simmer for longer than 15 minutes if you have the time – just add a lid so that all of the moisture doesn’t escape. If it does get too thick, you can also add a little more chicken stock to reach your desired thickness.
How to Freeze Easy Turkey Pumpkin Chili
- Just store it in an air-tight container and freeze for up to a month.
More Soup Recipes to Consider
Beef Recipes
Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon
Soups, Stews & Chowders
White Chicken Chili
Soups, Stews & Chowders
Slow Cooker Veggie Beef Soup
Soups, Stews & Chowders
Texas Chili Recipe
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Easy Turkey Pumpkin Chili
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey, or other ground meat
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4-6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can diced tomatoes, 15 ounce
- 3 cups tomato juice
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 4 cups cooked beans, such as pinto
- 2 cups pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- additional salt and pepper to taste
- additional toppings such as sour cream, minced fresh cilantro, grated cheese, hot sauce, optional
Instructions
- In a large pan or cast iron dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat, cook the ground turkey and onion until the turkey is cooked through and the onion is very soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook until just fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add the diced tomatoes, tomato juice, chicken stock, cooked beans, pumpkin puree, chili powder, salt, smoked paprika, and cumin. Stir to combine well.
- Reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer for at least 15 minutes.
- Adjust the salt and pepper to taste and serve hot with additional toppings of your choice.
Notes
- This recipe work great in the slow cooker! Just cook the meat, onion, and garlic as directed and then add it to your slow cooker. Stir everything else in and let it cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours.
- You can let this simmer for longer than 15 minutes if you have the time – just add a lid so that all of the moisture doesn’t escape. If it does get too thick, you can also add a little more chicken stock to reach your desired thickness.
- You can use ground turkey, chicken, beef, or even elk or deer in this recipe. Use what you like or have on hand.
- I used pinto beans – use what you like. You can also use a mix of beans. I like to cook dried beans in my Instant Pot and keep them in 2-cup portions in my freezer.
Ground elf?! Nooo! Poor Buddy. Seriously, though, this is right up my alley. Will definitely be making.
LOL that’s a pretty good typo! I hope you enjoy a little Elf in your chili girl!
What is the conversion from cooked to uncooked beans? If I make this in my slow cooker how many cups of dry beans do I use? Do I need to increase the liquid amount to account for cooking the beans? Or, is it better just to use cooked beans in the slow cooker?
I’d make this with cooked beans. I normally will cook up big batches of beans in my slow cooker or Instant Pot to use in recipes like this (keeping extras portioned out in the freezer) but this recipe I didn’t plan on cooking the dried beans in it, you’d have to add a ton more water and I’m just not sure how much. So yep, better to just use cooked beans here. Thanks for asking!