Vegetarian chili with butternut squash and cauliflower is a tasty spin on a traditional chili recipe. It’s filled with beans, veggies like sweet potatoes, pumpkin, tomatoes, peppers, onions, quinoa, and spices.
This was inspired by Trader Joe’s harvest chili, which I have yet to try: so let me know how this compares if you’ve had it, please!
And please don’t feel intimidated by the long list of ingredients – five of them are spices. You can use canned beans, tomatoes, and pumpkin puree to save time, and even frozen butternut squash and cauliflower.
In fact, there are so many vegetables, that if you don’t have them all, you can probably skip one or two without a problem – except for the tomatoes, they are important.
Why We Love This Recipe
-This chili is different with some veggies I have never put in chili before like cauliflower, butternut squash, and pumpkin. I added sweet potatoes because they seemed to go well with the other veggies, although they’re not in the Trader Joe’s version.
-Easy to cook. After the veggies are prepped, just let the slow cooker do the work. And it doesn’t take all day, either. Three hours on high was enough time for everything to be tender and done.
-High in beta-carotene: red and orange vegetables like butternut squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and pumpkin are good sources of this precursor to vitamin A (learn more: MyPlate: More about the vegetable group) and may help to prevent some infections of even cancers (learn more: Montana State University Extension fact sheet – vegetables).
-This vegetarian chili with butternut squash and cauliflower is very low in sodium, with an estimated 123 milligrams per serving. Chili in restaurants and many home recipes can have 800 – 1,000 milligrams of sodium or more in one serving.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend having less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium daily, and some people should aim for less than 1,500 (learn more: Food and Drug Administration: sodium).
-With the quinoa included in the chili, there’s no need to make a separate grain to serve it over: that saves time and dirty dishes.
Ingredient Notes
- Olive oil – or another neutral oil. This helps to carry the flavors and assists with absorbing fat-soluble vitamins
- Red onion – or you can use a white or yellow onion
- Bell pepper – use green, red, yellow, or orange – whatever you have is fine.
- Minced fresh garlic – for flavor
- Canned diced tomatoes – you could also use canned whole tomatoes, just sqush them first
- Cauliflower – fresh or frozen, chopped into small pieces. If you use frozen cauliflower, pull it out from the freezer first or microwave it a little so it can be easily cut.
- Sweet potato – peeled and cubed – you could also use Yukon Gold potatoes
- Butternut squash – seeded, peeled, and cubed – you can also use the pre-peeled and chopped fresh butternut squash in the produce section of your store, or frozen peeled and chopped butternut squash to save time. Acorn squash or kabocha squash would be good too. I like to use a melon baller to scoop out the seeds and pulp easily.
- Cannellini beans – or any white or other type of beans you like
- Dark red kidney beans – or pinto or black or other beans that you like
- Pumpkin puree – I use canned pumpkin puree for convenience (don’t use pumpkin pie filling)
- Quinoa – use raw quinoa and be sure to rinse it well first in a mesh strainer so it doesn’t have a soapy taste. If you have cooked quinoa, you can use that instead – but just put it in at the end of cooking to warm up and use about a cup. I like multicolor quinoa.
- Vegetable broth – choose low-sodium or make your own vegetable broth.
- Chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper (optional, adjust to your taste) – for seasoning
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Turn the slow cooker on high. Add the olive oil to the bottom of it. Add the red onion, bell pepper, and garlic, and stir.
- Next, add all of the remaining ingredients. Place the lid on top of the slow cooker. No peeking! This lowers the temperature and makes the recipes take longer to cook.
- In 3 hours, open the lid and check the doneness of the sweet potato and butternut squash cubes with the back of a spoon. They should be tender. If not, cook this chili for a little longer until they are tender.
- Serve the chili: garnish with sliced green onion, lime, avocado, or cilantro leaves as desired. One-sixth of the recipe is a little more than 1 ½ cups.
What to Serve With Vegetarian Chili with Butternut Squash
- Tortilla chips
- Cornbread
- Salad
- Arroz Colorido – Colorful Mexican Rice
- Vegan Mexican Pizza
- Serve it over baked potatoes or sweet potatoes
- Whole grain bread
- Veggies like green beans, broccoli, or asparagus
Vegetarian Chili with Butternut Squash and Cauliflower
Equipment
- Slow cooker
- Chef's knife
- paring knife
- Chopping board
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- ½ cup chopped bell pepper
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes canned
- 2 cups cauliflower fresh or frozen, chopped into small pieces
- 1 medium sweet potato peeled and cubed
- ½ whole butternut squash seeded, peeled, and cubed
- 1 cup cannellini beans canned
- 1 cup dark red kidney beans canned
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ⅓ cup quinoa raw, rinsed
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, adjust to your taste)
Instructions
- Turn the slow cooker on high. Add the olive oil to the bottom of it. Add the red onion, bell pepper, and garlic, and stir.
- Next, add all of the remaining ingredients. Place the lid on top of the slow cooker. No peeking! This lowers the temperature and makes the recipes take longer to cook.
- In 3 hours, open the lid and check the doneness of the sweet potato and butternut sqiash cubes with the back of a spoon. They should be tender. If not, cook this chili for a little longer until they are tender.
- Serve the chili: garnish with sliced green onion, lime, avocado, or cilantro leaves as desired. One sixth of the recipe is a little more than 1 ½ cups.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have tried this vegetarian chili with butternut squash and cauliflower, please let me know how you liked it and include a star rating in the comments below.
Get my new recipes straight to your inbox! Sign up here for my free monthly newsletter.
