I have always enjoyed eating vegetarian meals, simply because often times I feel like they turn out much healthier. Seriously, when have you ever had a vegetarian meal that was smothered in cheese and gravy? It just doesn’t happen. However for that reason I feel that vegetarian cooking has a bad reputation – that eating strictly vegetables means the meal wont be hearty, filling, or delicious.
This recipe totally puts all those myths to bed, and is a much healthier but equally delicious way to do chili. The first time I fed it to my husband he admitted that it was so flavorful that he wouldn’t have known it was sans-meat if I hadn’t disclosed it (note to self people making this for picky/skeptical eaters… maybe let them try it before admitting you left out the beef 😉 ).
It is a toss-in-the-crockpot, super easy recipe and one that any chili lover will enjoy. We often have leftovers that get us through a few days of lunches, which is a nice bonus too! Do note – this is a spicy recipe. If you want it less spicy, remove the seeds from the peppers in adobo and skip the cayenne. Or just make sure you have a lot of sour cream on hand! 🙂
INGREDIENTS
- 1 butternut squash, peeled and gutted
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 can kidney beans
- 1 can pinto beans
- 2 cans diced tomatoes
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 2C vegetable broth (to make it vegetarian. I prefer chicken broth but its up to you)
- 1C corn
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo (find this on the ethnic foods aisle, it’s canned)
- 2T of the spicy adobo sauce (spoon in from the chipotle pepper can)
- 2T cumin
- 1T smoked paprika
- 1T cayenne pepper
- 1t ground oregano
- salt & pepper to taste
- sour cream (to garnish)
- chives (to garnish)
Recipe is extremely easy!
Dice all your veggies, then toss everything into the crockpot. Cook on high heat for 4 hours. When dish is ready to serve, it should be red and thick, not having lots of liquid broth visible. Dish up, and garnish with a tablespoon of sour cream and some diced chives.
Leftovers can be stored in freezer bags to be enjoyed later if desired!
Lovely!
Yummy 🙂