This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Lipton. The opinions and text are all mine.
It seems like people have a love-hate relationship with pumpkin. There are those people who, the second the clock strikes fall, they want pumpkin everything. Pumpkin coffee, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cake, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin INSERT FOOD HERE. These people want to add pumpkin to all the things.
Then you have these other people who don’t like pumpkin. You know, the weirdos who turn up their nose, mock, and complain about the passion pumpkin lovers have for this time of year. These people clearly need to come to their senses.
But, in the meantime, this means more pumpkin for me!
My latest pumpkin innovation (which isn’t a new idea, but it’s new to me) is pumpkin chili. Spicy and sweet and hearty pumpkin chili. I have to admit that I was skeptical about the whole idea but it turned out fantastic! We often have chili for our family meals, and so it was a lot of fun to add some variety to a family favorite.
And it was the perfect compliment to our favorite drink – iced tea.
We drink iced tea with just about every meal. In the summer we use regular Lipton iced tea and make sun tea, but in the fall and winter months when the sun isn’t strong enough to brew the tea for us we use Lipton Cold Brew Iced Tea bags. The family sized tea bags are perfect for our family meals; I can make a whole pitcher of tea with just two tea bags while I’m cooking dinner.
My pumpkin chili is easy to make. As I brown the sausage, I pop two Lipton Cold Brew tea bags into a pitcher of water to brew as I cook.
After I cook the sausage, the rest of the prep involves adding all of the ingredients to the pan. I love the colors of each ingredient, it looked and smelled like fall.
As I started stirring it, my daughter walked into the room and said: “Oooh that smells good.” And it did!
The Lipton Cold Brew was ready before the chili, so I was able to enjoy a glass before dinner. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone.
The cool refreshing taste of the tea is a great compliment to the spicy sweetness of the pumpkin chili.
Pumpkin Chili Recipe
- 1 lb ground mild Italian sausage
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp minced dried onion
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp honey
- ¼ cup pine nuts (optional)
- Saute minced onions and garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat about 30-60 seconds in a deep skillet or dutch oven.
- Add ground sausage, turn heat up to medium-high and cook until browned.
- Drain sausage.
- Add remaining ingredients, stir and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.
- Serve sprinkled with pine nuts (optional).
This chili reheats very well and seems to develop an even richer flavor the next day. It’s a keeper! And don’t forget the Lipton Cold Brew! Check out the Food Network Bright Bites page for more creative twists on your fall meals.
Make sure you Pin this recipe on Pinterest for later!
That sounds so good! I’m a huge fan of chili, and I also love a good pumpkin soup. I think these flavors would marry very well. Can’t wait to make it!
Oh my gosh you had me at pumpkin! I’ve never thought about making pumpkin chili but I am definitely going to. I love pumpkin and throw it into chili is ingenious!
I am for sure saving this recipe! I have all of the ingredients!
This chili looks amazing!! And that Lipton cold brew tea is the perfect refreshing drink to accompany it! Can’t wait to try and recreate this entire meal!
This chili looks like sheer perfection! I love all of your step-by-step pics.
I love chili, especially on these cool fall days. Pumpkin chili is a delicious idea this time of year. It looks absolutely amazing!
I love everything pumpkin and we do eat a lot of chili at our house. This looks so delicious. I’m going to have to see if I can find the cold brew tea here.
I have never tried pumpkin inside of a chili or even a soup before. This looks interesting!
Pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors. I would love to try out pumpkin chili for sure!
I love cold tea and now one of our daughters is starting to enjoy it as well… that just means I need to make more of it!
I love to find new recipes to try. This pumpkin chili looks so delicious and easy to make. I will have to get the ingredients I need to make some for dinner this week.
Mmmm I love chili! AND I never thought of putting tea with it! I’ll have to try it
Pumpkin is one of my favorite flavors. I would love to try out pumpkin chili, can’t wait to make your recipe!
I am one of the non–pumpkin weirdos you mentioned. Your recipe does sound nice for the pumpkin lovers among us.
This looks delicious! I like pumpkin flavored things but have never had pumpkin chili. I’m going to have to try this recipe.
Yum! That looks so good! I have never thought of putting pumpkin in chili, but now that I see it, I want it!
I am a pumpkin lover, for sure. This sounds so yummy!
I’ve only started eating things with pumpkin recently. This sounds so good and pretty easy to make too!