Description
Pressure Cooker Pumpkin Chili recipe - vegetarian chili from the pressure cooker, with the sweet, earthy flavor of pumpkin.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Puree
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (5 pound) pie pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch cubes (yields about 2 1/2 pounds of pumpkin cubes)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup water
Chili
- 1 tablespoon chipotle en adobo puree or 1 large chipotle en adobo, minced, with sauce
- 8 cups cooked black beans, with their liquid (preferably homemade, or 4 (15 ounce) cans)
- 2 (15 oz) cans fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chiles
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pressure brown the pumpkin puree: Heat the vegetable oil in the pressure cooker pot over medium-high heat until shimmering (sauté mode in my electric pressure cooker.). Stir in the onion, garlic, and pumpkin to coat with butter. Sprinkle with the salt, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and baking soda, and stir again to evenly coat the pumpkin with spices. Add the water, lock the lid on the pressure cooker, and bring the cooker up to high pressure. Lower the heat to maintain the pressure, and pressure cook on high for 20 minutes (24 minutes in an electric PC). Quick release the pressure and remove the lid.
- Pressure cook the chili: Stir in the chipotles en adobo, black beans with liquid, diced tomatoes and chiles, and brown sugar. (The pumpkin will be completely cooked, and should dissolve into the other ingredients.) Lock the lid on the pressure cooker, and bring it back up to high pressure. Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes (6 minutes in an electric PC). Quick release the pressure and remove the lid.
- Serve: Taste the chili, and add salt and pepper as needed. (If you used homemade canned beans, you’ll definitely need more salt - I added an additional two teaspoons of kosher salt.) Serve with your favorite chili toppings. I went with diced avocado; onions, cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce are some of my other favorites.
Notes
Don't have a whole pumpkin? Substitute a 28 ounces of canned pumpkin. Skip the pie pumpkin, baking soda, and 1/2 cup of water in the Pumpkin Puree ingredients. Instead of pressure cooking in step 1, sauté the onion garlic, salt, chili powder, and cumin, and oregano over medium-high heat (sauté mode in an electric PC) until the onions are softened. Move to step 2 and stir in the canned pumpkin puree with the beans and tomatoes. Continue with the recipe as written - pressure cook on high for 5 minutes stovetop PC/6 minutes electric PC.
No pie pumpkins available? Don’t use a regular pumpkin - the flesh is too watery. Substitute peeled and seeded butternut squash. The flavor is remarkably similar. (And, a shortcut if you don't like peeling, seeding, and cubing squash: check your grocery store's produce section for pre-cubed butternut squash.)
No pressure cooker? No worries. For step 1, saute the pumpkin puree ingredients (except for the water) over medium-high heat in a large dutch oven. Once the onions are softened, add 1 cup of water (instead of the half cup), bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and simmer until the pumpkin is softened, about 30 minutes. For step 2, stir in all the chili ingredients, bring to a simmer, then simmer for 30 minutes, or until the chili has thickened.
Tools
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker)
- Flat edged wooden spoon
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Vegetarian