Butternut Chorizo Chili

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There are some foods and dishes that just come to mind when one thinks of the fall.  In my kitchen, I love bringing back the winter squashes like acorn and butternut that are now plentiful and cheap!  And while I have some summer versions, chilis definitely appear more on my fall and winter meal plans.  Now I’ve combined the two or a dish with some real kick.  If you like an easy recipe with lots of heat, you have got to give this butternut chorizo chili a try!

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Butternut Chorizo Chili

The sweetness of butternut meets the heat of chorizo sausage in this spicy chili dish.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Low Lactose

Keyword Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Whole30

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Servings 6

Calories 407kcal

Equipment

• Crock Pot, Skillet

Ingredients

• 12 oz cubed butternut squash 2 – 3 cups
• 1 lbs Ground chorizo or about 5 links
• 1 white onion diced
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 3 ribs celery diced
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with liquid
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp oil optional, if not using non-stick skillet

Instructions

• In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil.  Or, heat if using non-stick pan. 
• Add onion and minced garlic
• Once onion becomes translucent and garlic is fragrant, add ground chorizo
• Brown chorizo. While it’s cooking, add all other ingredients to the crock pot
• Once browned, add chorizo and onion to the crock pot
• Stir to combine, cover and let cook for 4-6 hours on high

Notes

This recipe is 8 Green, Blue, or Purple WW points.

Points and calories do not include optional oil.

If following Whole30, Paleo, or other clean eating program, be sure to check that your chorizo is sugar free.

Jump to nutritional information

Who is ready for some heat?  It’s starting to get cold here in Maryland.  Leaves have turned and fallen from the trees.  Plus, everything is wet thanks to heavy rains leftover from the most recent hurricane.  All of this cold and damp weather has really signaled that fall is here, and that has put me in the mood for chili.

When I meal plan, I have usual go-tos, like Mexican inspired for Taco Tuesdays each week.  Having go-tos makes putting my plan together so much easier, because in my mind, it already narrows down what recipe to plan for each day.  These can change through the seasons and chilis are a perfect example of that. 

Chilis aren’t completely banned from the meal plans in the spring and summer, some like the Chunky Garden Chili are great for the summer, but I usually make a pot of chili each week during the fall and winter.  There are so many great things about chili.  I do almost all of them in the crock pot, which means I toss everything in in the morning and don’t think about it until time to serve.  And, since I can make big batches, not only is it a great meal, but it usually lasts for several days and the leftovers are used for lunches or breakfast scrambles. 

Now that the fall squashes are here, I decided to bulk up a chili by adding some butternut to it.  The light sweetness of the butternut offsets the heat of the spicy chorizo in the butternut chorizo chili.

The ingredients – Chorizo and Butternut Squash

Let’s start by getting the ingredients together.  Of course, in a butternut chorizo chili, the main two ingredients are butternut squash and chorizo. Chorizo is one of the hotter sausages.  Because the meat is already so seasoned, this chili doesn’t require a lot of other spices.  Actually, the only thing I put in is some chili powder and a bit of salt – that’s it.  No cumin, no onion powder, no paprika, just chili powder and salt.

I usually would buy ground chorizo, but as I am relying on delivery services still due to Covid, I couldn’t get a package of it.  No problem since I was able to get chorizo sausage.  All I need to do it remove the casing and break up the sausage later. 

If you are not a fan of the heat of chorizo, and I will admit it does test my limits, you can tone it down by combining some ground chorizo and some ground pork or turkey.  I’ve also done this recipe with Italian Sausage.  The flavor is a little different because of the different seasoning, but personally I like the combination of fennel and butternut, so I liked it!

You will want to cube the butternut squash.  Most grocery stores have prepackaged butternut that has been cut either into large wedges are small cubes.  This makes working with the squash easier, but is much more expensive.  With a good, sharp knife, butternut cuts easily.  Peeling is the hardest part of dealing with butternut.  Most regular vegetable peelers can’t handle it.  If you need a better peeler, check out the three-piece peeler set from the Hoppin Meal Plans store.  The blue handled peeler is the perfect tool for peeling fruits or vegetables, including the firm butternut.

Let’s get cooking

OK, so you’ve got your meat and your squash. I’ve got a bunch of other vegetables including onion, pepper, and celery too, because why not sneak some vegetables in for your picky family members.  Of course, since it’s a chili I’m adding tomatoes and tomato paste.

Once you have your ingredients gathered, start by plugging in and turning on your crock pot.  Yes, plug it in and turn it on.  Crock pots actually cook better if they are preheated.  I’ve read that you should preheat a crock pot for 30 minutes before putting in ingredients.  Personally, I don’t go that far, but I do plug it in and let it start warming as I gather and prepare my ingredients. 

So, while the crock pot heats, I am going to start by slightly cooking the onions and the chorizo.  I usually don’t brown my meat before hand when I make a crock pot meal, but since chorizo tends to have a higher fat content than the ground beef I normally use in my chili, I do brown it to drain a bit of the fat off. 

I start by heating a large skillet over medium high heat.  If using a regular or cast-iron pan, add a little bit of oil to the pan. I am using a non-stick pan, so I’ll save the points and omit the oil.  Once the pan is hot, add the onions and minced garlic.  I’ll let the onion cook until it starts to become translucent, about three of four minutes.  Once the onion becomes a little clearer and the scent of garlic starts to fill my kitchen, I’ll add the chorizo.  In the pan, I’ll use a wooden spoon to break up the meat. 

While the chorizo browns, start adding the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot.  I start by adding the vegetables into the pot.  The firmer the vegetable, the sooner they go in.  So in this case, it’s butternut, pepper, and celery first.  Combine the raw, firm vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot.  On top of the firm vegetables, I add the canned tomatoes and the tomato paste.  I keep most the liquid from the canned tomatoes, but if you like your chili a little less liquidly, you can drain some of it off.  I will also add the tomato paste and seasoning at this point.  Give everything a gentle stir.

Once the chorizo has browned, use a slotted spoon to remove it from the skillet and add to the crock pot.  Cover and allow the chili to cook on high for four hours or low for eight. 

Once the chili is done, uncover and give it a good stir to allow everything to fully combine.  This butternut chorizo chili is hot, so make sure it’s served with a tall glass of a cold beverage.

Like this chili?  Check out some of our others like the Cheesy White Chicken Chili or Sheet Pan Chorizo.  Of course, if it’s too much heat, try a milder recipe like the Butternut Chicken Stew.

Of course if you like these recipes, why not just download a set to your computer or phone, complete with shopping list. It’s possible! take the planning out of meal planning with a Hoppin Meal Plan. Visit our meal plans for current plans!

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