Butternut Squash Chipotle Chili with Avocado
Hearty vegetarian chili made with butternut squash and black beans. This chili satisfies carnivores, vegans and gluten-free eaters alike. Everyone loves it!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
Fall is in the air, as they say. The green leaves are just beginning to acknowledge the change in seasons along their peripheries; my nose is following suit with incessant sneezes. Itโs that wonderfully awkward transitional time when Iโm never sure what to wear: shorts now, or a sweater for later? And what do I cook: the last of the tomatoes, or sweet potatoes? Weโll be bundled up in scarves, carving pumpkins and crafting Halloween costumes before we know it. I canโt wait.
Football season seems to be in full swing, too. My old friends are taunting me with photos of game day meals made in the college town I used to call homeโletโs be honest, football is really all about the food and beer anyway. Forget standing in crowds at stadiums! Give me a comfortable seat, friends, good food and drinks. The fact that a game is on while I chit-chat is purely secondary.
This butternut squash and black bean chili is just right for fall weather and football games. It strikes that balance between spicy and sweet that I love in Mexican food, like a good mole sauce. Chipotle and chili powder provide ample spice to round off the sweet, seasonal flavor of butternut squash. Top with crispy tortilla strips and plenty of creamy diced avocadoย for a hearty meal that will satisfy vegans, carnivores and gluten-free eaters alike. Meals like that arenโt easy to come by, you know?
The chili happens to be super simple to make, too. Once you have your vegetables chopped, your work is almost done. Speaking of which, Iโve done my fair share of cursing at butternut for being difficult to peel and slice, but I didnโt have any trouble when I followed Simply Recipesโ method. I donโt know if it was her method or this butternut squash in particular, but it was a breeze. Try it!
Watch How to Make Butternut Squash Chipotle Chili
Le Creuset 5 1/2-Quart French Oven
Wusthof Classic 7-Inch Santoku Knife
Vegetarian Butternut Squash Chipotle Chili with Avocado
Hearty, spicy and sweet vegetarian chili made with butternut squash and black beans. Top with creamy avocado for an easy meal that satisfies vegans, carnivores and gluten-free eaters alike. This recipe yields about 12 cups, enough for 4 to 6 bowls. This chili is very hearty, but feel free to add another can of tomatoes or more vegetable broth if you want to thin it out a bit. Double the recipe for a crowd.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 2 red bell peppers, chopped
- 1 small butternut squash (1 ยฝ pounds or less), peeled and chopped into ยฝ-inch cubes
- 4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- Fine salt, to taste
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ยฝ+ tablespoon chopped chipotle pepper in adobo* (start with ยฝ tablespoon and add more to taste, I thought mine was just right with 1 tablespoon)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ยผ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained, or 3 cups cooked black beans
- 1 small can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes, including the liquid
- 2 cups vegetable broth or one 14-ounce can
- 2 ripe avocados, diced
- 3 corn tortillas for crispy tortilla strips, or a handful of crumbled tortilla chips
- Optional additional garnishes: Chopped fresh cilantro and/or red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat, warm the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion, bell pepper and butternut squash, and โ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are turning translucent.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the garlic, chili powder, ยฝ tablespoon chopped chipotle peppers, cumin and cinnamon. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the bay leaf, black beans, tomatoes and their juices and broth. Stir to combine and cover for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Taste about halfway through cooking and add more chopped chipotle peppers if youโd like.
- Youโll know your chili is done when the butternut squash is nice and tender, and the liquid has reduced a bit, producing the hearty chili consistency we all know and love. Remove the bay leaf and add salt to taste.
- To make the crispy tortilla strips: stack the corn tortillas and slice them into thin little strips, about 2 inches long by ยผ inch wide. Warm a drizzle of olive oil in a medium pan over medium heat until shimmering. Toss in the tortilla slices, sprinkle with salt, and stir. Cook until the strips are crispy and turning golden, stirring occasionally, about 4 to 7 minutes. Remove tortilla strips from the skillet and drain on a plate covered with a paper towel.
- Serve the chili in bowls, topped with crispy tortilla strips and plenty of diced avocado. I added a little sprinkle of red pepper flakes (optional). Cilantro would be nice as well. For spice lovers like me, you might want to serve this with some chipotle hot sauce (Tobasco makes one).
Notes
*Chipotle in adobo sauce is usually found in the Mexican section of the grocery store. I never need a whole can at once, so I use what I need and then transfer the rest to a small freezer bag, pressing it flat before freezing it. Then, I can pull off as much as I need later. As a substitute, use smoked paprika (start at 1 ยฝ teaspoons, and add more if desired).
On leftovers: This chili reheats great. Avocado and crispy tortilla chips should be added after reheating, just before serving. These tortilla strips tend to lose their crisp over time, so you can a) skip them altogether, b) make more just before serving or c) substitute a small handful of crumbled tortilla chips instead!
Want to make this in a crockpot/slow cooker? I havenโt tried, but commenters report that this chili turns out well after 4 hours on high or 7 to 8 hours on low.
Fun fact:ย If youโre looking for the butternut chili presented by a contestant on ABCโs The Chew, this is it!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
(Hope this dosent post more than once, my computer is acting cray and Iโm retyping this!)
Five star recipe like alwaysโฆperfect combo! Sweet, spicy, smoky, creamy, cool and crunchy. Every base covered :)
Hearty and warm for a FREEZING January day here in Va.
Made this today for my vegan family and we loved it. Iโm making my husband take it for lunch tomorrow. The combination of spices with the chipotle adobo was amazing! Great recipe!
Thank you, Andrea! Happy to hear it!
Delicious! Iโve now made this 3 times in the last month and it is so good. I donโt like eating the same food on repeat yet this keeps getting devoured before I can stash any in the freezer. Tastes so hearty yet itโs so healthy! I put half of it in my food processor at the end to make it more hearty. This is the 3rd recipe Iโve made from your site and they are all so easy and delicious. Canโt wait to try more!
Iโve been making this recipe (and faster approximations inspire by it) all winter, and I am still obsessed with it. Hope this gets a whole spread in your cookbook!
This is the best vegetarian chili recipe I have found and I make chili quite often. I am not a super fan of butternut squash, but it worked so well in this dish. My kids cannot handle spicy food, so I only used 1/2 tbsp of the chipotle in adobo and it was just almost too spicy for them. Truly a fantastic recipe!
Weโre getting 4 days straight of late winter rain, which is actually weather I like, but still perfect for chili! I have been thinking about this flavor combination (sweet squash, spicy beans/peppers) for a while, so I made this last night. I didnโt have all the ingredients, so your recipe was more inspiration than direction. I used red kidney beans and TVP for protein and a mix of squash and rutabaga. The sweet veggies make a great contrast to the smoky adobo, and greek yogurt and avacado add creaminess and lower the heat.
I discovered this blog while searching for something lighter to make on Christmas Eve. This was the first recipe I tried. I have made many vegetarian chilies and this is by far my favorite. So tasty and spicy. I definitely recommend making it.
Oh, lush! I love it! Eating it right now. I omitted the avocado and tortilla topping; instead, I whipped up vegan cheese, green onion rosemary dumping, which I baked in this chili in the oven for half an hour or so. Scrumptious. Satisfying. Thanks, Kate!
You store the leftover chipotles in adobo in a freezer bag, but you donโt actually say whether you freeze them or just store them in the refrigerator. Do you freeze them?
Sorry about that! Yes, I freeze them and they last for a long time that way.
I do the same thing! Until I learned this trick, I would feel so wasteful throwing out chipotles after leaving them sitting in a tupperware in my fridge for weeks (โฆor maybe months) after I made a recipe that only needed one or two. I also use this method with leftover canned tomato paste :)
This is AMAZING AND so nutritiousโฆmaking it again tonight. So much great flavor! Thank you Kate for the recipe!!
This was super delicious! It honestly tastes better than chili with meat in it! It was nice and hearty for the cold day today in Melbourne!
It might not be fall, but its raining, so a great excuse to try this recipe. I have lived without meat for a year now, but I still get amazed with all the options and flavours.
This recipe came together really fast. Be prepared for lots of chopping. This year I took a brake on gardening and just planted winter squash and sunflowers. I love how this recipe uses hard squash. My four little ones and I thoroughly enjoyed this chili.
This was really really delicious!!! I used normal Kent pumpkin. (Iโm from Australia so donโt know if this is a kind available in the US). I donโt really like butternut so thatโs why I didnโt use it. The sweetness of the pumpkin balanced the acidity of the sauce SO well. I used just original corn chips to dip in. Healthy and delicious, thanks for this recipe
Absolutely love it. Very unique idea. Yummy.
My fiancรฉ is a chili enthusiast and a meat lover. We both rank this our number one chili recipe! It is delicious by itself, with chips as a snack, with avocado (as recommended in the recipe) or with a fried egg thrown on top for brunch. Do yourself a favorโmake a double batch and freeze half for later!
Woohoo! Thatโs fantastic to hear. Thanks, Coral!
Amazingly delicious and fresh! Iโve made so many variations of Mexican but this was so original, like a deconstruction.
I added some fresh tomatoes and lime juice over everything to compensate no salsa verde and it was excellent. And pretty easy to cook! I had to come here to thank you for the great recipe!
Thank you, Dave! I appreciate it!
I went a little crazy today and made this like I usually do โ but then put pineapple guacamole on top โ OMG delish! Thanks for the great recipes!
I never would have thought to do that! Yum!
Holy Moly! This was so so good! Iโve been meal planning lately (feeling really grown-up, now that Iโm 32) and had this on the schedule for last night. Little did I know, my husbandโs mom and brother would end up coming over to join us for dinner. Even though weโre all meat eaters, I try to cook vegetarian during the week. This was a great recipe to serve a crowd and the leftovers today for lunch were even better! Family loved it and it was so satisfying- no one missed the meat.
I used my crockpot and was a little nervous as I was starting it in the morning and not using pumpkin (unlike the commenter who also used a crockpot). I cooked it on low for 7 hours and put my crockpot on warm until it was time to eat (I had time to cook it longer, but the squash was done after 7 hours). All the flavors melded wonderfully into a rich, hearty chili. We topped it with diced avocado, cilantro, fresh diced purple onion, and sharp cheddar. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!
I already have shared this recipe with my mother-in-law and canโt wait to cook it again. Thank you for sharing this perfect fall dinner!
One of my all time favorite recipes! I make this about once a week during the fall.
I just listed it as one of my top 4 butternut squash recipes in my post โSeasonโs Best: Butternut Squashโ
http://sugarplussalt.com/seasons-best-butternut-squash/
Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
I made this recipe last night for a weekday meal! It was very quick to prepare and didnโt take too long to cook. I added some sweet potato into my pot as well. I will definitely be making this again soon. I love when it turns into Fall and all of the best root vegetables are available.
-Toronto, ON
this was delicious Kate!! so yum! had it with Greek yoghurt instead of avocado and was too lazy to make the strips so just had some Doritos instead! will definitely be making again soon thanks so much for the wonderful recipe!
So delicious!!! will defiantly make again and canโt wait to try your other recipes, and Iโm not even vegan!!! So healthy and tasty. Hit was a hit with vegan friend and my daughter!
Great and very forgiving recipe!
I had do do some changes and it was still really good:
โ My stomach doesnโt go well with butternut squash and terrible with bell pepper. So I used half butternut and no bell pepper and substituted it with carrot and a bit of celery.
โ Donโt like chipotle so I experienced a bit with curry instead. Really good too.
โ Messed up the order a bit, didnโt do a lot of damage.
Side note: Needed way longer than noted to get to a good consistency (based on the amount of fluid).
I am new at being vegan and this was a really good way to show myself again that itโs worth it and meat is great but not necessary.
Thanks :)
Thank you, Martha! Iโm glad you enjoyed it. You might like my other chili recipes, too.
LOVE this recipe!! I crave this dish, so I have made it frequently, sometimes substituting lentils for the beans, and I double the cinnamon. Off to the kitchen now to make another batch!
Awesome! Thanks, Lindy!
Made this tonight. Yumm! It was so good!
This was so delicious!! This will definitely be part of my dinner rotation!
I made this exactly as written, and the flavor was great, but it was WAYYYY too spicy for my mild to medium palate. Would make again, but cut down on the chili powder probably by half.
I love your bread recipes (banana and pumpkin are out of this world) but this soup did not work for me. It was watery, the butternut squash was too soft, and the flavor was not as rich as I had hoped. I followed the directions so not sure if this is just the way the soup is and just not my thing. But thank you for posting interesting recipes! Iโll keep trying.
I like vegan very much
My husband is suspicious of butternut squash, and chili in general, as heโs had many bland vegetarian versions. But he loved this! As did I. I used petite diced muir glen tomatoes in adobe seasoning, a bit less squash, and only 1 bell pepper. Terrific with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and avocado.
For those wondering if this works in the crockpotโI do it ALL the time because I am OBSESSED with this recipe, and it works great! Literally just dump in all of the ingredients and cook on low all day and it turns out perfectly every time. Thanks Kate!
Just finished eating this meal and it did not disappoint! Very satisfying on a cold night. However, my husband would not allow me to exclude meat from a dinner, so I boiled two chicken breasts, pulled them, and added them to the chili when it had a few minutes left. It worked out great and doubled our portions!
I cooked it in an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker: Sauted onions and bell pepper, then pressure cooked on High for 3 minutes and let it reduce steam naturally. I made it Vegan but substituting water for oil. I used frozen Butternut Squash.
Iโve been vegetarian for years, but chili is one of the few things I havenโt been able to replicate in as satisfying a way as what I had when I still ate meat. And not that I have anything against those fake meat soy crumbly things, because I donโt, butโฆthat feels like cheating somehow. Iโve been search for that perfect recipe all this time, which is why Iโm here.
ThisโฆOK, TBH, this really isnโt what I was looking for, either, but I made it anyway, andโฆit was closer than I think Iโve ever gotten before. I thought it was quite good, with a balanced, complex flavor.
Since Iโm constitutionally incapable of following a recipe as written, I should probably phrase it as โI made something inspired by your recipe,โ rather than saying โI made your recipe.โ I used two big sweet potatoes for the squash, a green pepper for one of the reds, a can of pinto beans for one of the cans of black beans, I omitted the bay leaf, your cinnamon made me very suspicious so I knocked that down to 1/8 tsp, I probably used twice as much chili powder and cumin, I added a can of those little mild green chiles because theyโre so much fun, I glunked in some of the adobo sauce along with the chipotle pepper, midway through I added a bit of dried chipotle because I decided it wasnโt zippy enough but I didnโt want to open another can, and I put in about half a large zucchini because I didnโt think itโd live through the night and wanted to use it up. So, grain of salt and all that. Oh, right: I also used a splash of soy sauce instead of the salt.
(I do wish I had avocados for garnish, but theyโve gone back up to $1.99 each and they seem to have a window between โrock hardโ and โrotting slimeโ of about 15 minutes. Iโve stopped buying them for now, because that window invariably opens in the middle of the night. Instead I used shredded cheddar. I doubt thereโs anything that could be made *worse* with the addition of cheddar cheese, you know?)
So even though my end result wasโฆadjacent to yours at best, I still wanted to say thanks. It wasnโt quite what I thought I was hungry for, but it was good and it was easy and it was healthful and it didnโt get a bunch of dishes dirty and that adds up to a recipe thatโll probably get made again and again.
You did good.
Iโm vegan, so I usually have to fend for myself at holiday dinners. Iโve been making this for Christmas Eve dinner for the past three years, and I just made it again this year, but for the whole extended family! Thanks for such a great recipe!
This recipe is at the top of our all-time favorites list. My husband and I have been feeling down about the state of the world the last few weeks. So we had to have this chili to cheer ourselves up. It wonโt fix these problems but it sure made us feel better!
Same with you on that one, Rebecca. Comfort food is a must right now :)
I served your butternut squash chili to my book club this evening, and it was 10 thumbs up. I doubled the recipe, but kept to the two cans of black beans, adding roasted corn rather than doubling the beans. In addition to avocados, I had sour cream and shredded cheese as toppings. It was delicious, especially with my Mexican cornbread.
That sounds so good, Jennifer! Whatโs in your Mexican cornbread?
This was a terrific recipe. My wife is vegetarian, not vegan so finishing a bowl with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream is recommended. We also made sopapillas which I must say is the perfect side dish.
Yum! Iโll have to try those sopapillasโ Iโm intrigued. :)
Mmmmm this was tasty, but I MUCH prefer your traditional chili recipe. I personally thought the squash was a bit too sweet for my liking in a chili. And I loaded it with chipotle (maybe 2 tbsp) but I didnโt really taste it, just felt warmth. I WILL be making the crispy tortilla chips again though. :D
https://sooka.info/2015/vegetarian-chili-recipe/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
I totally understand the preference for less-sweet veggies, Asako. Iโm glad you liked the chips, though!
Nutritionist told me to eat more veggies (me and veggies donโt get along), so I decided a vegetarian food blog was my best bet. I decided on this recipe and expected maybe a 6/10 at best.
Holy crap was I wrong. 6? Really? Boy was I wrong. This was easily a 20. (I did use beef broth instead of veggie broth for a bit more of a meaty taste.) OMG like really. What is this? My taste buds have been deceived.
Haha! Iโm so glad this exceeded expectations, Brandi! I hope it improved your relationship with veggies just a bit. :)
I made my Vegan Chili the same way as outlined, however, I couldnโt find butternut squash so I substituted it with sweet potatoes. Additionally, to add an extra meaty consistency I added lentils. The flavor was awesome. For garnish I added oven roasted Sunchokes with just seasoned salt and pepper, and grilled whole asparagus on the side. Amazing!
Great recipe. I added extra chipotle and had it with some cheddar cheese, avocado and rosemary cornbread. I will definitely make this again.
That rosemary cornbread has me all googly-eyed! It sounds delicious, Zan.
I cut all winter squash in large chunks, bake, then peel. You can do large batches and freeze for later recipes. I add them at the end of recipes so they donโt get too mushy.
Everyone asking for a bean substitute might want to try TVP (textured vegetable protein). You can buy it in the bulk sections or Bobโs Red Mill has bags of it in the natural sections of most well stocked grocery stores.
Chipotle plus butternut squash is to die for!
Iโm actually eating this chili as I type and I have to say, itโs AMAZING! I didnโt think chili sans meat could be so flavorful โ proven wrong. I did tweak the recipe a bit, though. Finding chipotle in adobo in France is not easy, so I just added some fresh jalapeno. This will definitely be a favorite this coming winter! Thanks!
Yum! I added another can of tomatoes plus about 1 T of tomato paste that I had leftover because it was looking a little too โbroth-y.โ I ended up cooking it uncovered for about 15 mins at the end and it turned out perfectly. Served with jalapeno cornbread โ highly recommend :)
Great recipe. I made it with a couple of substitutions โ used Ancho chile powder instead of chili powder and fresh tomatoes. Delish!
Hmmmโฆwondering how I could do this in an electric pressure cooker/Instant Pot? Any guess on timing?
Hi Alice, this probably would be a good candidate. Iโd use the sautรฉ setting in the beginning for best flavor/texture, like you would to make the soup on the stove. I havenโt tried myself, so I canโt advise on timing, sorry!
This was AMAZING! I make/eat a ton of vegetarian chili but this was by far my favorite Iโve had.
Glad you liked it so much, Emily! I appreciate your review!
My favorite part of the Fall used to be a lovely butternut squash/Black bean stew for which Iโve lost the recipe. Yesterday was a suddenly autumn day and I had an intense craving for it. Once again, you come to the rescue, Kate! I went with the dried chipotle, because Iโm an anti-spicehead. And added a handful of barley at the end of 4 hours in the crock pot to add some tooth. Served with a dark bread, and itโs a perfect welcome to the cool temps of the Fall!
I am happy this recipe was able to serve as a nice stand-in for your favorite butternut squash soup :) It is a great one for a chilly fall day! Thanks so much, Francces.