Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili is a great healthy family dinner for chilly fall and winter nights! The flavors are amazing and it’s SO easy to make – just add everything to your Instant Pot and it’s ready to go!
This recipe is Trim Healthy Mama friendly (THM E), low fat, gluten free (if using certified gluten free products) and rich in fiber.
My family LOVES chili. It’s always been one of my favorite meals to cook, so I’m over the moon that they love it so much.
Every year I look forward to fall so I can finally make chili again, and this Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili is such a great way to indulge in this favoritism.
The flavors are just amazing, so autumnly with the pumpkin and the pumpkin spice.
Also, coming up with e meals for dinner can be hard sometimes (especially when there’s such tasty esses (that’s my multiple for S if you were wondering, ahem) like Salisbury Steak or Instant Pot Sour Cream Pork Chops to be had!)
This low fat pumpkin chili is really the cream of the crop, so to speak.
Ah, gushing this much over chili… Way to not show your weird side, Nora. 😉
Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili
I love this recipe for so many reasons, but mostly because it’s SO easy to make.
- you just throw everything in your instant pot, close the lid and press the manual button. 60 minutes later, dinner is done!
- it’s a meal in one pot. Full of fiber from the veggies and pumpkin purée, protein from the meat and starchy carbs from the beans – this is a great and super easy THM E dinner!
- leftovers make for a great lunch the next day! Cook once, eat twice – a busy mama’s dream come true!
This recipe really isn’t hard at all to make, so it’s great if you’re just starting out on Trim Healthy Mama (or just starting out with your Instant Pot!).
Still, here are a few tips to make this Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili absolutely foolproof:
You can start with frozen meat
It’s no problemo to start this recipe with solid frozen ground turkey (or beef, if that’s what you have).
If you can, break it up a bit. Word of warning: There will be clumps of meat when you open the instant pot, but all you have to do is separate them with a wooden spoon and stir.
Don’t worry, the meat will cook through, it just tends to stick together a little, but that’s no big deal – and a dinner saver if you’re like me and usually forget to defrost meat!
Make sure you stir before closing the instant pot
Once you have added everything to the inner pot of your electric pressure cooker, give it a good stir.
That way you’ll make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the instant pot and everything will cook evenly.
Don’t have dry black beans?
Since I’m a total THM purist, I avoid cans like the plague. Instead, I like to add dried black beans to cook right in this Instant Pot Chili!
That’s possible without soaking because this is a pressure cooked recipe – do not do this if you want to make this recipe in a slow cooker or on the stove!
If you don’t have dried black beans, reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1.5 cups and add a can of cooked black beans instead.
Can you freeze this recipe?
Yes, this is absolutely freezable!
- allow to cool to room temperature before packing up and freezing
- use containers suitable for freezing
- label with the name and use-by date (freeze for up to 3 months)
- heat thoroughly until piping hot all the way through after defrosting
What can you serve with this pumpkin chili?
As I said, this is a pretty straight-forward, meal in a bowl recipe.
I still think it’s not quite enough for a full-on meal (I’m a big eater, but maybe that’s because I’m always nursing, or pregnant, or both, ha!). So I like to add some toppings.
Some of our favorites:
- Organic corn chips! We don’t pile them on in a huge way – a bag lasts us for about 2 months. But it’s a great way to add a little crunch and get the kids extra excited. I actually cried a little when I ate the leftovers from this photoshoot and realized I forgot to grab a handful of corn chips, ha!
- All the toppings: To stay firmly in E mode, you’ll have to be careful with things like cheese, avocado and full fat dairy. I like adding a big dollop of Greek yogurt to mine, a light sprinkling of cheese and usually skip the avocado here.
- THM-approved cornbread! I yet have to find a recipe I like and think is great… But if you have one, please let me know! I LOVE cornbread and it’s one of my special indulgences I make occasionally for my family, but I’d really like to have an everyday kind of recipe. A slice of regular sprouted wheat bread is also delicious, though!
For your husband and kids, pile on the full fat sour cream, cheese and avocado if they like it to turn this into a nice crossover!
Or just follow with a serving of Healthy Cinnamon Apples with a little Greek yogurt for dessert – yum. My favorite!
Grab the printable recipe here:
Instant Pot Pumpkin Chili
Ingredients
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 bell peppers any color, diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 2/3 cup black beans dried
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 15 oz jar diced tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can pumpkin OR 2 cups homemade pumpkin purée
- 2.5 cups water
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 heaping teaspoon pumpkin spice
- Your favorite chili toppings!
Instructions
- Place all ingredients (except for the toppings) in the inner pot of your instant pot. Stir well.
- Close the lid and set the pressure valve to "sealing". Choose "pressure cook" and set the timer to 45 minutes.
- Once the cooking time is up, do a natural pressure release for 5 minutes (just leave the instant pot alone). Then carefully manually release the remaining pressure and open the instant pot.
- If your chili hasn't thickened enough, set the instant pot to sauté (on low) and simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
Mary Kate says
This looks delicious! Is this cooked on high pressure?
Nora says
Yes! It absolutely is, Mary Kate.