I have a wonderful friend who is a Vegetarian and I keep promising to create a special recipe just for her. But what finally pushed me to get moving were 2 other friends of mine, also Vegetarians who were recovering from that nasty flu virus and I wanted to make something both nutritious and tasty for them. And this is what I came up with. I was delighted and surprised with how delicious it turned out! Full of flavor and “meaty” vegetables. Spicy with just a touch of heat. Even my meat eating Sparky gave it a 2 thumbs up!
This is what we’ll need. Or….at least most of what we’ll need. Apparently the Carrots were too shy to have their pictures taken. 😉
Ready? Let’s build us a pot of vegetarian delight!
Vegetarian Butternut Squash and Carrot Chili
Made with high protein beans, meaty Butternut Squash and Carrots, this is one delectable Vegetarian Chili. So good you'll never notice it is meat free.
Ingredients
- 1/4 Cup Canola Oil
- 1 medium Zucchini quartered and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 2 medium Carrots sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 4 Cups Butternut Squash peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 Cup diced Red Onion
- 1 Cup diced Green Pepper
- 1 15 oz can Light Red Kidney Beans rinsed and drained
- 1 15 oz can Garbanzo Beans rinsed and drained
- 1 28 oz can whole Tomatoes crushed by hand
- 1-1/2 TBSP minced Garlic about 5 large cloves
- 3 TBSP Chili Powder use a good quality. It does make a big difference!
- 2 Tsp ground Cumin
- 2 Tsp Salt
- 1/2 Tsp ground Black Pepper
- 1 Tsp Cocoa Powder my "secret" ingredient
Instructions
- Cut the peeled Butternut Squash into approximately 1 inch cubes. To make it easy, I cut the neck off the bulb of the squash, stood it on it's flat end and pealed it with a sharp knife.
- Prep all the other Vegetables in advance to make putting together easier.
- Add the Canola Oil to a large Kettle over medium heat. Add the Onions, Peppers and Carrots. Saute' for a few minutes. The Carrots are hard and need a head start on the other veggies.
- Add the Butternut Squash and cook and stir another couple of minutes.
- Add the chopped Zucchini and the Garlic and give it all a good stir. I wait to add the Garlic until this point to avoid burning it.
- Stir in the Chili Powder, Cumin, Cocoa Powder, Salt and Pepper.
- Add the hand crushed Tomatoes, Kidney Beans and the Garbanzo Beans. Raise the heat and bring the Kettle to a boil. Then reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for another 45 minutes until all the vegetables are tender and the Chili has slightly thickened.
- Serve your Chili hot with maybe a nice wedge of Cornbread and you have a soul warming meal just perfect on a cold winter day!
- Thanks for stopping by today. I truly appreciate your friendship! Old man winter continues to rule up here in the mountains of Northeast Washington State and our temperatures have remained well below zero for almost a week. A meal like this warming Chili sure hits the spot!
- As we continue on our journey through life I wish you the joy each season of the year presents us, but I am truly hoping Spring arrives soon!
- Journey on! Hugs and much love from me, Karen, TJG
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
This looks so good Karen. I just printed this recipe out…I will be making it this weekend along with my vegetarian stuffed peppers. I replace ground beef with Morningstar vegan crumbles….delish.
Hi Sharon,
I was so surprised at how wonderful this turned out! Really delicious and I hope you like it.
Hugs,
Karen, TJG
Looks delishous! I copied this one down! As always you have the best recipes and can’t wait to try it and share with vegetarians in my family.
Thank you Penny! I hope you enjoy it. I truly was surprised at how delicious it turned out!
Hugs,
Karen