Slow Cooked Beef and Pumpkin Chilli

5 from 7 votes

Slow Cooked Beef and Pumpkin Chilli

When the evenings start to get darker and chillier, what could be better than a big pot of Beef and Pumpkin Chilli cooking away in the slow cooker all day, ready for a quick and easy meal come dinner time? (Serves 6-8 depending on appetite.)

Course Chilli, Main Course

Cuisine American, Mexican

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 10

Servings people

Calories 507kcal

Author Eb Gargano

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions red or white, diced
1 kg beef mince or stewing beef diced
6 cloves garlic crushed or grated
1 teaspoon chilli flakes or to taste
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 x 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoons oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
400 g pumpkin or butternut squash cut into bite sized chunks
2 red peppers cut into bite sized chunks
2 x 400 g tins black beans drained
Rice tortilla chips or soft tortillas to serve
Guacamole and salsa or finely diced onion, tomatoes and avocado to serve

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

If using the oven, preheat to 160C / 140C fan / gas mark 3 / 325F.
Place the olive oil and onions in a large pan and fry over a gentle heat for 5 minutes until softened but not brown. Turn the heat up and add the beef. Fry for 3 minutes or until the beef and onions are browned.
Lower the heat again and add the garlic, chilli and spices. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper and bring to the boil.
Oven: Transfer the chilli to a lidded ovenproof dish and cook for 1-2 hours. Remove from the oven, add the pumpkin, red pepper and black beans and cook for a further 1 hour or until the pumpkin is soft and the beef is tender.
Slow Cooker on high: Add the pumpkin and bring back to the boil. Transfer the chilli to your slow cooker and cook for 4-5 hours. Add the red pepper and black beans and cook for a further 1 hour or until the pumpkin is soft and the beef is tender.
Slow Cooker on low: Add the pumpkin and bring back to the boil. Transfer the chilli to your slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours. Add the red pepper and black beans and cook for a further 2 hours or until the pumpkin is soft and the beef is tender.

Notes

I have deliberately kept the timings a little flexible so you can fit this into your life. Meals like this are really very flexible and can take a little extra cooking if need be. Choose whichever time best fits into your lifestyle.

If you can’t be home when the vegetables need to go into the slow cooker simply put them in from the start. They will lose their texture a little but will otherwise be fine. You may even prefer it this way, if you are not keen on vegetables!

Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Nutrition