Pumpkin Mole Chili w/ Chipotle Creme and Homemade Cornbread Croutons

By Batgirl

A spicy and savory chili, topped with crunchy cornbread croutons and cool chipotle creme.

Ingredients

• For Chili:
• 1 medium sugar pumpkin sometimes called pie pumpkins, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 large onion, diced
• 12 oz vegan crumbles I used Boca Ground Crumbles
• 4 1/2 cups red kidney beans 3 15oz cans drained and rinsed
• 1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 - 2 cups of vegetarian broth, depending on desired consistency I used Better-Than-Bullion No Beef broth
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 tbsp pureed chipotle in adobo more or less, to taste
• 2 tbsp dark cocoa powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• For Chipotle Creme:
• 1 1/2 cups vegan sour cream I used Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream
• 1 tbsp pureed chipotle in adobo, or more, to taste
• For Cornbread Croutons:
• 1 recipe cornbread, baked and cooled
• 2 - 3 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

For Chili:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Toss the diced pumpkin with one tbsp of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread on a foil-lined baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes or until tender, stirring every 10 minutes.

2. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and cook until golden and starting to caramelize. Add ground crumbles and cook until browned.

3. Add beans, tomatoes, broth, pumpkin puree, chipotle in adobo, cocoa powder, cumin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Bring to a bubbling simmer, and check for seasoning. Lower the heat to medium low, and let simmer for 30–45 minutes to blend flavors.

4. Stir in diced roasted pumpkin, and salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 10 more minutes, until pumpkin is heated through. Serve immediately.

Tip: When I’m roasting the pumpkin, I like to roast a second whole pumpkin, split down the middle and covered with foil. Then I can use the second pumpkin for the pumpkin puree called for in the recipe. It’s much fresher and tastes better than canned pumpkin.

For Chipotle Creme:

Swirl the chipotle puree through the sour cream so it’s streaked but not fully stirred in. You can stir it in all the way, but it turns kind of an unappealing shade of pink.

For Cornbread Croutons:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Cut the cornbread into small cubes, about 1”.

2. Toss the cornbread cubes with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Spread evenly in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking pan.

3. Bake for 30–45 minutes, until crispy, tossing every 10–15 minutes.