Creamy Turkey Pumpkin Chili
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Ground turkey and canned pumpkin puree cook quickly into a rich, spice-warmed chili — no beef, no hours on the stove. Pumpkin thickens the broth and tempers the chili powder’s heat and a splash of cream at the end enriches the texture. Three cans of cannellini beans make it filling without weighing you down, and it reheats beautifully.
Why pumpkin is more than a pretty color
- A can of pumpkin puree is also a thickening agent — no flour, no cornstarch, no forty-minute reduction simmer required.
- No tomatoes. This isn’t a red chili — the thick pumpkin and a full pot of white beans give it a lovely autumnal color.
- The cream, stirred in off the heat right before serving, is what tips the texture from thick to actually creamy.
“I love this recipe!! Made it for my whole family for a family weekend and it was a huge hit! !”
~ Heather
Get the right can, and the rest is easy
- Pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Same aisle, same-looking can, completely different chili. Pie filling comes pre-sweetened and spiced, not what you want in this recipe. And no, adding pumpkin to turkey chili does NOT make it taste like dessert. Think of a how a creamy butternut squash soup is surprisingly savory.
- Ground turkey: I usually choose dark (thigh) meat because it’s fattier (and therefore tastier), but of course you can use ground turkey breast if you prefer. More options: Instead of turkey, try ground chicken, pork or even a vegetarian sausage.
- Canned white beans: Creamy-textured cooked cannellini beans are my first choice. They have a plump shape and pleasing tenderness that I love. You can substitute with any small white bean such as navy beans or even pinto beans.
- Heavy cream: I’m gonna be honest. You don’t need heavy cream. The cooked chili has a beautiful creamy texture already from the pumpkin puree and the white beans. But just a few tablespoons to finish the dish makes this even rich-tasting and comforting. If dairy isn’t your thing, try a full-fat oat milk or other unsweetened dairy substitute.
Rounding out the bowl
This chili is thick, rich, and a little sweet from the pumpkin — it wants company that contrasts with it instead of feeling heavy. A romaine lettuce salad with tahini caesar dressing brings the acid and crunch the chili doesn’t have on its own. Cabbage slaw with champagne vinaigrette does the same job with more snap — so good if you want something a little sharper and crunchier. And if you’re setting this out for a crowd, a bowl of three-ingredient guacamole alongside allows people to build their own bowl.
Creamy Turkey Pumpkin Chili with White Beans
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil
- 1 finely chopped onion, (1 cup)
- 2 chopped carrots, (1 ½ cups)
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 finely chopped garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper or cayenne
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ pounds (675 g) ground turkey, thigh or breast
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, rosemary or sage, (or a mixture of one or more)
- 1 15-ounce (285 g) can unsweetened pumpkin purée
- 2 15-ounce cans (850 g) drained cannellini beans, navy beans, or pinto beans
- 2 cups (500 ml) chicken broth
- Kosher salt
- ½ cup (125 ml) heavy whipping cream, optional
Instructions
- Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil into a 4 or 5 quart soup pot or Dutch oven and place over medium heat. Add 1 finely chopped onion, 2 chopped carrots and 2 2 stalks celery, chopped. Cook until the vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally.
- Add 2 finely chopped garlic cloves1 tablespoon ground coriander, 1 tablespoon ground paprika, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper or cayenne, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, stirring to coat in the oil. Add 1 ½ pounds ground turkey and cook until it's no longer pink, stirring and breaking the meat up with a spoon, about 8 minutes.
- Add 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, rosemary or sage1 15-ounce can unsweetened pumpkin purée, 2 15-ounce cans drained cannellini beans2 cups chicken brothand 2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a simmer, partially cover and cook 20 minutes, adjusting the heat so it doesn't boil.
- Remove from the heat and stir in ½ cup heavy whipping cream, if using. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Serve warm in bowls.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Follow step 1 and 2. Transfer the mixture to your slow cooker and add the herbs, beans, pumpkin, 1 1/2 cups broth and salt.
- Set to cook on low for 6 hours or 3 hours on high.
- Stir in the cream and serve.
- Set your pot to Saute. Follow the steps in step 1 and 2.
- Add the remaining ingredients except the cream to the pot as in step 3.
- Cover and set to pressure cook for 10 minutes, allowing pressure to release naturally.
- Stir in the cream and serve warm.
- Instead of turkey, try ground chicken, pork or even a vegetarian sausage.
- Fresh herbs make a huge difference. If you can find the classic Thanksgiving trio of fresh rosemary, sage and thyme, use all three, Dry herbs are fine to use, too, but use half the amount listed in the recipe — 1 1/2 teaspoons.
- To freeze, cool the chili and pack into freezer containers. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or use the defrost function of your microwave. Enjoy within 1 month.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
Professionally trained cook, cookbook author, and the person behind every recipe here. I cook the way I was trained: Start with good ingredients, understand why they work, and don’t apologize for the salt. These are the recipes I actually make, for the people I love. Read more about me here.
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I love this recipe!! Made it for my whole family for a family weekend and it was a huge hit! I added cut up sweet potatoes also…so good!
haven’t made this yet (will this weekend!) but I learned a trick for making soups creamy without using heavy or any type of cream! Take a can of the white beans and put in blender. Add 1 cup of Chicken broth and blend until creamy! Then add a second can of beans to the soup! Works great and adds protein, fiber, and not the fat like heavy cream!
Thanks for sharing that great tip, Marilyn! I love to use pureed beans instead of cream in my homemade cream of mushroom soup — perfect for those who are lactose intolerant 🙂
It is delicious and a great departure from the usual chili recipe.
It was almost eaten by my kids before I took it of the stove…
I made this today and put it in the crock pot so we’d have dinner ready. I used dried herbs as I didn’t have fresh, and I didn’t add cream at the end. I had Great Northern Beans as the white bean. Perfect for a snowy evening! Thank you!
Love this, one of my favorites!
This soup is fantastic! It goes together quickly and is incredibly flavorful without having to simmer half a day. My whole family loved it.
Thanks Karen! I made this with puree from a fresh, homegrown pumpkin and broth from our Thanksgiving turkey. It’s to die for! I really appreciate your clean and beautiful work on this site.
Thanks so much Heather, I appreciate that! How great that you made pumpkin puree from scratch!!
Does this really only have 8g of carbs??
Andrea – I use an online tool to calculate nutrition facts, and all are approximate. I recommend that you use your favorite calculator if you have concerns.
This is definitely are new favorite soup.It was easy to make and had great flavor.I substituted ground Italian chicken sausage for the turkey.
Delicious! Making this again as it is so good.
This is so very good.
Pantry friendly recipe and quick prep\cook with tasty rewards!
I used Oikos brand Greek yogurt in place of cream.
We made this last night, but since we had no turkey, we used chicken chorizo sausage. We also swirled in sour cream instead of heavy cream just before we ate. It was fantastic!
Delicious recipe, exactly as posted! No changes or substitutions…seasoned perfect!
Pumpkin turkey chili? WHAAAT??? I’m am SOOOO making this and can not wait too. I bet my husband & son (who swear they hate pumpkin) eat this & have no clue they are, in fact, eating pumpkin (just like both said they hated cauliflower and eat cauliflower rice and love it). 😜😁
This soup is excellent. I used Beyond sausage and flax milk (about 1 cup) and 3 cups of broth and it was rich and creamy. I plan on making it for Halloween dinner with the grandkids.
Delicious recipe! Next time, as one reviewer suggested, I may try thickening the liquid by adding puréed beans. The seasonings are perfect! I will definitely make this again. Thank you Karen.
Great idea to add some pureed beans! You can also let the cream reduce a bit by simmering a few minutes until thickened.
This is now our favorite stand by. Do you know if it freezes well?
Happy you enjoy it! Yes, it should freeze just fine. To avoid condensation, be sure to let it cool to room temp (or in the refrigerator) before placing in the freezer.
I wanted a WW points friendly chili, so I used fat free greek yogurt instead of the cream. With this substitution, the recipe comes to 2 points per serving (on blue plan) basically for the olive oil. I think if you used cooking spray, it could even get down to 0.
Other substitutions: Instead of the carrots, I used some bell peppers. And I used cilantro instead of the herbs you’ve listed. These are just ingredients I happened to have on hand… THIS WAS AMAZING and this is going to be a go-to for me and my husband!!
THANK YOU!!
So glad you enjoyed this and made it your own!
I made a double batch (so 4 cans of beans) and puréed one of the cans of beans before adding it to the chili. It made it thicker and more creamy. Delish recipe!
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing the tip Pat.