This chili made our Top 10 list – gluten free, sugar free, frugal, hearty, and full of spicy-sweetness. It’s the perfect dish to share for January’s Gluten Free Progressive Dinner Party hosted by Diane from The W.H.O.L.E. Gang.
Shirley from Gluten Free Easily is also serving up a delicious and light winter dish today. Stop by her place and see what she’s made.
Meatless & Nutritious
Honestly, I made this vegan chili with a little skepticism. I have a very discerning husband who’s slowly grown to like orange foods and still isn’t crazy about greens. I, on the other hand, love all fruits and veggies and enjoy the nutritious beans, winter squash, and swiss chard.
In the end, Joe said if he’d known how good the chili was he would’ve skipped the grilled turkey and cheese sandwich.
The Taste & Texture
The butternut squash holds up so well and creates an interesting textural contrast to the beans and swiss chard. The sweetness of the squash is perfectly balanced with the spiciness of the ancho chili powder. If you like your chili extra hot, add more or throw in some cayenne.
Ingredients & Prep
Use a good quality vegetable stock. My homemade vegetable stock worked beautifully here. If you don’t know how to peel a butternut squash, I have a simple illustrated tutorial here.
This chili thickens considerably when it cools. When reheating for dinner the next night, I added about 3/4 cup vegetable stock to get the right consistency.
What are your favorite healthier, meatless dishes?
This is linked to Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet & The Texas Star Chili Cookoff at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage.
This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit Fast, Easy, Fresh.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
- 3 garlic cloves, grated on a microplane
- 2 1/2 cups butternut squash, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons light ancho chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 (14.5) ounce cans of reduced sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 1/2 cups homemade vegetable stock
- 1 (14.5) ounce can of diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 large bunch swiss chard, cleaned, stemmed, and roughly chopped
- kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a 6 quart stock pot or enameled dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium low heat. Add onion and sautee for 10 minutes, until onion is soft. Add garlic and sautee for a minute more, then add butternut squash and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add chili powder, cumin, and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Add black beans, vegetable stock, and diced tomatoes with juice. Bring to a light boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until butternut squash is soft. Stir in swiss chard. Simmer for 3 – 4 minutes until swiss chard is tender but still bright green. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and serve.
Lauren
posted on January 20, 2010 at 8:08 pm
It’s stunning. I love the colours! Looks like a perfect winter meal =D.
[Reply]
Carol
posted on January 20, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Sounds great! I can’t wait to try it!
[Reply]
Aubree Cherie
posted on January 21, 2010 at 6:37 am
This looks yummy! And perfect for the cold night’s we’re having in PA : )
I love vegetarian chili; it always seems to be better flavored and more filling than a meat chili. And the ‘buttery-ness’ (HA) of the squash must make it a perfect blend of textures!
~Aubree Cherie
[Reply]
gfe--gluten free easily
posted on January 21, 2010 at 7:28 am
I agree with you and Aubree on vegetarian chili. Mr. GFE’s totally hooked on my veggie chili. We both like it better than my traditional chili. I’d like to try this one on him, but he’s scared of greens. I’ve been able to sneak in squash before with no problems. Hmmm … will have to work on this.
Thanks, Amy! It really does look fantastic!
Shirley
[Reply]
Alta (Tasty Eats At Home)
posted on January 21, 2010 at 7:49 am
I love squash in chili, it adds an earthy, subtle sweetness that’s really wonderful. This sounds really tasty! Not sure I could get John to eat it if there were greens in it – good job on getting Joe to try it!
[Reply]
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie
posted on January 21, 2010 at 8:37 am
This chili sounds so good and I love the addition of butternut squash here!
[Reply]
Winnie
posted on January 21, 2010 at 9:56 am
This looks great Amy and your picture is so bright and delish-looking! Hope school is going well!
[Reply]
alison
posted on January 21, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Yum! Great addition to the gluten-free progressive dinner party! I wish I had some right now as this rain is POURING down.
And I have to try grating garlic on my microplane — hadn’t thought of that! (and my garlic press broke)
[Reply]
barbara
posted on January 21, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Amy, can’t wait to try it! Perfect for this weather we are having. Thanks, Barbara
[Reply]
Jenn AKA The Leftover Queen
posted on January 21, 2010 at 3:55 pm
I absolutely adore all of these ingredients! Black beans go so well with various winter squash!
[Reply]
Karen@Cook4Seasons
posted on January 22, 2010 at 2:07 pm
Amy,
I can’t wait to try this. It has all my favorite veggies, except I might sub the squash with sweet potato.
So glad you’re part of the GF Dinner Party. I love your site. Have been a subscriber for a few months now.
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
January 23rd, 2010 at 5:46 am
@Karen@Cook4Seasons, Thanks so much, Karen!! You have an incredible blog, too. I am thrilled to be part of the GFPDP group now.
[Reply]
Kimi @ The Nourishing Gourmet
posted on January 22, 2010 at 6:46 pm
This looks so hearty! Thanks for sharing.
[Reply]
Amanda Formaro
posted on August 27, 2010 at 10:01 am
Amy, would you be willing to let me reprint this recipe and photo on OldFashionedLiving, with full credit, link and bio of course!
Let me know ;0)
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
August 27th, 2010 at 11:36 am
@Amanda Formaro, Absolutely!! If you send me a link when it’s live I’ll share it with my readers, on Twitter, & FB.
[Reply]
Amanda Formaro
posted on August 27, 2010 at 11:58 am
Thanks Amy, you rock!
[Reply]
Amanda Formaro
posted on September 3, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Hi Amy! I’ve posted the recipe, thanks so much! http://oldfashionedliving.com/Black-Bean-Chili-with-Butternut-Squash.html
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:26 pm
@Amanda Formaro, The post looks fantastic, Amanda. Thank you! I blushed a little at your kind words. Hugs.
[Reply]
Miz Helen
posted on October 10, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Miz Amy, I am so excited that you brought over your wonderful Black Bean Chili with Butternut Squash and Swiss Chard to the Texas Star Chili Cook off here at The Cottage. I can make a trip to my garden for the Squash and Swiss Chard and then I will have everything I need to try this out. It looks great!
Thanks for coming over and bringing your Chili!
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
October 10th, 2010 at 10:50 pm
@Miz Helen, I thought I’d add something else…this is one of my favs.
Sending much love.
[Reply]
Kira @ Kissing the Joy
posted on December 4, 2010 at 12:28 am
Amy, I made this last night for my family and it was A.MAZ.ING! I have never had a veggie chili before so I have nothing to compare it to, but I could not believe how wonderful it was. I wrote up a little blog post about it and it’s going up tomorrow. I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed your picture of the chili, but my picture wasn’t doing the recipe any favors
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes and insights. I’ve really learned a lot from you just in the short time I’ve been subscribing.
[Reply]
Scott
posted on May 14, 2012 at 7:52 pm
We found this recipe on Pinterest and made it tonight. Completely delicious!
[Reply]
Karen Chatters
posted on August 28, 2012 at 5:59 pm
I made this for dinner tonight and it was FABULOUS! Thanks!
[Reply]
Amy Reply:
September 17th, 2012 at 8:49 pm
@Karen Chatters, So glad you liked it! It’s one of my favorites! Thanks for taking the time to come back and tell me.
Hugs!
Amy
[Reply]