butternut squash and black bean chili

I don’t love butternut squash, but Grant and the kids do. I first made this take on chili back in October, and the family has requested it often for Meatless Monday nights since. Minus cutting the squash, it’s super easy, and even I like it despite not being a huge butternut squash fan.

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Chili
Loosely adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 14.5-ounce cans fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 cup vegetable stock, tomato juice, or water
• 1 pound black beans, cooked*
• 2 chipotle chiles from canned chipotle chiles in adobo, minced
• Coarse kosher salt
• 1 medium-sized butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup quinoa

For garnishing:

Sour cream
Monterey jack cheese
Diced red onion chopped
Fresh cilantro
Pickled jalapeño rings

Directions

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until soft and translucent . Add garlic and stir just until fragrant. Stir in spices just until fragrant. Add tomatoes with juice, beans, stock/water and chipotles. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover with lid slightly ajar, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Stir squash and quinoa into chili. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat until squash and quinoa are tender, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with the toppings listed above. As with most chilis/soups, this is even better on the second or third day.

*Alternately, you can cook the dried beans with the soup, as the original recipe calls for. Add the dried and rinsed beans at the same time as the recipe above, but add an additional 10 cups of water. Simmer for 2-3 hours, until the beans are tender. This makes a bit soupier chili, as opposed to the thicker, stew-ier version above.