This slightly sweet ground beef chili is full of amazing seasonal flavors thanks to a bottle of Oktoberfest beer and several fall seasonings, like cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg. Once you have sautéed the diced onion and lean ground beef until cooked through, simply add all of the other ingredients and simmer uncovered until the diced butternut squash is soft and tender and the chili has thickened. You can make this butternut squash chili your own by serving it with your favorite toppings, like shredded cheese, chopped scallions, diced jalapeńos, sour cream, or even roasted pumpkin seeds.
Remember that “Big Daddy Butternut Squash” I used to make this Crockpot Mexican Butternut Squash Soup and this Creamy Parmesan Butternut Squash Rice Soup? Well, today I’m finally showing you how I used the last four cups out of the fourteen cups that one insanely large “Big Daddy Butternut Squash” yielded. Instead of another creamy blended soup or soup thickened with rice or pasta, I decided to use the last of the butternut squash to make a batch of chili.
Not just any ordinary run-of-the-mill chili either. This chili is slightly sweet thanks to a bottle of Oktoberfest beer and a touch of honey, and it’s also flavored liberally with warm fall spices. This is the type of chili that works well with a grilled cheese sandwich served on the side or a healthy sprinkle of shredded cheese on top. Because if you’re eating your vegetables, a little side of cheese isn’t such a bad thing, right?
Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Sweet Yellow Onion, Peeled & Finely Diced
- 1 Pound 90% Lean Ground Beef
- 3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Finely Ground Sea Salt (More for Serving if Necessary)
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Grated Nutmeg
- Pinch of Allspice
- Pinch of Ground Cloves
- 1 (12-oz.) Bottle of Oktoberfest Beer
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 1 (32-oz.) Carton of Low-Sodium Chicken Broth or Stock
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 4 Cups Butternut Squash, Peeled & Diced
- Fresh Chives, Finely Chopped
Directions:
- Place the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot, over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the diced onion.
- Using your fingers, break up the raw ground beef into small little bits and add it to the Dutch oven or stockpot. Cook the ground beef and onion mixture, stirring often, until the meat is cooked through.
- Add the chili powder, cocoa powder, salt, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the Oktoberfest beer, honey, broth/stock, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, and butternut squash. Increase heat to high. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
- When the chili comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Stir the chili occasionally.
- Remove and discard the bay leaves before serving.
- Salt to taste and garnish with finely chopped chives.
Suggestions:
- Measure out all of the chili spices before starting to make this recipe. It will help ensure that you don’t accidentally leave anything out or mismeasure any ingredients.
- Make sure to wash your hands well after using them to break up the ground beef.
- If you don’t have an Oktoberfest beer, you can replace it with any lager.
- This chili is a bit sweet but not overly so. If you prefer to leave out the honey you can, however, I think it adds great flavor to the chili.
- I used chicken broth in this recipe because I did not have any beef broth on hand. You can use either chicken, beef, or vegetable broth in this recipe.
- You can serve this chili right away, however, chili always tastes better a day or two later. I suggest allowing the chili to cool and then refrigerating it for at least a day in an airtight glass container. I suggest glass because chili has a tendency to stain plastic.
- This recipe will yield approximately 4 to 5 bowls of chili.
Improvements:
- Garnish with chopped scallions or grated cheese before serving.
- If you prefer spicy chili, you can always add chopped jalapeños to the chili or garnish it with a few slices of jalapeño when serving.
- Serve this chili with Fritos Corn Chips. The salty corn chips taste amazing alongside this slightly sweet chili.
- Replace the ground beef in this recipe with ground turkey, buffalo, or chicken.
- CLICK HERE to see all of our other amazing past soup, chili, stew, and chowder recipes.
Ingredients:
- 2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Sweet Yellow Onion, Peeled & Finely Diced
- 1 Pound 90% Lean Ground Beef
- 3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Finely Ground Sea Salt (More for Serving if Necessary)
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Grated Nutmeg
- Pinch of Allspice
- Pinch of Ground Cloves
- 1 (12-oz.) Bottle of Oktoberfest Beer
- 1 Tablespoon Honey
- 1 (32-oz.) Carton of Low-Sodium Chicken Broth or Stock
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 4 Cups Butternut Squash, Peeled & Diced
- Fresh Chives, Finely Chopped
Directions:
- Place the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot, over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the diced onion.
- Using your fingers, break up the raw ground beef into small little bits and add it to the Dutch oven or stockpot. Cook the ground beef and onion mixture, stirring often, until the meat is cooked through.
- Add the chili powder, cocoa powder, salt, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, pepper, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the Oktoberfest beer, honey, broth/stock, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, and butternut squash. Increase heat to high. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
- When the chili comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Stir the chili occasionally.
- Remove and discard the bay leaves before serving.
- Salt to taste and garnish with finely chopped chives.
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