Beanless Chili

This is a quick recipe to throw together and is great for chilly days. The optional broccoli bulks up the chili's nutrition but isn't noticeable in the final product. All recipes I post are made for those who need to live sulfite-free, which means these recipes are also clean-eating recipes.

• Preparation Time: 25 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 5 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins
• Calories: 357 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon chili powder, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
• 1 head broccoli
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin, or to taste
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 2 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• ½ teaspoon ground chipotle pepper, or to taste
• 1 (24 ounce) container crushed tomatoes
• ¼ cup chopped yellow onion, or to taste
• 3 cups filtered water, or as needed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Step 2

Place squash halves on a baking sheet. Coat the flesh with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil.

Step 3

Bake in the preheated oven until tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool until safe to handle. Scrape flesh into a bowl and mash.

Step 4

Remove broccoli florets from stems. Grind florets in a food processor.

Step 5

Heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, and chipotle pepper. Cook and stir until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes.

Step 6

Transfer the beef to a stock pot over medium heat. Add the mashed squash, ground broccoli, water, tomatoes, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and jalapeno pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower heat; simmer until flavors meld and vegetables are tender, at least 30 minutes.