Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Chili

This comforting, hearty, and delicious Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Chili with warming curry spices makes the perfect cool weather dinner. Healthy, vegan, and gluten free!

Just when you thought curry couldn't get any better...it got like, WAY better. Kinda like my Butternut Squash Curry but the chili edition!

Curry is one of those polarizing foods like mayonnaise or tofu or squid. The people that love it really love it and the people that hate it wouldn't take a bite if you were waving three million doll hairs in their face.

I'm convinced that people who don't like curry have never had good curry. It's too fantabulous not to like. Case in point: this chili. Have you tried my Sweet Potato Chili with Skillet Cornbread yet?!

I'm just tickled to be participating in Kohl's #MakeYourMove campaign over the next couple months. In order to inspire you to #MakeYourMove and embrace your healthiest self, I'm going to be sharing easy, delish, plant-based recipes that the whole fam will adore. I want you to nourish yourself and the ones you love with comforting, nutritious, simple food. And what could be easier than crockpot chili?

Be sure to follow along with the hashtag #MakeYour Move and let me know what steps you're taking this season to reach your maximum healthy potential. Whether you're whipping up a batch of paleo pumpkin bars, going a hike with the kiddos, or going to bed an hour earlier each night, I wanna know about it! Every move counts, my friends.

Back to the goods. I had dreams about forking this curried chili over a mound of crumbly hot cornbread. Actual dreams. Jalapeño honey butter may have been involved.

It was definitely involved.

This chili is thick. That's how I like it. Thick and hearty and hug-your-bones good. Feel free to add veg broth if you're silly and you like yours more soupy. I used red and white kidney beans but black beans, chickpeas, or pretty much any other bean will get the job done. I even added hemp seeds to this batch for extra anti-inflammatory omega-3s.

Let's talk about the nutrient powerhouse that is turmeric for a hot second. Among a slew of other benefits, it is the KING of anti-cancer spices. Curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, is actually proven to reduce the size of tumors and slow cancer growth. Food is medicine, people!

If you don't have a slow cooker, you can easily make it in a good ol' pot over stovetop. Just saute the veggies, stir in the spices followed by everything else, and then simmer for about an hour or so. The longer it cooks, the more flavorful it gets. Rocket science, babes.

This curried butternut chili smells almost as good as it tastes. I left it cooking in the crock while I ran some errands and nearly tripped over myself when I walked back in the door. The aroma...it was STUPID good.

Cheers to chili season and slow cookers and smushing them both together.

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