Are you ready to make the most incredible, vibrant, and deeply flavorful green chili you’ve ever had? A chili that is so rich, so satisfying, and so packed with the amazing, cozy flavors of fall? This from-scratch Sausage and Pumpkin Chili Verde is that perfect meal. It’s a soul-warming, one-pot wonder featuring a stunning, homemade roasted tomatillo salsa, savory sausage, and tender bites of sweet pumpkin.
This isn’t just a recipe; it’s a guide to your new favorite autumn comfort food. We’ll show you the simple but crucial secrets to building a deep, complex, and smoky salsa verde from scratch, and how to combine it with the perfect seasonal ingredients for a chili that is truly unforgettable. This is the kind of hearty, stick-to-your-ribs meal that is perfect for a chilly day, a game day gathering, or an easy weeknight dinner.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Recipe Overview: The Ultimate Cozy Fall Chili
What makes this Chili Verde so spectacularly delicious is its incredible, authentic flavor that is built from a beautiful, homemade roasted tomatillo salsa. This is the heart and soul of the dish. We create a deep, complex, and smoky flavor by broiling fresh tomatillos, chiles, and onion until they are soft and charred before blending them into a vibrant salsa. This incredible sauce then becomes the base for our chili, where it’s simmered with rich, savory pork sausage, sweet and tender chunks of pumpkin or butternut squash, and satisfyingly chewy hominy. It’s a make-ahead and freezer-friendly meal that is pure comfort in a bowl.
| Metric | Time / Level |
| Total Time | 1 hour 15 minutes |
| Active Prep Time | 25 minutes |
| Difficulty Level | Easy |
| Servings | 6-8 |
The Essential Ingredients for This Authentic Chili
This iconic dish uses a handful of fresh, seasonal ingredients and pantry staples to create its signature smoky and savory flavor.
- The Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde: This is the key to the authentic flavor.
- Tomatillos: The star of any salsa verde! Tomatillos look like small, green tomatoes covered in a papery husk. They have a wonderfully bright, tangy, and citrusy flavor that is completely different from a red tomato. Be sure to remove the husk and rinse off the sticky film before using them.
- The Chiles: A handful of fresh serrano or jalapeño peppers are broiled along with the tomatillos to add a fresh, vibrant heat.
- The Roasting Technique: The number one secret to a deep, complex, and smoky salsa with a restaurant-quality flavor is to broil the vegetables until they are soft and have beautiful, charred spots.
- The Hearty Chili Components:
- Pork Sausage: A pound of your favorite bulk mild or hot Italian sausage provides a rich, savory, and satisfying protein base.
- Sugar Pumpkin or Butternut Squash: This is the perfect, seasonal addition that adds a wonderful, earthy sweetness and a tender, creamy texture that beautifully balances the spicy and tangy notes of the chili.
- Hominy: This is a classic, essential ingredient in many traditional Southwestern and Mexican stews. Hominy is made from corn kernels that have been treated in a special process that gives them a wonderfully unique, puffy, and satisfyingly chewy texture and a mild corn flavor.
Step-by-Step to the Best Chili Verde
This delicious, one-pot chili is incredibly simple to prepare.
Part 1: The Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Step 1: First, preheat your oven’s broiler.
Step 2: Prepare your tomatillos. Remove the papery husks from your 1 1/2 pounds of tomatillos and rinse them under warm water to remove any stickiness. Pat them dry.
Step 3: On a large, rimmed baking sheet, place the tomatillos, the 5 stemmed serrano peppers, the 3 peeled garlic cloves, and the 1 sliced large white onion. Drizzle everything with the 1/4 cup of olive oil and sprinkle with about 2 teaspoons of kosher salt.
Step 4: Broil the vegetables, just a few inches from the heat, for about 7 minutes, turning everything once halfway through. You want the tomatillos to be softened and everything to have beautiful, slightly charred and blackened spots. Let the vegetables cool to room temperature.
Step 5: Transfer the broiled vegetables and any juices from the pan to a blender. Add the 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro and purée until the salsa is smooth. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.
Part 2: The Sausage and Pumpkin Chili
Step 1: In a large Dutch oven or a heavy-bottomed stockpot, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the 1 chopped large yellow onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes, until it is just translucent.
Step 2: Add the 1 pound of sausage and cook, stirring and breaking it up with a wooden spoon, for about 10 minutes, until it is beautifully browned.
Step 3: Carefully spoon out and discard any excess fat from the pot, leaving about 1 to 2 tablespoons behind for flavor.
Step 4: Stir in the 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried oregano and the 3 very finely chopped garlic cloves. Cook, stirring, for about 3 more minutes.
Step 5: Stir in your prepared tomatillo salsa, the 1 can of hominy (including its liquid), the 1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro, and the 2 cups of chopped pumpkin.
Step 6: Bring the chili to a boil. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and let the chili simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pumpkin is completely tender.
Give the chili a final taste and season with any more salt if necessary. Serve the hot chili in warm bowls, topped with some extra cilantro and a few thin slices of fresh chiles.
Hearty Sausage and Pumpkin Chili Verde
A from-scratch recipe for a hearty Chili Verde (green chili) featuring Italian sausage and fresh pumpkin. The base of the chili is a vibrant, homemade salsa verde, created by broiling tomatillos, serrano or jalapeño peppers, and onions until charred and smoky, then blending them with fresh cilantro. This flavorful salsa is then simmered in a Dutch oven with browned Italian sausage, hominy, and fresh pumpkin until the pumpkin is tender, creating a unique and savory one-pot meal.
Ingredients
- For the Tomatillo Salsa:
- 1 1/2 pounds tomatillos (6 to 8 medium)
- 5 serrano or 10 jalapeno peppers, stemmed
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 large white onion, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Freshly ground black pepper
- For the Chili:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 1 pound sausage meat (mild or hot)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
- 1 (15-ounce) can hominy
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for topping
- 2 cups chopped peeled sugar pumpkin or butternut squash
- Thinly sliced serrano or jalapeno peppers, for topping
Instructions
- Make the Tomatillo Salsa: Preheat the broiler. Remove the husks from the tomatillos and rinse them.
- On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the tomatillos, chiles, garlic, and sliced onion with 1/4 cup of olive oil and about 2 teaspoons of salt. Broil a few inches from the heat for about 7 minutes, turning everything once, until the vegetables are softened and slightly charred. Let them cool to room temperature.
- Transfer the broiled vegetables to a blender. Add 1/2 cup of cilantro and puree until smooth. Season the salsa with salt and pepper.
- Make the Chili: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven or large saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped yellow onion and cook for about 4 minutes, until just translucent.
- Add the sausage and cook for about 10 minutes, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned. Spoon out and discard the excess fat.
- Stir in the oregano and finely chopped garlic and cook, stirring, for about 3 more minutes.
- Stir in the prepared tomatillo salsa, the hominy (including its liquid), 1/2 cup of cilantro, and the chopped pumpkin.
- Bring the chili to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pumpkin is tender.
- Taste and season with more salt, if necessary. Serve the chili topped with more cilantro and sliced chiles.
Notes
- Broiling the vegetables for the salsa before blending is a key step that adds a deep, smoky flavor to the chili.
- This recipe uses hominy, a traditional ingredient in Southwestern cuisine that adds a unique, chewy texture.
- The spice level can be adjusted by choosing mild or hot sausage and by including or removing the seeds from the peppers used in the salsa.
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
Chili is the ultimate make-ahead meal, as the flavors actually become even deeper and more delicious on the second day!
- Make-Ahead: You can prepare the entire chili a day or two in advance and store it in the refrigerator. The roasted tomatillo salsa can also be made up to 5 days in advance on its own.
- Storage: Store any leftover chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Freezing: This chili freezes beautifully! Let it cool completely, then portion it into freezer-safe containers or bags. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
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Creative Recipe Variations
- Use a Different Protein: If you’re not a fan of sausage, this delicious and versatile chili is also absolutely fantastic with about 2 pounds of cubed pork shoulder (you will need to increase the simmering time to 1.5-2 hours, until the pork is tender) or with 2 to 3 cups of shredded, cooked chicken stirred in at the end.
- Make it a Vegetarian Chili: For a delicious and hearty vegetarian version, you can simply omit the sausage and add one or two 15-ounce cans of your favorite beans (like pinto or white beans) along with some sautéed mushrooms. Be sure to use vegetable broth.
- Use a Different Winter Squash: If you can’t find a sugar pumpkin, you can easily substitute it with an equal amount of peeled and cubed butternut squash, kabocha squash, or even some sweet potatoes.
Enjoy The Ultimate Cozy Fall Chili!
You’ve just created a truly special chili that is a perfect harmony of hearty, wholesome, and delicious flavors. This classic Sausage and Pumpkin Chili Verde is a testament to the power of a simple, from-scratch meal to transport your taste buds. It’s a rewarding and deeply satisfying dish that is sure to become a new family favorite for all the chilly days of the year.
We hope you enjoy every last, warm, and delicious bite!
If you enjoyed making this recipe, please leave a comment below or share it with a friend who loves a good, hearty chili!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: What is the absolute secret to a deep, smoky, and flavorful chili verde?
The number one secret is to roast or broil your tomatillos, chiles, and onions before you blend them into your salsa. This simple but crucial step is the key that goes beyond just boiling them. It deeply caramelizes their natural sugars and gives them a beautiful, smoky char, which is what creates an incredibly complex, restaurant-quality flavor.
Q2: What are tomatillos, and are they just unripe, green tomatoes?
While they look similar, they are not the same! Tomatillos are a completely different fruit. They grow inside a papery husk and have a firm texture and a wonderfully bright, tangy, and almost citrusy flavor that is the signature taste of any classic salsa verde.
Q3: What is hominy?
Hominy is a classic and beloved ingredient in many traditional Southwestern and Mexican stews. It is made from whole corn kernels that have been soaked in an alkali solution (like lime water). This process, called nixtamalization, removes the tough outer hull and causes the kernels to puff up, giving them a wonderfully unique, soft, and satisfyingly chewy texture.
Q4: Can I make this chili ahead of time?
Yes, this is an absolutely perfect make-ahead meal! The flavors will actually be even better on the second or third day after they have had time to meld. Simply let the chili cool completely, store it in the refrigerator, and then gently reheat it on the stovetop.
Q5: Is this chili very spicy?
As written, this chili has a medium to hot level of heat from the 5 serrano or 10 jalapeño peppers. For a much milder chili, you can use fewer chiles and be sure to remove all the seeds and the white ribs from the inside of the peppers before you broil them, as this is where most of the heat is contained.