Chorizo Chili with Roasted Tomatoes and Squash

Fall is in the air, and this Chorizo Chili with Roasted Tomatoes and Squash incorporates the harvest flavours into a delicious hearty meal.

Spicy chorizo sausage, white beans, diced tomatoes, and squash. The perfect comfort food. Great for batch cooking too.

With summer winding down, it’s time to get all the comfort food recipes lined up. I happen to think this is the most flavourful time of year.

RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for this chorizo sausage chili can be found at the bottom of this post.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a summer girl to the core. There is just something so satisfying with soups, chilis, and pumpkin lattes.

If you have a Farmer’s Market near you, now is the time to scoop up some great produce. Grab those fresh bushel baskets of produce while you can. One of my favorite things to make this time of year is roasted tomatoes. This freezer-friendly method is just what you need for great meals all year long.

Easy to make meals, hearty satisfying, and totally delicious. Wrapping your hands around big oversized mugs. Sitting by the fire. That is in store for the next few months.

What You Need For This Chorizo Chili Recipe

• Fresh Tomatoes – I like to use Roma, but all kinds will work here.
• Butternut Squash – you can really use any squash variety you like. This is the perfect time of year for finding them.
• Fresh Chorizo Sausage – not the cured variety.
• Poblano Pepper – easily found at the grocery store beside the other peppers.
• Onion – white, yellow, red, spanish, whatever you have on hand.
• Garlic – fresh is best, but dried cloves work well.
• White Kidney Beans – if don’t have them, you can use red kidney beans, or even chickpeas.
• Seasonings – salt, pepper, chili powder cumin, or even a Mexican blend will be delicious.
• Oil – olive or avocado. I also used some jalapeno flavoured oil for added heat.
• Lime and Cilantro – for garnish.

There is lots of wiggle room with this delicious chorizo recipe. Don’t fret if you are missing an ingredient. Swap it out for something else. I promise it will be delicious.

Making Spicy Chorizo Chili Is Easy

Who doesn’t love a big bowl of beef chili? Easy and satisfying is the name of the game. This recipe is just that. Everything you need to know is in the recipe card below. Here is a quick rundown:

First, you need to roast the tomatoes. Wash, cut, season with salt and pepper, coat in oil, and place in a baking dish. This will take about 50 minutes. While the tomatoes are roasting, you can work on the rest of the recipe.

In a large pot, cook the fresh chorizo along with the onions and garlic. I just cut the sausage into chunks. You can remove the casing if you like. Once cooked you will want to drain any excess fat from the pot.

Next, you will add the seasonings, diced squash, and flavoured oil if you are using it. Cook for about 15 minutes.

By this time, the tomatoes should be ready to come out of the oven. Let them cool for a bit and use a blender (regular or immersion) or potato masher to break them up slightly.

Add them to the pot, along with the beans. Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Ladle into bowls, garnish with a squeeze of lime and dig in. Serve it with chunks of homemade cornbread or tortilla chips.

Different Types Of Chorizo

This pork sausage is available in three forms:

• raw/fresh
• semi-cooked
• fully cooked

The very popular Spanish chorizo is readily found in the grocery store, in the cured meat section. Since it is fully cooked or cured, you can eat it like ham or salami.

Lots of paprika gives it a red colour. It has a smoky flavour and it can be spicy or mild. It works great in recipes like slow cooker spicy kale soup.

Mexican chorizo is usually raw/uncooked, seasoned with vinegar and chili peppers. Generally, it is less smoky in taste. Look for it in the fresh meat section near other sausages like Bratwurst, Italian, Andouille, and breakfast.

Substitutions

However you mix and match, it’s pretty hard to mess up a great chili recipe.

• Beans – Red kidney beans, chickpeas, Romano beans, and black beans are great choices.
• Seasonings – different types of chili powders and blends all work in this chili recipe.
• Squash – any variety will work. You an even use sweet potatoes.
• Sausage Meat – if you cannot find fresh chorizo, any fresh sausage will work. Spicy Italian is a great substitute.
• Onions – any variety works.
• Poblano Pepper – you can also use jalapeno (remove the seeds if you don’t want all the heat).
• Fresh Tomatoes – all kinds work.

This makes a nice big batch. I did manage to tuck some away in the freezer, although it was so good we wanted to eat all of it! Comfort food heaven.

More Great Comfort Foods

Looking to try more great Fall recipes? Here are a few of our favourites:

• Roasted Pumpkin Soup is made in the blender. Super easy!
• Roasted Cauliflower Soup uses spicy paprika to heat things up.
• Orange Cauliflower Soup combines curry for a nice satisfying main dish meal.
• Sausage and Apple Stuffed Squash is great on the Thanksgiving dinner table.