Our Smoky Pumpkin Tequila Chili with Ground Turkey and Butternut Squash recipe is an elegantly understated celebration of fall. Think: rich, smoky flavors from chipotle and poblano peppers, plus ample heat from the red Fresno chilis, mingling with the sweet, earthy (and almost barely-identifiable) tones of pumpkin and butternut squash, all counterbalanced by the bright tang of citrus, the allium-funk of onions and garlic, and the slight agave-burn of smooth reposado tequila.

And if you happen to have a truly Einstein-level palate – then, yeah, there’s a tiny chance you might pick up on the faintest whisps of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves hidden among the more dominant flavors of the inspired spice blend. But those are just there to add to the well-rounded and satisfying complexity in each bite. More of a tip of the hat to autumn, than the culinary equivalent of a 12-foot skeleton in the front yard.

This Smoky Pumpkin Tequila Chili with Ground Turkey and Butternut Squash recipe by New England Innkeeper is a comforting bowl of low-key fall that balances spice and smoke with a refreshing margarita twist – just enough of what you desire to savor the autumn season without subjecting your taste buds to any type of rough and tumble pumpkin-spice flavored beat-down.

RELATED CONTENT: f you appreciate this understated fall flavor approach, you might also enjoy our New England Innkeeper recipe for Pumpkin Sourdough Bread with Fresh Cranberries.

So start streaming your favorite spooky fall soundtrack, tie on your apron, dust off your favorite Dutch oven, and sharpen your chef’s knife – because we’ve got lots of cutting, cooking, and simmering to do. What better way to spend a late-morning in the harvest season?

First off, one of our favorite things to do in the New England Innkeeper test kitchen is to get mindful with seasonally appropriate ingredients. We enjoy these types of recipes that you can slow-row during a lazy day around the house. Arrange the ingredients. Wash and chop the vegetables. Walk away for awhile. Pour yourself a drink – I mean, we know you have some tequila kicking around! Listen to some gloomy tunes. Clean as you go. Cook it in stages. Turn on a scary old-school Halloween movie as it simmers low and fills your home with the scent of cozy deliciousness.

But it’s more than just a mood-setting kind of thing. The truth is, chili in New England has always mostly been a no-nonsense kind of deal. Everyone wants hearty, warming food when the cold winds roll in – but we can do better than BASIC, can’t we? If we’re going to make chili, let’s try and move further afield than some ground meat, a can of beans, and a can of tomatoes simmered into submission with some type of regrettable, store-bought, Chili-flavored, seasoning packet ripped open and stirred in.

If we’re going to make chili, we should have our sights set on layered flavors. We should be chasing nuance. We should be aiming for award-worthy. We should be thinking outside the box, like, “How the hell do I get some pumpkin into this thing and still make it amazing?”

Not to worry. We’ve got this. We can do this.

That’s what our Smoky Pumpkin Tequila Chili with Ground Turkey and Butternut Squash recipe is all about.

There’s a decent amount of prep work here, to make this Smoky Pumpkin Tequila Chili with Ground Turkey and Butternut Squash recipe – mostly pleasant chopping.

I’ve made variations of this chili for years – and I find it’s best to prepare and portion all of the ingredients (using cereal bowls, ramekins, and drinking glasses) before any actual cooking commences.  But once the mise en place is set, the process of firing up the cooktop and layering the flavors to put together the final dish is fairly quick work.

Start by chopping onions, poblano, jalapeño, serrano, and Fresno peppers.

Don’t act a fool. Do the right thing. Wear some latex-style gloves while you’re chopping the peppers. Otherwise, if you’re anything like me, you’ll definitely forget the invisible Scoville units of capsaicin still lingering on your fingers. And you’ll touch your eyelids ten minutes later. And you’ll pay a harsh price. This is totally inevitable and easily preventable.  Just wear the gloves.

With the gloves still on, open a 7 oz can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce. Pour the contents into a small bowl. Empty all of the Adobo Sauce into a small ramekin. Then — and this is a little fussy, but bear with me — one at a time, remove and discard the stem and scraped-out seeds from each individual pepper. Dice what remains into a rough red paste and add it to the Adobo Sauce in the ramekin. Then you can take off the gloves.

Hand crush one 28 oz can of Cento San Marzano Organic Certified Peeled Tomatoes plus one 28 oz can of Muir Glen Organic Whole Fire Roasted Tomatoes and place into a medium mixing bowl along with all liquid/sauce from the cans.

Then peel and cube butternut squash and have your pumpkin puree, garlic, and spices ready.

In a Dutch oven, brown the ground turkey in some olive oil, remove, and set aside.

In the same Dutch oven, heat an additional 2 TBSP of olive oil. Add the onion, chopped peppers, and chili powder / coriander. Stir to combine, then cover and sweat for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, remove cover, add the diced garlic and chipotle peppers with Adobo sauce, then stir and cover to sweat for 3 more minutes until softened. Do yourself a favor — don’t breathe in the steam. This stuff is hot, hot, hot.

Remove the cover. Stir in the tequila, lime juice + zest, and orange juice. Stir and scrape with a wooden turner/spatula to deglaze the bottom of the dutch oven.

Add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and butternut squash, along with the rest of your spices and chicken stock. Bring everything to a boil, then simmer until the squash is tender.

Finally, stir in the ground turkey and pumpkin puree, let it simmer very low for a bit longer, and adjust seasoning and  as needed. Serve with Greek yogurt, shredded cheddar, and garnish with pepitas and cilantro, alongside tortilla chips for some extra crunch.

Add in 1 TBSP of tomato paste (I use the stuff in the squeezable tube, for convenience), plus the hand-crushed tomatoes and liquid. Add in the chopped butternut squash  Add the savory/salt/cinnamon/nutmeg/cloves. Add the chicken stock + 1 TBSP of maple syrup. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer (uncovered) for 15 minutes until the chopped squash is tender. Throughout this process, the mixture should be a somewhat thick, but still loose enough for the simmer bubbles to freely dance and boil through to the top of the chili mixture (see the quick video in the recipe below). If it is too thick, add more chicken stock (or water).

Stir in the cooked ground turkey and the pumpkin puree, then hold (uncovered) at the lowest possible simmer for an additional ten minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, as necessary. Depending on your personal preferences, cook to desired thickness or thin out with additional water/stock.

Serve with a dollop of  plain Greek yogurt plus some shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Garnish with roasted pepitas and fresh chopped cilantro. Provide a side of tortilla chips (the Late July Sea Salt and Lime Tortilla Chips are an excellent option for this chili) for texture.

Are you sure pumpkin and tequila actually taste good together? We understand why you might be wondering, why pumpkin? Why tequila? Both ingredients might seem out of place at first, but (SURPRISE, SURPRISE!) they actually work together beautifully. The pumpkin adds a velvety texture and natural sweetness that balances the heat from the peppers, while the tequila cuts through the richness with a bright, citrusy edge. It’s like having a cozy fall meal with a margarita on the side—minus the brain freeze.

Is there a specific type of tequila you recommend using? Honestly, pretty much any tequila should work in this recipe. But, personally, when we’re putting the time in to scratch-make a big-batch dish of fall comfort food that we’ll probably be eating the leftovers of for a couple of days, we generally like to splurge a little and use the decent stuff — which is usually what we happen to already have on hand. For this Smoky Pumpkin Tequila Chili with Ground Turkey and Butternut Squash recipe, we’d probably use something along the lines of Tequila Ocho in a Reposado Expression, since we usually stick with additive free tequilas. Still, if Cuervo is your jam — go for it! We won’t judge :-)

Can I make this chili vegan? Yes! You can easily swap the ground turkey for a plant-based protein, and use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

I don’t like chili with ground turkey. Can I make this chili with ground beef? Absolutely! Just swap the ground turkey for a ground beef, and use beef stock instead of chicken stock.

Is this a spicy chili? Yes. This is a boldly spicy chili – and probably not for the faint-hearted. But it does mellow out a little bit on day two. A dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream and some cheddar cheese in your personal serving bowl helps balance the spice. If you are aiming for a less spicy chili, reduce the specified amount of Chipotle Peppers and Adobo Sauce by half and/or do not add any Red Fresno chili peppers. If you don’t like spicy food at all, this probably isn’t the right recipe for you.

What is all this talk about preparing a “Mise en Place“? “Mise en Place” is a French culinary term that means “everything in its place.” It refers to the practice of prepping and organizing all your ingredients before you start cooking. This means chopping vegetables, measuring out spices, and having all your liquids ready to go. When making to cook something like our fall recipe for Smoky Pumpkin Tequila Chili with Ground Turkey and Butternut Squash, which has multiple components and steps, having a mise en place is especially helpful. By preparing everything ahead of time, you avoid scrambling to chop ingredients while others are already cooking, which helps prevent overcooking or missing ingredients. It also makes the cooking process smoother, more enjoyable, and ensures that the chili comes together perfectly, with all the flavors balanced just right.

Do I have to use BOTH regular San Marzano tomatoes and fire roasted tomatoes in this fall recipe for Smoky Pumpkin Tequila Chili with Ground Turkey and Butternut Squash? You don’t have to use both! You can certainly use all regular San Marzano tomatoes or all fire-roasted tomatoes, depending on your preference. However, we’ve found that combining one can of each strikes the perfect balance we were seeking. The regular tomatoes provide a rich base, while the fire-roasted tomatoes add a subtle smoky depth that complements the chili’s other ingredients. Using both adds complexity to the flavor without overpowering the other spices and smoky elements.

Can I make it in a crockpot? I guess you’re new around here, huh? Those who know us at New England Innkeeper, know that that we’re not big on crockpots, slow-cookers, Instant Pots, or air fryers. We’re, pretty much, exclusively cast iron cooks who use conventional stovetops and ovens. If you do attempt to make this in a crockpot, show us how it turned out by tagging @newenglandinnkeeper on Instagram.

Can I freeze this chili? Yep, this Smoky Pumpkin Tequila Chili with Ground Turkey is fall comfort food that freezes like a champ. Just pack it up in individual portions, re-heat it low and slow when you’re ready to enjoy, and you’ve got easy weeknight dinners for the rest of fall.