Sauté: Bring a large dutch oven to medium-high heat. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil into your dutch oven and sauté chopped onion and 1 tablespoon garlic for a few minutes.
Brown & Drain: Add 1 ½ pounds ground beef and break it up while it cooks. Once fully cooked, drain the grease.
Combine: Add the following ingredients into your dutch oven; 28 ounces canned whole tomatoes (use knife to cut them into quarters), 15 ounces pumpkin puree, 15 ounces canned red kidney beans, 6 ounces tomato paste, 1 bay leaf, 2-3 tablespoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon garlic powder and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper. Stir to combine.
Simmer: Cover and let simmer for as little as 30 minutes OR for as long as 6-8 hours.
Taste + Serve: Make sure to taste and add additional salt and chili powder, as desired. Ladle into bowls and serve with your favorite toppings!
Notes
Slow Cooker Method: to make this in a slow cooker, follow steps 1 and 2 as written. Then transfer the meat mixture into your slow cooker and add the ingredients listed in step 3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Whole Tomatoes: feel free to use crushed tomatoes instead.
Beans: we only call for 1 can of kidney beans, but feel free to add up to two and use a combo of whatever you wish - we like red kidney beans, butter beans, black beans, etc.
Storage: after it has fully cooled you can place it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Freeze: let it full cool and then place in an airtight container in the freezer for 4-6 months!
Turkey: feel free to sub turkey for the ground beef.