I love chili. While it’s easy enough to make at home with the basics—tomatoes, onion, beans, broth—I often find I can’t reduce it down to the level of thickness I really want. That’s why when I saw this recipe, I got excited right away. It’s described as a “hearty spoon-stands-up-on-its-own” chili. Hungry yet?

My favourite go-to canned veggie chili is Stag. I have tried to replicate it a few times but have yet to succeed, although this recipe matches the consistency perfectly. Using pumpkin thickens up the broth and adds a ton of vitamins and flavour that you wouldn’t be getting otherwise.

This recipe is from Thug Kitchen’s cookbook, which if you haven’t had the pleasure of looking through I suggest you wander over to your nearest bookstore and flip through it. It’s fantastic. The writing is hilarious and the photos are killer. The tequila was my addition to the recipe. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, booze makes all recipes better.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 people

• 1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 bell pepper of your choice, seeded and chopped
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 fresh jalapeño, minced*
• 2 tsp. soy sauce
• 2½ tbsp. mild chili powder
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 cap fulls of tequila
• 1 (14.5oz) can low-salt diced tomatoes
• 1½ cups pumpkin purée**
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 3 cups cooked beans of your choice
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• Fresh cilantro for garnish

*If you want a little less spice, de-seed the jalapeño. Be careful to wash your hands afterwards though—that could be unpleasant.

** I thought this was common sense but in the original recipe, they note not to use pumpkin pie filling because it will turn out disgusting.

Method

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot and pepper and sauté them until a strong aroma comes off and they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, jalapeño, soy sauce and spices, stirring together and allowing it all to cook for about 1 minute. Add the tequila and allow to burn down, then add the tomatoes, pumpkin, broth and beans; stir well to mix.

Turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once done, remove from heat, stir in lime juice, and top with cilantro. Get creative with extra garnish by adding sliced avocado, tortilla strips and sliced jalapeño.