In the fall as the weather begins to turn, soups come into rotation at my house. They’re great for easy dinners and they reheat so well for lunch the next day, too.

This butternut squash chili has the rich flavors you’d expect from a butternut squash soup with the spice and boldness of a chili. As it turns out, the two go hand in hand beautifully.

To start this chili you’ll need to get the squash softened in your stockpot, along with some green peppers and some onion. The final cooking doesn’t happen until later but this sort of sets the stage.

After that you wake the spices up in the bottom of the pan before adding the broth, beans, and tomatoes.

Of course there is some chili powder in this soup, but there’s also some chilis in adobo as well as some cumin and cinnamon. That last ingredient gives this that butternut soup feeling, while still remaining firmly in chili territory.

This is best left to simmer for a while to let all the flavors come together. In the process the squash gets softened quite a bit and thickens the soup as it does. The final result is thick and zesty, but with a fresh flavor owing to all the fresh veggies.

This version has no meat, but if you want to add some cooked ground beef or turkey cook the meat beforehand, remove it from the stockpot using a slotted spoon, then add it back in towards the end of cooking.

I like this chili with some crackers and cheese, but it’s also nice with avocado, corn chips, and/or sour cream on top, too. It’s the perfect dinner for cool weather!