Peel and cut the butternut squash

Cup of Yum
1. If you're using a whole squash, lay it flat on the cutting board and cut it in half. Then, cut each piece in half down the center vertically. Scrape out the seeds. Cut squash halves into slices and chop each slice into small cubes.

Sauté the onion, bell pepper and celery

1. Option #1. If you have an extra 10 minutes, you can first sauté the veggies. This will boost the flavor of Butternut Squash Chili even more. To do that, heat olive oil in a large skillet and over a medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and celery and sauté stirring occasionally until the veggies have softened, about 7 minutes. After that, transfer the vegetables into a slow cooker.
2. Option #2. If you don't have time, it's perfectly fine and your Chili will still be delicious. Just pile fresh onion, bell pepper and celery along with the olive oil in a bowl of the crockpot.

Add the rest of the ingredients

1. Add cubed butternut squash, all beans, ground walnuts, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, garlic, thyme, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, water and salt. Note, that the ground walnuts are not a mandatory ingredient, it's used for texture, extra protein and good fats.

Cook

1. Give everything a good stir, cover the slow cooker with a lid and cook Butternut Squash Chili for 3 hours on high or 5 hours on low.

Puree the chili

1. First I recommend to taste the soup and see if needs more salt or pepper. Next, I like to puree the Chili. You can do it in 2 ways. If you have an immersion blender (I use this blender), use it to puree the soup for about 30 seconds. You don't want to puree everything, just a little bit, so that the consistency was to your liking. Alternatively, you can measure out about 2 cups of cooked Chili, add it to a standing blender, puree it there until it's creamy and then add back into a slow cooker with the rest of the soup.

Serve

1. Your vegetarian Butternut Squash Chili is ready. Divide it among serving bowls, top with any of your favorite toppings and enjoy.