This spicy chicken chili is a nice change of pace from your ordinary beef chili and uses salsa verde instead of tomato sauce as one of the main ingredients. This is a great one-pot any day of the week dish, or make it a chili bar for a great party offering.
We are big fans of southwest and Mexican cuisine. Rich bold spicy flavors from peppers and dried spices that keep you coming back for more, makes a perfect dinner, especially during the cold winter months.
However, when you are cutting back on red meat, but still want a good protein, this spicy chicken chili recipe can do the trick. I'm using breast meat but you can use dark meat too. Or, if you are in a pinch use a rotisserie chicken that has already been cooked. Shred up the meat and add it closer to the end of the cooking time.
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I wanted to call this recipe white chicken chili, but at the time I didn't realize that it would come out looking such a rich brownish-red.
Even though I did not include any tomatoes, as I would for my everyday chili recipe, all the spices and chili peppers give this dish an amazing color.
Instead of tomatoes, I used broth and a large jar of salsa verde. The salsa verde gives this spicy chicken chili a really nice tart flavor that combines well the peppers and spices.
Yes, it's pretty spicy, but you can back off on the hot peppers and substitute more bell peppers if you want. You could also serve it with small pasta or rice to help balance the heat.
What to Serve with Chicken Chili
Set up a bar of fun topping for family and friends. Here are some good choices:
- sour cream
- shredded cheese: cheddar, monteray jack, pepper jack, manchego, queso blanco
- chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
- lime wedges
- finely chopped onions
- pickled jalapeno slices or chopped grilled fresh jalapenos
- chopped fresh avocado or guacamole
- chopped olives
- more salsa
- tortilla chips
Whether it's for an everyday meal, game day, or game night with friends this spicy chicken chili is guaranteed to be a big hit.
Spicy Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 1 green pepper diced
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 2 jalapeno peppers finely chopped
- 1 red chili finely chopped
- 1 dried poblano pepper crushed
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon hot paprika
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- juice and zest of half a lime
- 2 chicken breasts approx. 1 pound diced
- 1 jar salsa verde 16 oz
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 can cannellini beans or great white northern bean 15 oz
Toppings
- shredded white cheddar cheese
- chopped fresh cilantro
- sour cream
- fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Saute onions and peppers in olive oil for 3-5 minutes until softened.
- Add garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, and hot paprika.
- Stir well and let the spices and veggies cook another 2 minutes.
- Add chicken and saute for 3 - 5 minutes until its browned well.
- Add salsa, broth and beans.
- Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add lime juice, stir and serve with toppings of cilantro, cheese, sour cream and lime wedges.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although attempts have been made to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
Denise
I have never had chicken chili but this looks delicious!
Carole
I can tell by that list of ingredients this dish is amazing. Sounds like the right amount of spicy too. I'm staying home today and thinking a pot of this would be wonderful. We always make rice too and serve that with these types of dishes. Tasty!
Patti Estep
Hi Carole,
Rice is a great idea. My mom use to serve rice with chili when I was a kid. I then married an Italian and he loves his pasta so I sometimes serve elbow macaroni with my chili. Extra yumminess.