Do you love chili? Who doesn’t, right? Well, today we’re going to show you how to make chicken chili. This chicken chili recipe is easy to follow and it yields delicious results.
Chili has always been a family favorite. Whenever I make it, it disappears by the end of dinnertime. The chicken and chili work together and allow for an insanely delicious dinner and fantastic leftovers.
What is great about this recipe is that it can be made in the slow cooker and it is my preferred method to cook it. Slow cooks all day, you just simply add all of the ingredients, and then just hours later your house smells amazing and you have a delicious chicken chili crock pot meal.
The recipe is versatile, you can really swap out ingredients and make it your own, but here are the main components.
- Chicken – While traditional chili recipes, like my Blue Ribbon Chili or Chili Con Carne use ground beef, this recipe uses leaner meat.
- Beans – You can use a variety, but I stuck with two of the classics kidney and black beans, I love the color of the dark kidney bean but the light one will work as well. I have also used pinto beans before and they are a great choice.
- Fresh Vegetables – Not only do fresh veggies add some nutritional value and a nice crunch, they also give a great pop of color. I prefer purple onion for a touch of sweetness, but what is great is you can really use anything you have on hand.
- Seasonings – A combination of cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, salt, and pepper really gives this chicken chili recipe the classic appeal, with the same flavor profile.
INGREDIENTS FOR QUICK CHICKEN CHILI
- Black Beans – you can drain these from the can, but I love leaving the juices for extra flavor.
- Kidney Beans – same as the black beans, leave the juice in the recipe.
- Fresh Garlic
- Onion – while I prefer red but you could use yellow as well.
- Jalapeno – just one will do, unless you want to add some extra heat, then throw in another.
- Green & Red Bell Peppers
- Shredded Carrots
- Frozen Corn Kernels, I use frozen because it is the next best thing to fresh, canned corn leaves a weird flavor, so stick to either fresh or frozen.
- Red Enchilada Sauce, you could also sub just tomato sauce, but I love the flavor that the red enchilada sauce gives.
- Diced Tomatoes, leave in the juices!
- Cumin
- Chili Powder
- Dried Oregano
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless Chicken Breast
- Fresh Cilantro
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN CHILI CROCK POT
What to serve with this simple chicken chili recipe?
I love serving these with my Whole Wheat Tortillas. For another delicious side, try this Skillet Cornbread, Whole Wheat Cornbread, and for our friends with allergies, Gluten-Free Sweet Jalapeño Cornbread.
How do I store this chili?
Take the remaining leftovers and place them in a tightly sealed container, as no one wants chili spilled in their fridge, trust me. You can store it in the fridge up to 5 days or you can also freeze it in your freezer up to 3 months.
If you decide to freeze the chili, I like it best stored in a freezer gallon Ziploc bag. This makes it easy to store, making sure to lay flat in your freezer to take up less room and reduce the risk of the bag tearing.
OTHER CHILI RECIPES
Chili is such a classic, easy meal, that can feed a big crowd or just your family. Here are some of our other favorite chili recipes.
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili – This White Chicken Chili is creamy and delicious. It’s an easy recipe you can make in your slow cooker for a cozy dinner.
Classic Chili Con Carne – Classic Chili Con Carne – a hearty chili made with beef, onions, salsa, tomato sauce, and green chiles.
Cran-Turkey Chili – This Cran-Turkey Chili is your Thanksgiving leftover turkey reconstructed into an easy, delicious chili dinner using traditional holiday ingredients.
Quinoa Chili – Quinoa Chili is comfort served in a bowl, guilt-free. A traditional chili that is protein-packed with roasted peppers, tomatoes, and quinoa.
Enjoy friends, this is a great meal to stay warm & keep the house feeling cozy, but it is also a great meal to make in the warm months when you don’t want to heat up the house, and looking for comfort food in a bowl.
xo San
My favorite kitchen tools used to make Chicken Chili recipe:
This post may contain affiliate links. See my Full Disclosure for further details.
SLOW COOKER: I prefer my slow cooker to have a timer. This is because I always somehow forget about it. So having a timer and a lid that locks are two essential things for me when purchasing a slow cooker.
KNIVES: A good set of kitchen knives is essential for preparing any meal. I just recently invested in some Cutco knives and I have not regretted it one bit. These are hands down my favorite knives I have owned.
CUTTING BOARD: For me, this is a kitchen must-have and kitchen counter saver. While we have countertops you can cut on, I find that this extra step will preserve my counter. I also find that using a cutting board makes for less clean-up afterward. I love this cutting board because it has a groove all the way around the board to prevent juices from running all over the counters.
Don’t forget to pin this to your favorite Pinterest board to save for later!
Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 16 ounces black beans drained
- 16 ounces kidney beans drained
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium red onion chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper minced
- 1/2 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 cup shreded carrots
- 10 ounces frozen corn kernels
- 20 ounces red enchilada sauce
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes drained
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1.5 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts 2 chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro + more to top
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in the slow cooker. Stir until combined. Place uncooked chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 6 hours (this is my ideal way to cook it) or on high for 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
- When there is 1 hour left, remove chicken and shred. Stir into sauce and continue cooking. I like to remove the lid about 30 minutes before I serve to cool it off a little and let it thicken
- Top with fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, chopped scallions, avocado, sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt.
Nutrition
My review: I love to double this recipe. If I do I use a combination of dark and white meat, 2 chicken breast with 5-6 chicken thighs.
Kids review: They love this with home-made whole wheat tortillas or cornbread.
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I love a good Chili & this looks yummy!
Forgot to mention I love finding easy healthy recipes to make for the family & would love to see some more.
More to come, trying to post 2 recipes a day, until I get caught up on where I would like to be. Thanks for stopping by!
This looks so good! I love using chicken in place of beef to reduce the fat. Yu
Super filling with just the right amount of spice. I like it even better than beef chili.
This is beyond delicious! Such a fantastic dinner!
This chicken chili is so flavorful and rich! Must make it for my family!
This is SO good! Can’t wait to try this again!