Chicken Chili Verde
Chicken Chili Verde people! In case you need a translation that means green chicken chili. Hehe. It started as a white chicken chili but I kept adding more green veggies and finished with my green chile sauce so I decided it was more verde than blanco. It’s a nice change-up to the traditional red chili with ground beef and black beans. Don’t get me wrong, I love chili with lots of beans and tomatoes but this one is a little lighter but just as hearty.
Chili is a perfect dish because it’s a one-pot deal. This one is healthy too…obvi. When I decided to try my hand at making a green chili versus a red chili I thought about all the ingredients that go in a traditional tomato-based chili.
Red chili vs. Green chili
onions—>onions/scallions
bell peppers—>poblano peppers + green bell peppers
jalapeno—>serranos
tomatoesàtomatillos
black beans—>white beans
ground beef—>ground chicken
chili powder—>cumin/coriander/cayenne
cheddar cheese—>queso fresco
hot sauce—>salsa verde
You get the point. I really just thought about what green vegetables I could substitute in order to make it green or chicken chili verde. There’s one huge flavor boost that I recommend. Remember those Green Chile Turkey Burgers? I may have made extra green chile sauce so I added about ¼ cup to ½ cup to the chicken chili verde. This stuff is spicy so be careful! If you don’t have an extra jar of my green chile sauce lying around you could substitute it with salsa verde. (It might not be as delicious but I understand if you’re in a hurry.)
The garnishes are pretty much the same as a traditional chili but I opted for some queso fresco instead of cheddar. The toppings are really endless though so feel free to go wild! For instance you could crush some tortilla chips, serve warm corn tortillas, cheddar, manchego, yogurt, Mexican crema, charred corn, pickled jalapenos, charred peppers, etc!
Prep Time
20 min.
Cook Time
50 min.
Total Time
1 hr. 10 min.
Ingredients
1½ tbsp grapeseed oil (or other neutral oil)
2 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp ground coriander
½ tbsp cayenne pepper
½ tbsp dried oregano
¾ pound ground chicken breast
¾ pound ground chicken thigh
1 large onion, diced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
2 large poblano peppers, diced
2 serrano peppers, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken broth
3 cups water
1 tomatillos cut into large pieces
2 (13.5 oz) cans white beans (i.e. Great Northern or cannellini), rinsed and drained
¼ – ½ cup [url href=”http://forkmylifechicago.com/green-chile-turkey-burgers/” title=”Green Chile Turkey Burgers”]green chile sauce[/url], can substiute with salsa verde
1 tbsp flour (if you are gluten free you can substitute with 2 tbsp of cornmeal)
1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
Garnishes:
½ cup sliced scallions, green part only
2 oz queso fresco, crumbled
1 avocado, diced
lime wedges
Cooking instructions
Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add 2 tsp grapeseed oil.
Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne and oregano. Set aside.
Add the ground chicken breast and thigh to pot. Season with half of the spice mixture, salt and black pepper.
Once the chicken is brown and almost cooked through, remove the chicken in a bowl and set aside.
Add 1 tbsp of grapeseed oil and add the onions, poblanos, green bell peppers and serrano peppers. Season with salt and black pepper. Sweat for 10 minutes until softened.
Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add chicken broth, water and the remainder of the spice mixture.
Bring up to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the cooked chicken, tomatillos and white beans to the pot.
Simmer together for 15-20 minutes until the tomatillos have broken down and the flavors have melded.
Add [url href=”http://forkmylifechicago.com/green-chile-turkey-burgers/” title=”Green Chile Turkey Burgers”]green chile sauce[/url] and stir to combine
If you would like your chili to be a little thicker you can mix 1 tbsp of flour with 2 tbsp of the hot liquid from the chili. Mix together and then add to the pot of chili. Stir continually until the flour is incorporated. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Cook for another 5-7 minutes until thickened slightly.
*If you are gluten-free you can add 2 tbsp of cornmeal and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes.
Mix in the cilantro at the last minute and serve with your favorite toppings.
