Southwest Chicken Chili

What is Southwest Chicken Chili?

Southwest flavors (typically Spanish, Native American, Anglo and Spanish heritages), are fused together focusing on charred peppers (we use a milder pabloano), with corn and beans. We give an easy tip on how to char the pepper for a more rustic taste! My daughter taught me the tip “how to char poblanos in the oven!”

Gather these ingredients:

Rotisserie Chicken – We use rotisserie chicken. But you can also use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cooked and then shredded.
Beans: Black beans, pinto beans, and kidney beans are used in red chili. (While white beans are used in white chicken chili).
Aromatics: Onions, jalapeno, bell pepper, and garlic are sautéed to add depth of flavor.
Spices: Ancho Chili Powder and cumin create the signature chili flavor. We also add salsa at the end.
Charred veggies: Charred poblano pepper is added for a distinctive flavor and mild heat. Dont’ skip this step! Also use charred corn (you can buy it charred in the frozen section of grocery store).
Optional Toppings: Avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, with chopped green onions. You can also use finely chopped fresh cilantro.

How to make it (stovetop)

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic and cook until softened.
2. Add the chili powder, tomato paste, cumin, chopped (or pulled) Rotisserie chicken, and tomatoes and cook.
3. Stir in the beans, salsa, corn, and charred (chopped) poblano pepper and simmer.
4. Before serving, squeeze in the juice of a lime and season to taste with more salt or pepper if needed.
5. Serve with your favorite toppings, such as sour cream, avocado slices, cilantro or green onions, and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese.

How do you char a poblano pepper?

1. Char the poblano pepper: Place the poblano pepper on a baking sheet, and roast until the skin is blistered and blackened on all sides, about taking 20-30 minutes.
2. Steam: Remove from the oven and place thepepper in a bowl covered with plastic wrap to steam for 10-15 minutes. This allows the to peel off quite easy before removing the stem and seeds and chopping it.

Slow Cooker directions

• Char: Follow the steps to char the poblano pepper.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic and cook.
• Add the chili powder, tomato paste, cumin, Rotisserie chicken, and tomatoes and cook for about 2 minutes. 
• Next, add the mixture to the slow cooker with remaining beans, salsa, corn, and charred poblano pepper.
• Cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.
• Top with your favorite toppings (see below) and enjoy!

Sandy’s tips and substitutions:

• Protein options – You can make this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, ground chicken, ground turkey, or our favorite, Rotisserie Chicken.  
• Chicken breasts – When you add the beans to this recipe on stovetop or slow cooker, add 1 pound of uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Up the simmering time to 20-25 minutes. Once the cook time is up, remove the chicken and shred it with two forks. Then add the shredded chicken back into the chili. This Enchilada Soup recipe has this technique that you can follow.
• More add-Ins – For more flavor add canned fire-roasted tomatoes when the beans go in. You can also add fresh chopped cilantro into the recipe.
• What do you use in place of poblano peppers? Optional to use canned green chiles. 
• Don’t want as much heat? You can opt out of using jalapeno, and just use regular chili powder.
• Make is a Creamy Southwest Chicken Chili – When the chili is finished cooking, stir in half a block of cream cheese.