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Cozy up to a bowl of the best chicken chili recipe EVER! Mexican chicken chili is full of flavor from three kinds of beans, corn, tomatoes with chiles, chicken, and onion. Make yourself a bowl of the most delicious chicken chili in just 30 minutes!
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Chicken Chili
Chili is one of my favorite foods. What could be better than a simple chili recipe, put together in just a little over 30 minutes? Flavorful, easy chicken chili is one of my all-time favorite ways to make chili. But this Mexican chili soup… it’s something else!
This is not your basic chili recipe! This is a stove top spicy chili recipe, but it is not overpowering. Adding corn gives it a nice, sweet crunch, and once you melt the cheese on top, it’s all over!
This recipe is so easy and just amazing.
Maryjo
Chicken Chili Recipe Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Onion, finely chopped
- Navy beans
- Black beans
- Northern beans or Pinto Beans
- Whole kernel corn
- Tomato sauce
- diced tomatoes with green chiles
- taco seasoning
- skinless boneless chicken breasts, cooked, 1 whole rotisserie chicken, or shredded chicken
Recipe for Chicken Chili
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add finely chopped white onion to the pot and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onions soften and become translucent.
- Stir in a packet of taco seasoning or my delicious taco seasoning blend.
- Add navy beans, half black beans, and northern beans to a blender and puree.
- Stir pureed beans into the pot.
- Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes with green chiles, and whole kernel corn to the pot.
- Add shredded chicken to the pot. You can use leftover chicken such as rotisserie chicken or the meat of 3 cooked chicken breasts or chicken thighs. I love making shredded chicken in the instant pot. It is super easy.
- Mix in the remaining half can of navy beans and half can of black beans, then stir to combine.
- Let your white bean chicken chili simmer over medium heat until fully heated through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the juice of 1 lime and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Top with tortilla strips, shredded cheese, and sour cream to serve.
You are going to LOVE this Mexican chili. It’s similar to a Chicken Tortilla Soup, but a thick, hearty chili soup. I love dipping tortilla chips in it!
Best Chicken Chili Recipe Tips
- One of the BEST parts about this easy chili recipe is that you can use leftover chicken to make it.
- I like to use shredded rotisserie chicken or instant pot shredded chicken to make mine. It’s also perfect for making a chicken dinner like Slow Cooker Whole Chicken and then repurposing it the next night for this easy chili recipe.
- Want a little more spice? Add some chili powder or cayenne pepper to it.
Chicken Chili Recipes Toppings
- Corn Tortilla Strips OR Frito Chips
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese or Monterey Jack Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Green Onions
- Diced Tomatoes
- Avocado
- Cilantro
- Lime Juice
Chicken Chili Recipe FAQs
Chili lasts up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
You can freeze chili soup in an airtight container for up to 2 months. To reheat, just thaw on the countertop and heat in the microwave or the stovetop.
The secret to perfect chili is creating depth of flavor with your ingredients, Pay attention to the seasonings used, kinds of beans, and tomatoes with green chiles really kick this Mexican chili up a notch from your average classic chili recipe.
How to Shred Chicken
This is the easiest way to make shredded chicken. Quickly make the chicken in the Instant Pot and shred it using a hand mixer. You can follow my step-by-step instructions on how to make shredded chicken.
Best Beans for Chili
- Navy beans: Also known as haricot beans, Boston beans, or pea beans. These are small white beans that are perfect chili beans.
- Black beans: Black beans are a common bean also known as black turtle beans. They are dense, and with a meaty texture, so they’re great for making chili with beans.
- Northern beans: Northern beans, also known as Great Northern Beans, are large white beans. They are larger than navy beans and smaller than cannellini beans. They actually resemble lima beans, with a nutty flavor and a great texture for chili beans!
How to Thicken Chili
This is a thick chili recipe already, but if you find your chili is not thick enough, you can add a thickening agent like flour, cornstarch, or even corn masa flour.
Take a bit of liquid from your chili, about a cup if possible, and mix in 1 tablespoon or so of your thickening agent. Add another tablespoon if 1 does not do the job. If you mix outside of the pot of chili, it’s less likely to clump up and easier to mix in and thicken your Mexican chili with!
Chili Recipes
Try my Ropa Vieja Recipe if you love this dish! Plus, this chili is one of my favorite football foods – get more Super Bowl Food Ideas!
📋 Recipe
Chicken Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 white onion finely chopped
- 1 can navy beans 15.5 oz.
- 1 can black beans 15.5 oz., drained & rinsed
- 1 can northern beans 15.5 oz., drained & rinsed
- 1 can whole kernel corn 15.5 oz., drained
- 1 can tomato sauce 8 oz.
- 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles 14.5 oz., undrained, such as Rotel
- 1 packet taco seasoning 1.25 oz.
- 3 skinless boneless chicken breasts cooked and shredded; or, 1 whole rotisserie chicken, shredded – amounts to about 4.5 cups total
Optional Chili Toppings
- corn tortilla strips OR frito chips
- shredded cheddar cheese
- sour cream
See our Cooking Conversions Chart for help converting measurements!
Instructions
- Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add 1 finely chopped white onion to the pot and sauté for about 5 minutes, until the onions soften and become translucent.1 Tbsp. olive oil, 1 white onion
- Stir in 1 (1.25 oz.) packet of taco seasoning.1 packet taco seasoning
- Add half of a 15.5 oz can of navy beans, half a 15.5 oz can of black beans, and one whole 15.5 oz. can of northern beans to a blender and puree.1 can navy beans, 1 can black beans, 1 can northern beans
- Stir pureed beans to the pot.
- Add an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, two 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles, and a 15.5 oz. can of drained whole kernel corn to the pot.1 can tomato sauce, 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles, 1 can whole kernel corn
- Add about 4.5 cups of shredded chicken to the pot. You can use leftover chicken such as rotisserie chicken or the meat of 3 cooked chicken breasts.3 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- Mix in the remaining half can of navy beans and half can of black beans, then stir to combine.
- Let your white bean chicken chili simmer over medium heat until fully heated through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add juice of 1 lime and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Top with tortilla strips, shredded cheese, and sour cream to serve.corn tortilla strips OR frito chips, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream
Video
Notes
- If you find the chili is not thick enough to your liking, take about a cup of liquid from the chili. Mix it with 1 to 2 Tbsp. of a thickening agent such as flour, corn masa flour, or cornstarch. Add the mixture back to the chili and slowly mix it in to thicken the chili.
Taylor Kiser says
Amazing flavors going on in this chicken chili recipe! This will be perfect for Super Bowl Sunday!
Em Beitel says
Thanks so much, Taylor! We love this chili for game day. It’s a big hit.
Suzy says
I LOVE how you made this with chicken! So delicious and flavorful! We serve our chili over rice!
Em Beitel says
Thanks so much, Suzy! Chili over rice is one of our favs. We have a perfect rice recipe for it, too: https://sundaysuppermovement.com/how-to-cook-perfect-rice/
Katie says
This looks so delicious, can’t wait to pair it with my homemade cornbread!
Em Beitel says
YUM! Love cornbread with chili! A cheesy jalapeno cornbread would go deliciously with this chili especially.
Tawnie Kroll says
This was seriously amazing and really THE BEST I’ve had! Can’t wait to make it again for Super Bowl Sunday!
Em Beitel says
Thank you so much, Tawnie! Chili’s the best for game day, right?
Anita says
This was so so good, and a good use for a store-bought rotisserie chicken. This will be a repeat recipe for sure. 🙂
Em Beitel says
Thank you, Anita! We totally agree- great use of rotisserie. It makes everything so easy.
Duran says
Recipe calls for two can diced tomatoes but don’t see where there is a second can added?
Em Beitel says
Hi Duran, so sorry for the confusion and thank you for asking! They are both added at once – that was an error on our part. We’ve adjusted. Thank you!
Jacy says
I’m excited to try this! It looks and sounds amazing. Quick question…. My store only has dry navy beans, but the navy beans in your blender pic look canned. Wondering how I’m supposed to use the navy beans? Thanks so much!!
Em Beitel says
Hi Jacy! It really is delicious and I hope you enjoy it! As for the navy beans, we did use canned, so if they only have dry you’d have to prepare them yourself- but if you don’t want to do that, you could instead use cannellini beans, flageolet beans, or additional northern beans.
Tamara says
This tastes great! I give it 5 stars for taate, but it is so very thick and there are no instructions on how to make it thinner—only how to thicken. Thank you for a great alternative to traditional chili.
Em Beitel says
Hi Tamara! We are so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the suggestion to add instructions on how to make it thinner – we’ll update ASAP for future reference.
Melissa says
Use a cup of chicken broth! To make it not so thick.
Isabel Laessig says
That’s a great tip, Melissa. Thank you!
Emily Bauman says
I just made this tonight. So yummy! I tweaked a little because I did not have white beans on hand. So I did kidney and black. I also did thin it with chicken stock and added oregano, garlic, & parsley. Thank you for this!!
Em Beitel says
That’s perfect! Thanks so much for your comment, Emily. We’re glad you enjoyed it!
Lyn says
This is our new go to Chili recipe! I didn’t have chicken, so used smoked pork I had in the freezer. Husband said it was the best chili I’ve made! Can’t wait to try other meats in it, or even meatless, very versatile recipe. Thanks!!!
Isabel Laessig says
Thanks so much, Lyn! This is wonderful to hear. I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed it!