I know, I know, I just made a chicken soup-type dish. Well, sometimes you’ve gotta work with what you’ve got. I have a ton of chicken in the freezer, I had some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce left over from another test recipe, and it’s getting all fall-like outside. What does that add up to? Chili, of course.
I went pretty light on the chicken in this recipe to keep costs down (even though I got a crazy-good deal on the chicken) and beefed it up with a couple different types of beans and corn. Most of the flavor in this dish comes courtesy of the sweet-spicy-smokey chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. They definitely have a kick, so start with just two peppers and a couple spoonfuls of sauce, and add more to taste.
The V8 juice was my biggest cost and I could have done better. V8 offers a depth of flavor that plain tomato juice can’t, so I wouldn’t suggest skipping this secret ingredient. Check the bottom shelves of the juice aisle for the large metal cans because they cost less than the resealable plastic jugs. If you have some left over, into the freezer it goes! (makes a great base for soups and cocktails!)
If you can’t get a good deal on chicken like I did, you can easily make this into a vegetarian stew. Just add some diced sweet potato for bulk and you’re good. Although it’s so far from chili at this point that I don’t know if it can go by that name anymore, but who cares, it tastes good.
Chipotle Chicken Chili (C3)
Looking for a classic chili recipe? Check out my Simple Homemade Chili!
Chipotle Chicken Chili or "C3"
Servings 8Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.24)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.28)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 3/4 lb. chicken breast ($1.46)
- 1 32oz. bottle V8 juice ($2.69)
- 1 15oz. can diced tomato ($0.95)
- 1 15oz. can kidney beans ($0.99)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($1.19)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels ($0.54)
- 1/2 4oz. can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (up to) ($0.68)
- 1 Tbsp chili powder ($0.15)
- 1/2 Tbsp ground cumin ($0.08)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- salt to taste ($0.05)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cook both in a large pot with olive oil over medium heat until soft and transparent (about 5 minutes).
- Add the chicken breast, V8 juice, diced tomatoes, beans (drained), corn, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Stir to combine. Open the can of chipotle peppers and take two out. Mince them and add to the pot. Take two spoonfuls of the adobo sauce from the can and add to the pot as well. Stir it on up.
- Bring the pot up to a boil over medium-high heat with a lid. Once reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and let the pot simmer for one hour (lid on).
- After an hour, carefully remove the chicken breast and shred the meat using two forks. Return the shredded meat to the pot. Give the chili a taste and add more chipotle peppers if desired. Add salt as needed. I added about one teaspoon of salt, but this will depend on how salty your beans were, so start with a little and add more as needed.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
I garnished with green onions because I had them laying around.
Step By Step Photos
Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cook both in a large pot with olive oil until tender (about 5 minutes). (I’m not sure why I keep re-taking this picture… I could have just taken one and used it for all 100-million recipes that start this way.)
Add the raw chicken breast – whole. It will get shredded later. This recipe is admittingly light on chicken, but I think that’s an okay compromise for price. Plus, you get plenty of protein from the bean/corn combo.
Then add all of this… and one cup of frozen corn. Also, I drained the beans so that I wouldn’t have too much liquid in my chili.
Add your spices (chili powder, cumin, oregano).
And this is what the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce looks like. It’s a very small can (4 ounces) and is usually sold with the other Mexican grocery items. It’s easy to miss because it looks a lot like the small cans of sliced jalapeno peppers. Make sure to get the kind that is “in adobo sauce.”
When you open up the can, there are little peppers in there like this, plus a bunch of yummy sauce. (I had left overs from a can in a plastic container in my fridge). Anyway, mince up the peppers and spoon some of the sauce into the pot as well. Start with just two peppers and add more later if you want. I ended up using about half of a can.
So, bring the pot up to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer with a lid on for an hour. This will make the chicken nice and tender. Take the chicken out and shred it with a fork, then return it to the pot.
And then you’re pretty much done! Add more chipotles and some salt if desired. I added about a teaspoon of salt and ended up using about half of the can of chipotle peppers (plus sauce).
Serve with some cornbread to soak up the chipotle goodness!
I have been making this recipe for a few years now and everyone loves it, it’s quick, easy, full of flavor
This chili is AMAZING! I have made it five or six times, and I’m finally here to copy down the recipe and put it in my “Favorite recipes” folder. My family loves it, and I also made it for my friend’s family after she had surgery and they raved about it too. This is so tasty and easy! Healthful too!
This is my new fave chili and now my
college aged son is making it at school!
This is now on my short list of go to recipes. I had a few squash that needed to be prepared and since I love vegetables, I diced them and added them in with the onions. I added a little more chili powder and chipotle than the recipe called for just for flavor and heat.
I was curious what a serving size would be?
Hi Sabrina! The serving size is about a cup. XOXO -Monti
Can I use chicken thighs instead of breast? Thanks!
Yes :)
Could I slow cook the chicken, garlic, onion, corn and v8 together, and then shred the chick and add the beans before serving?
That would probably work fine. I’d just go ahead and add the beans with everything else. I have other slow cooker recipes where I add the canned beans in the beginning and they don’t break down or anything. :)
This is one of my all-time favorite recipes! I just got an instant pot and have started using it for EVERYTHING. If you were making it in an instant pot, how long would you put it in for? Thanks! :)
It’s hard to say without testing it, but I think I’d try the poultry setting because the most important part here is to get the chicken to that shreddable texture. :)
Can you use the spicy V8 or would that ruin the flavors?
Yes you definitely can use the Spicy V8. A few folks before have mentioned it makes it even better!
If I chose to use pre-cooked chicken breast, how would I alter this recipe? Obviously wouldn’t need the hour long wait anymore but would I just make sure everything is warmed through or do I need to keep it in the pot for a prescribed amount of time?
I would still simmer it for about 20-30 minutes to let the flavors blend and give the tomatoes time to mellow out (they can be quite acidic if you don’t let them simmer a bit). :)
I was looking for a recipe to use up specific leftovers and was directed to this one. It was delicious! Everyone had seconds, and what was left was quickly claimed for tomorrow’s lunch. We will be adding this to our favorite recipes.
I have made this chili probably a dozen times, just as the recipe instructs, and it’s ALWAYS delicious. Although curious what the calorie count is… has anyone calculated?
About 550 calories per serving
The nutrition information is going to be based on the ingredients you use and how many servings you actually seperate it into. The listed nutrition information says it’s 287.85 calories per serving.
Thank you Anjana for the comment – I was unsure if I would like the V8 but now I’ll try veg stock first! This looks amazing I think we will try it this weekend!
One of my Budget Bytes favorites. Made it again tonight. So easy and delicious. And great leftover! Thanks Beth!
Omg! Hands down the best chili recipe out there. I was so skeptical since I didn’t have the v8 juice. I just subbed some veg stock and it was mind blowing and so filling as well. Thank you for sharing your recipe 🙌😁