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)
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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.
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Notes
Nutrition
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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!
Just delicious!! I am a terrible cooker, and it takes me so much time to cook like 2-3 hours but, with your quick recipes, I am feeling at easy and like an expert. Even my husband who is an excellent cooker and some sort of food critic, is praising me now, and all because of your blog.
It is hot in here, and as I said, it takes me a long time to cook, so I usually used a pressure cooker whenever I can, I am not sure if it is the same or not, but, it does help me minimize the cooking time and until now, all your recipes are coming out very tasty in it.
I need to start making some of your summer meals for sure.
Hugs
Wow this is delicious! We used generic vegetable juice instead of V8 to save a few cents and plan to make a second batch tonight after eating it all yesterday. A simple and tasty chili, with a nice spicy kick!
I don’t think they sell V8 Juice here in Europe. What is it exactly. Do you know more common things that I can use to substitute this V8?
V8 is a vegetable juice cocktail. It’s a lot like tomato juice, but with other juices mixed in so it has a bit more flavor (it’s mostly tomato, though). I guess tomato juice would be the closest second, but it will still be different.
Made this yesterday. I was missing the chipotle chiles, so I added some ground chipotle. Also, I had a half a growler of porter that I had opened two days ago. It had gone flat so I poured a good helping of that in. Turned out great. Thanks for the recipe.
This is delicious! As I always do with chili, at the end I added some of the broth to some masa flour to make a slurry, they stirred it back into the chili to thicken it. I cut corn tortillas into strips and baked them, then topped the chili with them along with cilantro and chopped avocado. I had planned to freeze some of this for leftovers, but it was gone too quickly.
Hi! Would I be able to put all the ingredients in a pot before work (and leave it in the fridge) so when I get home I can just put it on the stove for an hour? Would the beans get too soft being in the liquid and fridge all day? Thanks!
Yes, I think that would work just fine. :) I don’t think it will affect the beans at all.
Help! We just made this as a dish for a family in the neighborhood who just had a baby. I think it’s a bit spicy – I’m worried about gifting something they may not eat! Not sure if I’ll get a response in time but…..ideas for toning it down after I’ve already cooked it? TIA
Sorry about the delay, Anna. I hope everything worked out okay. Sometimes adding a touch of sugar can dampen the heat, but it definitely won’t work magic. :(
I used a 28oz can by accident, and I also doubled the chicken, it came out REALLY good!!! Perfect for the cold nights.
Could I modify the cooking instructions to make in a slow cooker? Or would that make the beans too soft?
The beans probably would get really soft, but I don’t think that would be a super terrible thing. Or, you can try cooking the rest of the ingredients in the slow cooker (high for 4 hours, or low for 8) and then just add the beans at the end and warm through.
I used a slow cooker to make it, it cooked for about 5 hours on low before the chicken (I used twice what the recipe called for because I had no other plans for meat for the week) and it was completely cooked through so I took it out and shredded it at hour 5, then added the beans and kept at low for another hour and added some cilantro and extra chipotle peppers. I also used a can of mexican style corn instead of frozen corn because I had it laying around. It cooked perfectly and my roommates are dying to try it tomorrow for lunch! I had a tiny bit before adding beans and its amazing. I also used low sodium V8 because I am on a clean eating rampage and that didn’t impact the flavor at all!
Just made this–and it is sooo good! I subbed hominy for the corn, because it’s what I had on hand, and it was perfect!
Great Recipe! My husband loved it! =) Thank you so much! I don’t have any cooking experience but every time I make your recipes it turns out great!
Just made this for dinner omg so good! It was a little soupy but i didnt mind:) it does have a lil kick to it which i love!
Easy and tasty. Using (low sodium) veg juice is a great way to add some nutrients to this dish, brilliant. I also enjoyed mine with some leftover yellow corn tortilla chips crumbled over top. This blog is awesome. Thanks.
I’m one of those simple people that likes to make the same thing over and over again, and I’ve probably made this 4 times since I stumbled on the recipe. Big fan of your site now. Thanks!
I made this over the weekend for some friends and it was oh so delicious!!!