This will warm you to the bone and please your taste buds, this slow cooker version of one of my most popular recipe Southwest Chicken Chili.
It was a cold week here in West Michigan, and we had some “most go”… some peppers, a jalapeno and some chicken breast that would soon be freezer burnt and I don’t want to do another freezer burnt chicken recipe. So the chicken chili was a good choice. My wife missed the previous batch she I wanted her input also.
My previous version was in a dutch oven and involved cooking the chicken first and then using the oven. It was really good but I wanted to simplify the recipe, and a crock pot is just the right thing. No precooking for me. I also modified a few ingredient and gave you some options.
Rating
A very strong 4. If I didn’t have so many other really good chili/soup recipes, it would be a 5. We both had seconds two evening in a row and then my wife finished it for lunch. I guess it was alright.
Notes: You need beans. To me chili always has beans. I used two cans of cannellini and a can of black beans. Use any combination you want. I used a 10 oz can of Rotel to replace 2 cups of salsa in the other recipe. My wife has never been a salsa lover. It is chili; you are not wedded to a recipe.
Optional thickening: I used Masa to thicken the chili some. It works well and adds a bit of corn flavor. Or you could add corn starch, flour or just leave the lid off the crock pot the last hour.
Trim and cube (about 3/4 inch) 3 skinless boneless chicken breast. (about 2 to 2 1/2 lbs).
Cut your veggies. I used a large yellow onion, a green and a red pepper and a jalapeno.
Add all the ingredients except the optional masa and water. You can rinse the beans if you wish and it may decrease the sodium some. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Thickening Option: with 20-30 minutes left in the cooking you can combine 1/4 cup masa flour and 1/2 cup of water. I used a Tupperware gravy mixer, but a bowl and whisk would do.
Mix your masa mixture in well and let finish cooking.
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Crockpot Southwest Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 2 lbs skinless boneless chicken breasts - about 3 or a little more
- 2 green or red peppers - diced
- 1 onion - large yellow or white
- 1 jalapeno pepper
- 42 oz beans - 28 cannelloni 14 black
- 10 oz RoTel
- 14 oz chicken broth
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
Optional thickening
- 1/4 cup masa flour
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Trim and cube (about 3/4 inch) 3 skinless boneless chicken breast. (about 2 to 2 1/2 lbs).
- Cut your veggies and prep garlic (crushed or minced)3) Add all the ingredients except the optional masa and water. You can rinse the beans if you wish and it may decrease the sodium some.
- Cook on low for 8 hours.
- Thickening Option: with 20-30 minutes left in the cooking you can combine 1/4 cup masa flour and 1/2 cup of water. I used a Tupperware gravy mixer, but a bowl and whisk would do.
Have a question or something not clear? Ask in the comments.
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Nutrition is for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated.
I'm DrDan and welcome to my blog. You will find delicious easy everyday recipes mostly for smaller households. Please look around and enjoy your visit. 
Charles
April 13, 2015 at 8:32 pmThis turned out beautifully! thank you.
I went the low sodium route (low-s version of the ingredients, rinsed the beans, etc.) and the first bite or two were “Hmm, bland.. hmmm.. good…” After debating for a bit what spices I should add/change for the next try, and failing since the tastes were so balanced, I just added a tiny shake of salt to my bowl, and – the rest of the bowl was perfect! Next time, I might skip the bean rinse, or just use some reg-salt ingredients, but regardless, there *will* be a next time on this recipe.
Well done, Sir!
DrDan
April 13, 2015 at 8:41 pmThanks for the note. A little salt does wonders to flavor sometimes.
DrDan
Charles
May 9, 2015 at 10:44 pmI redid this one today, using normal ingredients (i.e., no low sodium, no rinsing of the beans.)
It turned out perfectly. A bit of salt does wonders.
I wonder if a bit more heat – ie 1/8-1/4t cayenne would allow the low sodium version to shine. Maybe next time. Maybe not – why mess with a good thing.
Thanks again, Sir.
P.S. I agree with your assessment – it’s a 4. really good, but not quite as good as say, a steak, or a really good stew, or anything less “healthy.” Compared to other healthy-ish recipes, this is a 5. Compared to actual carnivore food, 4 seems fair.
Chris
September 18, 2011 at 8:35 amThe weather turned cold here last week so I’ll be keeping this one in mind for someday soon. Nice trick with the masa harina.
Mary
September 14, 2011 at 1:34 pmI really like this recipe. I’m new to your blog and decided to spend some extra time browsing through your earlier posts. I’m so glad I did that. I really love the food and recipes you share with your readers and I’ll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Jeffrey and Juli
September 13, 2011 at 10:09 amWe’re still waiting for colder weather here in Iowa, but I’m definitely going to try this out soon. Gotta love those crock pot meals! Or, as the snobby cooking magazines now call them, “slow cookers”. :)
Juli
Inspired by eRecipeCards
September 12, 2011 at 6:27 pmBeautiful photo… just wanted to stop and say thanks for being such an active part of erecipecards… Love your recipes…