Green Chicken Chili Recipe {Easy & Healthy!}

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Author:

Isabel

Published:

September 23, 2019

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This Easy Green Chicken Chili is a healthy and comforting one pot soup made with salsa verde and white beans. Naturally gluten free, it’s a perfect weeknight meal for the whole family!

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What’s healthy, filling, easy to make and requires only one pot from start to finish? Hint hint – you’re looking at it right now!

This Easy Green Chicken Chili is full of some of my favorite flavors – creamy and hearty white beans, tangy and slightly spicy salsa verde and savory onions and garlic. Top it with some freshly squeezed lime juice, cilantro and avocado and you’ve got yourself a perfect meal for a cozy day.

Why This Easy Green Chicken Chili Is Great

It’s a warm and comforting dishthat will take the chill off.
This chicken chili verde is really easy to make and has super fast cleanup because you make everything in just one pot!
This soup is sure to keep you full and satisfied for hours until your next meal.

How To Make Green Chicken Chili

In a medium pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat. Add in onions, poblano peppers and green chiles. Saute for 10 minutes, until onions and poblanos have softened.

Feel free to remove the seeds from the poblanos if you don’t want it slightly spicy. You can also adjust the heat level by using either mild or hot diced green chiles.

Next, add in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or so, until fragrant.

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Add chicken breasts, chicken broth, salsa verde, salt, cumin, dried oregano and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

I love using my homemade salsa verde in this recipe, but if you’re short on time, your favorite store-bought version will work just fine.

Then, uncover and discard bay leaf. Remove the chicken from the pot and transfer to a plate. Carefully shred the chicken with a fork and transfer it back into the pot. Add the white beans, bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

I used Great Northern beans, but you could also use Cannellini beans if you prefer.

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Stir in chopped cilantro and lime juice for a little brightness, and eat up!

Serve with your favorite toppings like sour cream, avocados, sliced radishes and tortilla chips.

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Cooking Tips

One of the best things about this chicken chili verde is that it’s extremely versatile. You can follow the recipe as it’s written, or you have two other options – the under 30 minutes version or the slow cooker version.

To make this recipe in under 30 minutes, you can use pre-cooked shredded chicken that you have leftover in the fridge or a store-bought shredded rotisserie chicken. Simply sauté the onions, poblanos, diced green chiles and garlic according to the recipe below, and then add in all the other remaining ingredients, except for the beans. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes, then add in the beans and bring to a boil. Stir in chopped cilantro and lime juice and eat up!
To make this recipe in the slow cooker, place all ingredients except beans in the slow cooker. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. 30 minutes before it’s ready, add in beans, cover and cook for 30 more minutes. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker, shred with a fork on a plate and transfer shredded chicken back to the slow cooker. Mix together and serve.
To make this recipe in an Instant Pot, turn on the Sauté function and follow instructions 1-3, except don’t bring to a boil. Instead, put the lid on, seal the pressure valve and cook under high pressure for 25 minutes. Do a quick pressure release, set to the Keep Warm function, discard the bay leaf and transfer the chicken to a plate and shred. Add shredded chicken back into the pot along with beans. Turn on Sauté function and bring to a boil. Turn Instant Pot off and stir in chopped cilantro and lime juice. Serve.

Variations

Mix up the beans! Instead of great northern beans, try cannellini or even black or pinto beans.
If you have leftover turkey breast from Thanksgiving, use that instead of chicken! Just follow the 30 minute version of this recipe.
To reduce a bit of the heat in this dish, remove the seeds and veins from the poblano peppers and use mild diced green chiles instead of medium or hot.

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What To Pair With This Easy Green Chicken Chili

Homemade Tortilla Chips
a Mexican Bolillo Bread Roll
these Homemade Lime Tortilla Chips
some Easy Jalapeno Cornbread

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4.58 from 49 votes

Easy Green Chicken Chili

servings: 8 servings

Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
▢ 1 large yellow onion, diced
▢ 2 poblano peppers, diced (seeds removed if desired)
▢ 2 4-ounce cans diced green chiles (mild or medium)
▢ 3 teaspoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
▢ 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
▢ 4 cups chicken broth
▢ 2 cups homemade salsa verde (or your favorite store-bought salsa verde)
▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
▢ 1 bay leaf
▢ 2 14-ounce cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
▢ 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
▢ 4 tablespoons lime juice (about 2 limes)
▢ for serving: chopped cilantro, lime wedges, tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream, sliced radishes, diced avocados

Instructions

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions, poblanos and diced green chiles. Saute for 10 minutes, until onions and poblanos have softened.
Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
Add chicken breasts, chicken broth, salsa verde, salt, cumin, oregano and a bay leaf. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
Uncover and discard bay leaf. Remove chicken from pot with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. Shred chicken with a fork and knife. (Leave the soup uncovered simmering on the stove while you shred the chicken.)
Add shredded chicken and beans to the pot. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.
Stir in chopped cilantro, lime juice and serve with optional toppings, if desired.

Notes

To make in under 30 minutes, substitute the chicken breasts for leftover cooked shredded chicken or store-bought shredded rotisserie chicken. Simply saute the onions, poblanos and garlic according to the recipe and then add in all the other remaining ingredients, except the beans. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes, add in the beans and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in chopped cilantro and lime juice, and serve.

To make in the slow cooker, place all ingredients except beans in the slow cooker. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. 30 minutes before it’s ready, add in beans, cover and cook for 30 more minutes. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker, shred with a fork on a plate and transfer shredded chicken back to the slow cooker. Mix together and serve.

To make this recipe in an Instant Pot, turn on the Sauté function and follow instructions 1-3, except don’t bring to a boil. Instead, put the lid on, seal the pressure valve and cook under high pressure for 25 minutes. Do a quick pressure release, set to the Keep Warm function, discard the bay leaf and transfer the chicken to a plate and shred. Add shredded chicken back into the pot along with beans. Turn on Sauté function and bring to a boil. Turn Instant Pot off and stir in chopped cilantro and lime juice. Serve.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 277kcal (14%), Carbohydrates: 24g (8%), Protein: 31g (62%), Fat: 7g (11%), Saturated Fat: 1g (5%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 55mg (18%), Sodium: 1443mg (60%), Potassium: 694mg (20%), Fiber: 7g (28%), Sugar: 4g (4%), Vitamin A: 1250IU (25%), Vitamin C: 16mg (19%), Calcium: 150mg (15%), Iron: 3.5mg (19%)

Author: Isabel Orozco-Moore

Category: Mexican

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