This poblano chicken chili is packed with veggies, kidney beans, and tender chicken. It has a rich smoky flavor thanks to some bacon and everything simmers together with some Mexican-style beer and chicken stock. Make it up to a day in advance and just warm it up when you’re ready to serve it.
Poblano Chicken Chili
As it’s been for the last few years, around this time of year I share a chili recipe. It’s what my mom did for us kids growing up and we could always count on a big bowl of chili on Christmas Eve before we went to church. She’s always made the same kind of chili – hearty ground beef with beans – but I’ve taken the tradition a little further and like to switch things up and this year it’s a poblano chicken chili made with some Mexican-style beer, red kidney beans, and fresh cilantro.
I like to share these chili recipes a few days before the big holiday in case you might be wondering what you might like the night before Christmas. This is a good choice – it’s warming and not overly complicated although while it does take a little time, most of it is spent watching the chili simmer on the stove. Aside from some prep work it’s a pretty low maintenance dinner and can be made in advance. In fact, giving it some time in the refrigerator only makes it taste better giving all the ingredients time to mix and marry together.
Some Ingredients You’ll Need
- Bacon gives the chili a smoky rich flavor
- Normally, I would insist that you roast a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast in the oven because boneless, skinless chicken breasts can be a little bland. But – good news! – we’re using one of those boneless skinless ones because when you cook it in bacon fat you get all the flavor you need.
- Poblano pepper, red bell pepper, red onion, some jalapeno, and garlic.
- Ground cumin
- Some Mexican-style beer like Corona, Pacifico or Tecate
- Red kidney beans
- And some fresh cilantro and lime juice
More Chili Recipes
PrintPoblano Chicken Chili
This cozy chili can be made a day in advance – just warm it up slowly on the stovetop when you’re ready to serve it. It’s packed full of veggies, beans, and chicken – perfect for a cold night.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 4 slices of bacon, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, seasoned with salt on both sides
- 1 cup diced red onion
- 4 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 cup diced poblano pepper
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1 jalapeno, diced
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 8 oz Mexican-style beer
- 32 oz chicken stock
- 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- Juice of 1 lime
Instructions
- In a large pot, cook the bacon over medium-low heat until it starts to release its fat, about five minutes or so. Push the bacon away from the middle of the pot and adjust the heat to medium. Add the chicken and cook it until its browned on both sides and cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
- Add the onion, garlic, poblano pepper, red bell pepper, and jalapeno to the pan. Cook the vegetables, stirring frequently, until they’ve released their moisture, about ten minutes. Pour the beer in the pot and stir, scraping up the browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the chicken stock and bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to maintain a strong simmer. Shred the chicken, add it to the pot and simmer for thirty minutes.
- Once the chili has simmered for thirty minutes add the kidney beans. Stir and bring the pot back to a simmer and let it all cook together for another fifteen to twenty minutes. Add the cilantro and lime juice and serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 494
- Sugar: 12.6g
- Sodium: 1320.2mg
- Fat: 18.1g
- Saturated Fat: 5.4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10.4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38.5g
- Fiber: 6.9g
- Protein: 42.7g
- Cholesterol: 108mg
Keywords: poblano chicken chili
suzi says
This sounds warm and wonderful now that winter has arrived. I love the flavor of poblano peppers, so this is a must try!