My Love Affair With Chicken Chili

Hey guys! About 6 years ago, I went into Panera Bread and fell in love with an item on their menu - White Chicken Chili. I had never heard of such a thing, and when I tasted all those spices, mingled with the chilis and the savory chicken, I knew I was hooked. Several weeks later I went back, planning to order the largest bowl of chili available, and it was gone! And I don't mean the "this isn't the right day of the week" gone, I mean they don't make it anymore gone! So of course I had a mission; my mission, which I chose to accept, was to make my own chicken chili, and to make it just as good as the one I had at Panera. While I'm not sure that everyone would agree that my recipe is equally as good, my husband and I love this version, and I've decided to share it with you, too! Let me know what you think if you try this one out.

Ingredients:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts OR 1 small, whole chicken (3-5 lbs)
1 large yellow onion
1 whole jalapeno (or more, if you like it spicy!)
5 cloves of garlic
2 cans of great northern beans
1 can of chopped green chilis
Chicken base
3 tbsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp white pepper
Kosher salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste

*Note: The measurements for this recipe are not concrete! If you like lots of beans, feel free to add another can. If you're really into green chilis, add another can. You can add more or less spice, depending on what you can tolerate. Honestly, I add tons of cumin!

Alright, let's get started. For this demo, I'm using a crockpot, but you can feel free to do this in a large soup pot on the stove. I like the crock option because I can add my meat still frozen, which makes things easier when I'm having a busy day ;). 

1) Layer your chicken breast into the bottom of the crock, either frozen or thawed, and put your spices directly on top of the meat. As I mentioned before, you can also use a whole chicken, but that does better on the stove (and without the beans and peppers until the meat is off the bone).

These are the stars of your show, believe it or not! That delicious, smoky flavor that makes white chili so unique comes from the cumin. You can really add as much cumin as you like; if you give it a taste and feel it's not smoky enough, add cumin until the flavor is right for you. I wouldn't recommend going too crazy with the white pepper or cayenne (speaking from experience, which was less than wonderful). If you need a little more kick, I would recommend upping the cayenne vs. the white pepper, or just using more jalapeno.

2) Chop your onion and garlic, and place that on top of the chicken. Chop your jalapenos and add those, and then open a can of chilis and dump those right in, too.

 I use chopped and peeled chilis, but you can really use any type of green chili that appeals to you. Some people like bigger pieces, so make this part your own!

  

 I also take this opportunity to use up some of our older jalapenos from the garden. Since these are going to soften up in the soup anyway, it's a great platform to utilize these. Jalapenos tend to get hotter the more they ripen (as you can tell, these red guys are VERY ripe), and I find that these really add a lot of great flavor to my soup. If you want it really hot, keep the ribs in when you chop!

3) Next I like to add one of my FAVORITE cooking ingredients, soup base! I take a large table spoon (I'm talkin' heaping, here) and kind of spread this around on top of my chicken, spices, and veggies.

 This is my absolute favorite brand of soup base, especially because it comes with an organic option. This base isn't powdered like some of the other brands, it actually looks more like a gel. It is absolutely delicious for tons and tons of things, and if you follow my future recipes, you'll see it a lot.

4) At this point I drain and rinse my beans, and add those on top of everything else. Then I add just enough water to completely cover everything in the pot/crock. Your end result should look like this:

Set your crock on the 6 hour setting (or high, if you just have high and low). Throw a lid on it and come back in a few hours!

5) It's been 4 hours! Wasn't that fast? You come into the kitchen, and the smell of delicious soup is overwhelming. Ahhh.. isn't that just the best? Your next step is a simple one: grab a cutting board, and pull your chicken breasts out of the soup, onto the board. If you're using a whole chicken, you should only have broth in with the chicken at this point (well, onions and garlic, too). You can take the chicken off the bone, strain the broth, and add it all back into the crock, along with more onion, garlic, and the beans and peppers that you reserved earlier. I used chicken breasts, so I simply use this time to shred my chicken on the board.

 Because the chicken is hot, I usually use two forks to pull it apart. Once your chicken looks like this (whether off the bone or shredded chicken breasts), you can add it back to the crock. Give it a stir to fully incorporate the chicken back into the soup.

 You should have something like this in your crock now, and it will smell heavenly. Throw the lid back on, and cook for the remaining 2 hours, stirring occasionally. If your soup isn't thick enough, you can mix 1 tbsp of cornstarch with equal parts water, and add that into the soup. Repeat until desired consistency is achieved.

6) Are you ready? Because it's soup time! I like to make an accompanying loaf of crusty bread to go along with my soup, or you can always pick one up at the store. Garnish your soup with cheese, sour cream, green onions.. the options are endless. If you're like me, just a slice of buttered bread will work!

 

I often make Tastefully Simple's Bountiful Beer Bread to go with this soup, because it's just a little bit sweet, and it's got a great crust (also, the only additional ingredient you need is one bottle of beer, so it's really easy). You can also just grab a pre-made loaf from the store, or one of the refrigerated doughs that you can bake off at home.


Enjoy!