Pulled Chicken Chili

Ben and I were going to make dinner last night, but those plans got derailed due to a need to return some Christmas gifts. (Ben ended up with great stuff he would have never bought himself...so it was a very successful return.) So tonight I decided that we'd make something, invent a recipe based off of a few others and have a delicious dinner.


This pulled chicken chili is based off of a Chipotle-Black Bean Chili from Cooking Light. I knew that Ben would need some meat in this meal, beans and tomatoes may hold me over, but Ben would be hungry in 10 minutes. So I wanted to add chicken. I love that pulled chicken texture (in my Mom's chicken soup she chunks the chicken in to hearty pulled mouthfuls) and this was what I thought would put this Chili over the top, make it that extra something special. Mouthfuls of chili soaked chicken, juicy and yummy.



Pulled Chicken Chili

1/2 tsp olive oil
2/3 cup diced onions
1 diced bell pepper*
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
Cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 chicken breasts, boneless skinless
3 tbs chipotle salsa
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, with the liquid
1/2 cup chicken broth OR water
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
1 4.5 oz can diced green chilies, drained
Cilantro, to taste

*We used a yellow bell pepper, any color you prefer will work.


In a medium sized pot, heat the oil and add in the diced onion. Let cook until translucent. Add the bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, salsa, and tomatoes. Bring this mixture to a boil (if you want your chili extra spicy like I do add the cayenne pepper in with the other spices.)

Meanwhile, salt and pepper the chicken breasts. Place the chicken in the pot with the tomato mixture and let simmer for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. The liquid in the pot should cover the chicken. If it does not, you then need to add the chicken broth or water. This is so that the chicken cooks evenly in the liquid. The amount will depend on what size pot you use and how thick your chicken breasts are. We used about 1/2 a cup. Let simmer uncovered.


Remove the chicken from the pot and shred with two forks. Add the beans, green chiles and the chicken back in. Bring back up to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes. Right before serving, toss in a bit of chopped cilantro. Stir to combine and then ladle into bowls.

You can serve the chili on top of some white rice or sprinkle some cheddar cheese on top. Plain's good too!


Ben and I both went back for seconds. This is a must make. So good!

White Chicken Chili

"Wanna make dinner tonight?" I asked Ben over AIM this afternoon. His answer was "Yes!" Which surprised me because I thought he'd be to tired and hurting too much after spraining his ankle at basketball last night. But to my astonishment he wanted to, and there started the back and forth...fish? chicken? chili? Chili! Such a good idea. I browsed my usual favorite blog sites and also food network and sent Ben some of the best of the best looking recipes. We settled on this one. I originally found it here, but want to give the original blogger its due.


We made a few slight changes one because I don't eat garlic. I know, i know everyone loves garlic but I, I hate it. So when Ben and I make dinner together theres no garlic in anything. As you can tell I will make Ben food with garlic in it, but I will not eat it myself. So we had to omit and we added a few things to compensate. It turned out really great. I've never had a white chili before, this was a really nice alternative to regular chili. Its not weighted down with all the heavy meats and oils and tomatoes as regular chili's are. So try it but don't expect it to be normal, but do expect greatness.

White Chili

1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions
2 jalapeño peppers
1/4 inch minced ginger root
1 lb chicken breast
5-6 white mushrooms
1 tablespoon flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 15 oz cans white beans
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 small tomato
3 green onions
jalapeño hot sauce

In a large sauce pan over medium heat pour in oil and bring up to temperature add chopped onions and chopped jalapeño pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add ginger and cook until fragrant, another minute. Add chicken and sliced mushrooms. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to cook chicken on all sides.


Sprinkle in flour and stir to coat (this is the thickening agent to help the broth get to that chili consistency rather than soup.) Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add broth, beans, cilantro, bay leaf, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through will be about 15 minutes.

Discard bay leaf and then spoon chili into bowls and garnish with tomato, green onion and a few shakes of hot sauce.


We really liked this chili, we especially liked adding in the extra jalapeño and hot sauce. It really made the spiciness and the flavors of the other spices come through. The chicken was so tender after simmering in the liquid for a while. I would defiantly recommend trying this recipe.


Yummy, spicy, healthy...is there anything better? I'd give it 5 out of 5 stars. :) Enjoy!