White Bean & Chicken Salsa Verde Chili

 
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I've made a lot of chilis in my life, especially in my life in Chicago. What I love about chili is that it can be a little different each time, depending on the flavor you want, what you have on hand, and the texture you're looking for.

I love a chunky chili, regardless of the aforementioned other elements, so I knew that I wanted this white bean salsa verde style chili to be chock full of goodness. I happened to have some zucchinis & onions on hand so I knew those would be part of it, of course, white beans would be added and then the fresh corn off the cob was just because I saw it at the store and thought the sweetness would be nice (it was!). I wasn't following any sort of real recipe or plan but it turned out really well and would highly recommend, plus it didn't use a ton of spices which made it really easy to toss together. 

FYI this yielded two 4 large dinner portions plus a little extra for a leftover lunch!

What I Used:

  • 2 small onions diced
  • 2 small zucchinis diced
  • 4 small ears of fresh corn off the cob
  • 2 cans of white beans, rinsed
  • 2-3 shredded chicken breasts
  • 1 jar of salsa verde
  • 2tsp cumin
  • 1tsp chili powder 
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • Salt  & pepper to taste

How To:

  1. First I used my slow cooker to make the shredded chicken but simply placing 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts in water on high for 3 hours then shredding and placing aside.
  2. Then I used the browning function on my slow cooker to very lightly sauteed (not actually brown) the onions, zucchini, and corn until lightly aromatic with a bit of salt & pepper.
  3. Next, I added the white beans, the cumin & chili powder, and the salsa verde, again allowing the combination of flavors to meld with a stir over the heat.
  4. Finally, I added in the chicken stock, put the lid on the slow cooker at set it to high for 3 hours.
  5. Just before serving I added in the chicken and allowed it to heat through, then I gave it a taste test and added salt & pepper as needed.

***If you wanted to really keep it simple you could just toss everything at once into the slow cooker and let it go on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. You could also make this really similarly on the stovetop in a large pot allowing it to simmer for a few hours.

PS for a more traditional chili click HERE, and to shop my favorite slow cooker head HERE.