This Green Chicken Chili is a quick, comforting fall meal that's ready in under 30 minutes and packed with flavor. A bean-free chili made with green chiles, corn, hominy, and rotisserie chicken, it's an easy dinner the whole family will love.
This Green Chicken Chili has been one of the most popular recipes on the blog for years, and it's hands-down the most-cooked recipe in our own house. It may seem simple and relies mostly on pantry staples, but it's incredibly comforting and packed with flavor. It's the kind of meal you crave on busy fall and winter nights when you still want something satisfying on the table.
Using rotisserie chicken keeps things quick and easy, which is why this chili makes a regular appearance in our weekly dinner rotation. We love to load our bowls with shredded cheese, avocado, and crunchy tortilla chips, and it's always a hit with the whole family. It's also our go-to for our annual Halloween party since it's easy to double or even triple to feed a crowd, and it freezes beautifully for future meals. Add this one to your lineup and I promise it's a recipe you'll come back to again and again.
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Recipe Updates
For those of you who have been cooking the green chicken chili for a while you may notice some changes to this blog post.
Most of them are just photo related. (I think we can all agree this post needed a bit of a glow up.) However, I did make some adjustments to the recipe. So for those who liked it exactly as written previously here's what has changed:
- I decreased the broth from 6 cups to 4 cups based on user recommendations. You could even reduce it to 4 cups for a much thicker chili. I personally will continue to add closer to 8 cups (I like the broth), but the amount is entirely up to you.
- I reduced the amount of cayenne from ½ teaspoon to ⅛ tsp. We typically use only ⅛th of a teaspoon when serving for our family to keep things more mild for the kids. Feel free to omit entirely or increase depending on how spicy you like it.
More Soup, Stew and Chili Recipes you will love.
Equipment
- Cutting board and knife
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Dutch oven or large pot: I love my Le Creuset Dutch oven and use it more than any other kitchen item!
Ingredients
- Rotisserie Chicken: I love using rotisserie chicken in this recipe (and many others) because it saves so much time and gives you so much more flavor than chicken breasts. However, if you do not have a rotisserie chicken on hand you can absolutely replace it with 2-3 cups of shredded chicken breasts.
- Olive Oil: You can also use avocado oil or another preferred cooking oil.
- Onion: I typically use yellow onion for this recipe but white or red will work as well.
- Garlic Cloves
- Spices: This recipes calls for a combination of Cumin, Cayenne, Chili Powder, Dried Oregano, and Garlic Powder and has a decent kick of heat. However, if you prefer a milder chili simply omit the cayenne.
- Corn: This recipe calls for a can of corn, drained. You can also use frozen corn.
- Hominy: To those unfamiliar with this ingredient it may appear as very large, white corn. But hominy is actually a product made by dried maize kernels with alkali. You can find it at most grocery stores and on Amazon. In this recipe it's used as a nutritious and delicious alternative to beans (which I'm just not a huge fan of). But, if you can't find (or don't like) hominy you can replace it with a can of drained northern beans.
- Diced Green Chiles: I like using diced Hatch Green Chiles, which you can find online and in most grocery stores. BE SURE TO CHECK HEAT LEVEL. Brands usually list on the cans of the chiles are mild of hot so be sure to pick your preference.
- Chicken Broth
- Sour Cream: As with any dairy products I always recommend using full fat for the best flavor and consistency.
- Fresh Cilantro:
- Fresh Limes: You will need the juice of 2 limes to add at the end of the cooking process. You can also serve with a wedge of lime for those who like an extra kick of acid.
Tips for making Green Chicken Chili.
Prep the ingredients before you start cooking.
This recipe comes together quickly and it's hugely beneficial to prep all of your ingredients before you start cooking. Shred the chicken, chop the onion, crush the garlic, chop the cilantro, drain the corn and hominy and measure and and combine the spices.
I promise it will help make the cooking process more smooth and enjoyable!
Frequently Asked Questions
This chili is not painfully spicy but it does have a nice kick. If you like things a little more mild, feel free to cut back on the green chiles and cayenne. And if you are a glutton for punishment you can always add more cayenne or even a few chopped jalapenos.
Yes, in fact making it a day ahead of time can actually make it better as gives the flavors a chance to meld together.
This is a great recipe for meal prep and I often make a batch on Sunday to have throughout the week.
Yes you can. For the best results make the chili as instructed but leave out the sour cream. Then cool and freeze for 3-4 months. To serve, allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight and then pour into a pot, mixing in the cup of sour cream once it's been heated through.
You can also leave out the fresh cilantro and lime and add those in just before serving if you prefer.
Yes, this recipe is naturally gluten free. Just be sure to double check your canned food labels to make sure that nothing has been added in during processing (it shouldn't but it's always safer to double check).
Yep. Simply substitute the sour cream for a dairy free alternative or leave it out altogether.
Serving Suggestions
This chili is fantastic plain but I love topping it with crushed tortilla chips, avocado, green onions and cheese. You can also add freshly chopped jalapenos for an extra kick of heat!
More recipes for you to enjoy.
Chicken Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Chili Lime Salmon with Mexican Spiced Sweet Potatoes
Made this Green Chicken Chili recipe? Let me know what you think in the comments!
Recipe
Green Chicken Chili
Equipment
- Cutting board and knife
- Dutch oven or large pot
- Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded about 2 cups
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne (Omit for a more mild chili)
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 oz diced green chiles You'll need 2 four oz cans.
- 2 cups canned hominy, drained I prefer white hominy, but yellow would work fine.
- 15 oz can of corn, drained
- 4-6 cups chicken broth The original recipe calls for 6 cups of broth but I reduced it based on user feedback. Feel free to increase it back to 6 cups if desired.
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 small limes, juiced
- salt & pepper to taste
For serving (optional)
- crushed tortilla chips
- chopped green onions
- shredded cheese
- sliced avocado
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large heavy pot with a lid over medium-high heat until shimmering.
- Add chopped onions and sautee over medium/medium-high heat for about 4 minutes until softened.
- Add in crushed garlic, cayenne, cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder and salt. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Then add in diced green chilis and cook for another minute or so.
- Add in hominy, corn and shredded chicken and cook for 1 minute until combined and heated through.
- Stream in 4-6 cups of chicken broth bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat to low, cover and continue to simmer on low for around 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in sour cream and cilantro.
- Squeeze in the juice of 2 limes and taste for seasoning. Add additional salt & pepper if necessary.
- Serve hot with crushed tortilla chips, green onions, avocados, shredded cheese and/or a dollop of sour cream if desired. Enjoy!
Jean
Agree its really comforting! I like that it gives an extra kick.
Kayla DiMaggio
I love this green chili chicken! It is so bold and full of flavor! Absolutely delicious!
SHANA
Delightful, although it was a lot more liquid than I expected.
Sloan
One of my favorite fall recipes!
Daniel
this is one soup that just got add too my family's list of to go to soups 10 out of 10. we even added hot peppers for more heat.
jamjarkitchen
So glad y’all liked it!
Gerre Gannaway
This is an excellent recipe. The addition of lime juice helps a lot. I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars, because I didn't have any green chickens lying around. Maybe the name should be changed to Green Chile Chicken Chili?
Chris
Gerre, you should change your name to Karen. What an idiotic response.
Courtney
Can I just throw all the ingredients in the crockpot and make this with uncooked chicken?
Ellen Trotochaud
I had the same question.
jamjarkitchen
I think that would work fine but I can’t confirm as I haven’t tried it myself. If you do so I would still recommend leaving out the lime juice, cilantro and sour cream and mixing those in right before serving. Let me know if you try it
Booblie
Thank you for specifying serving size as 2 cups! I wish everyone would do that for calorie counters!! And personally, I like the name Green Chicken Chili. I have a jar of salsa verde that's just begging to get put in this soup.
Kiran
We’ve had this twice now, and both times, YUM! Fool proof. Can’t put my finger on what makes it so yummy. But it is!
jamjarkitchen
Yay! So glad y’all like it 🙂
Frank
Wow, you are seriously going to remove a star because you can't understand the name of the recipe?
And yes, this is an excellent recipe.
Elaine Hogan
It was yummy - made it for a small luncheon and everyone commented how good it was. (I followed instructions but after juicing the limes, i forgot to add the juice as i was rushing. It really was easy to make - the instructions were clear. Some people ate it as soup and others used it with beans and cheese to make a burrito with flour tortillas. I will definitely use it again.
Rachel
Really quick and easy! Very tasty I’m just wondering if this would freeze well since dairy was added to it?
jamjarkitchen
In my experience if you add the sour cream before freezing it does separate a bit and the texture can become a tad grainy. However the flavor is still good! If you want to make this for freezing I recommend leaving the sour cream out and then adding it in right before serving. Hope this helps!
Carly
More of a green chile chicken soup. This is fantastic, i had to go for seconds. I liked mine with sour cream. This was a hit with our family.
Brenda Boucher
Delicious! My new go-to chicken chili recipe.
Sandy Hughes
I love this recipe so much. I made it 2 weeks ago and I’m it tonight. When I make Mexican soup I cut up corn tortillas. And put them in it. . They melt into it. I also add a Corona beer.
Greg
So freaking good. Used white kidney beans instead of hominy since I had them. Otherwise followed recipe to a tee!! Incredibly tasty!
Julie Baker
I made this for someone's birthday at work and doubled the recipe. I thought I would have a TON of leftovers and the entire pot of soup was GONE! Everyone loved it. I made the recipe as per the instructions (although I didn't use as much broth as the recipe called for - since I wanted a thicker soup) and didn't have to make any adjustments. It was DECLICIOUS! I wish I had some leftovers for myself -- ha ha!
Sue Pautler
Quick and easy and so delicious.
Lauren
My husband LOVED IT! I did add a few things.
I browned Deer meat with beef bouillon to cut the gamey taste. I set it aside till it was time to add the chicken. Once I added the meat I followed the recipe as instructed and it was perfect! Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
Ellen Trotochaud
If you want more of a chili vs soup consistency, would you just use less chicken broth? Maybe 4 cups instead of 6?
jamjarkitchen
Yes, you can absolutely do that. I tend to like it a little more liquidy but definitely feel free to reduce the broth by a couple cups for a thicker chili.
Barbara Williams
My husband loved it & so did I… I put one can of green. chilies & 1 cup Salsa Verde. I did not have sour cream so I added Cream of Chicken Soup. … also added a little corn
jamjarkitchen
So glad y'all enjoyed it!
Kim
I have not tried this recipe. It looks good. It has too many ingredients. I am a good cook. I don't need to read tons of description. I expect the jump to recipe button to work the first time. I don't need to read a dissertation on how to make soup.
jamjarkitchen
Thanks for your thoughts Kim.
Joan
Please discard previous comments.
This is really good! Tasty and easy with a little heat but a lot of flavor. I’m not a fan of cilantro so used very little. I can’t stand hominy so subbed black beans. I’m keen to try more options. Thanks.
Katie
Made this but took out the hominy and didn’t add a substitute. Saw other comments saying they added beans. I will try that next time. But overall delicious. Used my homemade green chile and it leveled up the dish so nicely. Husband raves about it. (Ps my husband hates sour cream and I added it anyway. Couldn’t even tell)
jamjarkitchen
Hi Katie - So glad y'all enjoyed it!
Paull
Tried.first time….good.
2nd time added 2-3 ( just guessed) mild Hatch green chile powder and it is the bomb!!
Now it’s my go to chili recipe ????
Paul W
Tried it …it was good, it was quick, but I thought it needed more depth…the next time I added about 3 tbs of Hatch mild green chili powder…..
IT WAS THE BOMB!!!!!!!
Gia
This recipe turned out SO good. I never take the time to leave comments on recipes I like, but this one was truly spectacular! So quick and easy too.
jamjarkitchen
So glad you liked it! It's one of our favorites too. I'll actually be making it for our Halloween trick or treat party this week. 🙂
laura
Delicious so far! I substituted white beans and delicata squash (the latter roasted and will be added at the last minute) for corn and hominy. Very nice recipe.
jamjarkitchen
Hi Laura - So glad you enjoyed the recipe!