Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili
A hot bowl of creamy Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili is perfect for dinner on a cool autumn evening! It’s got a great kick and is so comforting!
White chicken chili is satisfying and a fantastic alternative to a traditional chili recipe! And this Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili is the perfect comfort food! This warm, rich, easy-to-make recipe combines white chili ingredients (chicken, beans, onion, and Rotel) with jalapeño popper ingredients (peppers, cream cheese, cheddar, and bacon). The result is a big bowl of YUM!
The Best White Chili Recipe Ever
Seriously, this recipe for Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili is fantastic. It takes a basic white chili and ups the ante!
The best part about this delicious chili is, well, everything! It’s super easy to make on the stove (or the crock pot / slow cooker), it is low-carb and keto-friendly, it combines the best of both white chili and jalapeño poppers into a soup you will CRAVE, and the leftovers are even better on day two and three!
Other Recipes to Serve with Chili
I absolutely love Sweet Honey Cornbread with all kinds of chili. It’s light and fluffy, and the gently sweet flavor nicely contrasts the gently spicy chili!
- Honey Jalapeno Cornbread Drop Biscuits are also fantastic with soups and chilis. They are quick and easy to make.
- If you like a little crispier side dish, try these Corn Fritters. Savory, pancake-style cornbread that goes with almost anything!
Stock: Chicken broth is the soup base for white chicken chili, but because this chili is this, the recipe only needs 12 ounces of broth.
Protein: Jalapeno popper chili is loaded with protein! Four chicken breasts (or 4 cups of pulled rotisserie chicken meat), a large can of cannelloni or navy beans, and a pound of crispy bacon (pork or turkey).
Veggies: The unique combination of vegetables gives this chili its amazing flavor! Start with a small onion, a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles (Rotel), a can of corn (drained), and five diced and seeded jalapeño peppers.
Dairy: Cream cheese and cheddar cheese are the creamy ingredients that set this dish apart from other chili recipes!
Seasoning: To finish off this cheesy chicken chili, add in 3 cloves of minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of chili powder, a tsp each of cumin and oregano, a pinch of crushed red pepper, and salt & pepper to taste. AHHHHMAZING!
How to Make Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili
STEP ONE: In your big soup pot, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium and sauté the onion, peppers, and garlic until soft and tender.
STEP TWO: Season the cooked, diced chicken with salt and pepper. Add the pieces to the pan along with another tbsp of olive oil. Sprinkle in the cumin, chili powder, oregano and red pepper flakes. Toss all the ingredients together, lightly browning the chicken all over.
STEP THREE: Stir in the Rotel, chicken broth, drained corn, and beans. Increase the heat and bring the ingredients to a boil for 30 minutes. Stir in the cream cheese until completely blended.
STEP FOUR: Add 1/2 pound of crumbled bacon. Remove from the stove. Season with additional salt & pepper, if needed. Serve with a cheddar cheese and bacon garnish on top of each bowl.
Tips for Success
- Yep! A rotisserie chicken works great for this white chili recipe!
- If the finished chili is too thick, add chicken broth – a quarter cup at a time – until the consistency is just right.
- Turkey bacon can be substituted for pork if preferred.
- If you don’t have fresh jalapeños, use a can of chopped jalapeños or diced green chilis instead.
Can I Make Jalapeno Popper Chili in the Crockpot?
You can easily make this jalapeño popper white chili in the crock pot / slow cooker. Cut back slightly on the liquid and spice when using a slow cooker. For this recipe, reduce the chicken broth to 1 ¼ cups, use four jalapeños instead of 5, and 1 ½ tsp of chili powder instead of 2. Add the cream cheese and cheddar until the last half hour of cooking. Your slow-cooker white chicken chili should turn out perfectly!
What are Jalapeño Poppers?
Poppers are jalapeño pepper halves stuffed with cheddar and cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, and baked until crispy. The result is a sweet, spicy, salty, creamy, wonderful bite!
Other Fun, Fantastic Jalapeño Popper Dishes:
- Jalapeño Popper Burgers
- Bacon Jalapeño Popper Quiche
- Ultimate Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
- Chicken Jalapeño Popper Pinwheels
- Jalapeño Popper Dip
- Jalapeño Popper Stuffed Chicken
- Baked Jalapeño Popper Chicken Sliders
- Jalapeño Popper Hot Dogs
*This post was originally posted on 09/24/2013.
Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion peeled and diced
- 5 jalapenos seeded and diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 10 ounces Rotel
- 1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 14 ounces canned cannellini beans (or navy beans) drained
- 15.25 ounces canned whole kernel corn drained
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 pound bacon cooked crispy and crumbled, divided
- Cheddar cheese shredded, for garnish
- Jalapeno slices for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the onion, jalapeno, and garlic for about 5 minutes until tender. Stirring frequently.
- Season the chicken pieces all over with salt and pepper. Then add the chicken to the pot along with the other tablespoon of olive oil, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and crushed red pepper.
- Toss chicken and seasonings together and lightly brown chicken on all sides.
- Stir in the can of Rotel, chicken broth, corn, and cannellini beans. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a low boil. Let the chili boil for 30 minutes.
- Add the cream cheese and stir until completely melted. Stir in 1/2 of the crumbled bacon. Remove from the heat. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and top with cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, and a couple of jalapeno slices for garnish. Serve warm.
Notes
- If you want to make the soup spicier, leave in some or all of the jalapeno seeds.
- If the chili is too thick after cooking, add some more chicken broth to thin it out to your liking.
