I’ve had this Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili on my list to make for several weeks now, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to try it. I saw it over at Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice and new I needed to try it…mostly for my husband’s sake. I just adapted it every so slightly, according to what I had on hand. I’m not crazy about jalapeno poppers and I’m kind of a wimp when it comes to spicy things, but I knew Brett would love it. My in-laws were in town over the weekend so I decided it would be the perfect meal to make for them, because my father-in-law loves spicy foods just as much as Brett does.
Brett almost always sends me a text at the end of the day asking what’s for dinner. He might have squealed a little when I text the words Jalapeño.Popper.Chicken.Chili. His response was something like “holy crap are you kidding me?” Which was I’m sure accompanied by a squeal (while sitting at his desk at work). I just know it. He loves spicy, jalapeno anything about as much as I love chocolate, peanut butter anything. Definitely squeal-worthy.
I kept some of the jalapeño seeds and added a pinch of crushed red pepper to the chili, just for the men. I was worried it would make it too spicy for Brett’s mom and I and we’d have to suffer through it or bail and go grab a sandwich. It definitely had some heat, but surprisingly, we both wanted more. And we were all a little sad to see the bottom of the soup pot get scooped clean.
It has the kind of heat and good, rich flavor that keeps you coming back for more, even when your mouth is slightly on fire. I even saw a tear coming from my father-in-law eyes. Ahem, excuse me, he called it “a little bit of awesome,” not a tear. I think that means it was pretty darn good in his book.
Might I mention this chili has an entire brick of cream cheese in it? It does! And it makes it so creamy and delicious. But consider yourselves warned ladies. It is not kind on the thighs. But an occasional meal with an entire brick of cream cheese in it is totally okay, right? (Please tell me I’m right–I had two bowls!)
If you’re looking for an awesome chili that will literally warm you up on a cold, winter night. This. is. it!
Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili
2013-03-12 10:11:51
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Ingredients
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
5 jalapeno peppers diced, seeds removed (leave some seeds for extra heat)
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 + 1/4 pound boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 teaspoons chile powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 (10 oz) can dice tomatoes with green chiles
1 + 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 (14 oz) can cannelloni or navy beans, drained
1 (14 oz) can corn, drained
8 ounces cream cheese
1 pound bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled, divided
Instructions
In a large saucepan (deep enough for soup) heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium heat and sauté onion, jalepeno, and garlic until tender.
Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then add to the saucepan adding another tablespoon of olive oil as well. Add cumin, chili powder, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Toss chicken and seasonings together and lightly brown chicken on all sides.
Stir in can of diced tomatoes, chicken broth, corn, and cannelloni beans and increase heat to bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes.
Stir in cream cheese and stir until completely melted. Stir in 1/2 of the crumbled bacon. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper as needed. **Add more chicken broth if too thick.
Serve and garnish with cheddar cheese and the rest of the crumbled bacon.
Adapted from Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice (just ever so slightly)
Sweet Treats & More http://sweettreatsmore.com/
Okay, this looks fabulous. My family is coming in town for Christmas and I must make this for them. We’re all originally from Texas so we like our food spicy!
Thanks Becky!!
this sounds amazing!! i can’t wait to give it a try!
My husband and I are the same way! He loves lots of spice. . .me, I like a little,
He’ll love this!
I am going to try this on Sunday, yummy!!!
This seriously looks so incredible! I wish I had a bowl right now at midnight =). Pinning to try, thanks!
We are going to have this tomorrow night:) Do you think it would work well in the crock pot?
I hope everyone likes it!! I think you could do it in the crock pot, but you’d still want to saute the onion, and garlic. Then just toss everything in the crock pot!
We loved it! My husband doesn’t like chili/soup but he went back for seconds and that’s a big deal:) I left out the bacon because I’m on weight watchers and I wanted it to be less points, but the flavor was still so great!
How many does this recipe feed?
serves 4-5 people:) I’ll add it to the recipe.
It listed corn as an ingredient but I don’t see when you add it in the recipe,
It listed corn as an ingredient but I don’t see in the recipe when you add it.
Ah, sorry! Just added it in the instructions. You add the corn when you stir in the tomatoes and beans.
Oh my gosh….this was excellent!!! Thanks for sharing
Yum! I added garnish of cilantro and avocado….so good. Thank you:)
Made this (for a second time:), but this time I made it in my crockpot. I think I prefer to just do it in on the stove because it wasn’t as thick in the crockpot (but it still tastes wonderful!). I know that is a personal preference but I just thought I would share! Also, I was making it for our Sunday school class, and after the first batch I was worried I wouldn’t have enough, so I bought stuff to make a second batch. I ended up buying two 10oz cans of chicken, drained it, and used that instead of fresh and it turned out really well! (I was feeling lazy)
Casey
Great idea! I’ll have to use canned chicken when I’m in a time crunch! And I wondered how the crock pot would turn out, glad to know I should just stick to the stove top!
How much does this recipe yield?
Hi Alicia! It serves about 6!
This was very yummy! I loved it
I made it even spicier. I added diced tomatoes with habeneros, and it was delish.
This looks good. For me, I will leave out the bacon (doesn’t sound right with “chili”) and I will use either pinto or black beans instead of cannelloni beans.