Easy Award Winning Chicken Chili
February 2024 UPDATE: Once again, I entered my recipe for Chicken Chili at the 11th Annual Midwest Jeepthing/Axleboy/STL Toyota Chili Cookoff on February 24. Such an exciting event with lots of incredible chili entries. I am super happy to report that this was a year of FIRST PLACE for Laura’s Corner Kitchen! What a thrill! The competition was stiff and it was an honor to participate. Make a batch and let me know what you think below. The original post is below. Thanks as always!
I can officially say I have an award winning chicken chili recipe! I have always wanted to enter a Chili Cook-Off and finally got my chance this past weekend. Axleboy Offroad and Midwest Jeepthing sponsored the 10th annual event this past Saturday.
I have to confess that I was a bit more competitive than I would like to admit. It was important to me. I made my family crazy discussing what my entry should be: regular, red chili or chicken chili. I obsessed over the details. I asked every family member’s opinion. I speculated on the merits of each choice. I even considered changing my usual recipes to accommodate what I thought people would want. I signed up to participate in the cook-off on January 19, more than a month before the actual event date. So, apologies to my family for the relentless month of chili talk.
In the end, I took 3rd place out of about 20 entries and my large crockpot full of chili was empty. I received lots of compliments on my chili and was even asked for the recipe, which I, of course, was happy to share. It’s funny though, because for all the fretting and thinking, and overthinking I did leading up to the cook-off, I ended up calm and happy on event day. I didn’t care if I won anything. I was genuinely excited to just be there and share something I love, cooking.
The event was so much more than a chili cook-off. The parking lot was filled with amazing vehicles with specialized builds. They even created a digital scavenger hunt that was a really fun adventure activity. There were families, dogs, and vendors. There was a friendly competition between Jeep and Toyota. But mostly it was a great excuse to enjoy the late winter weather, which was perfect, and enjoy a great bowl of easy award winning chicken chili.
Easy Award Winning Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, chopped small
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2-3 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 packet ranch dip mix
- 1 can Fire Roasted Rotel Tomatoes & Green Chilies
- 2 cubes Knorr chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 box 32 ounce, low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 4 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast)
- 12 ounces cream cheese, cubed
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 cans Great Northern beans or Cannellini beans (about 15.5 oz. each)
- 1 bag frozen corn (10 oz.) or 1 can corn (optional)
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- 8 ounces Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded for serving
- 1 avocado, sliced (optional for serving)
- tortilla chips (optional for serving)
Instructions
For Chili
- In large Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté onion in olive oil until translucent.
- Add garlic and stir into onions. Add salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, and ranch dip mix. Crush dried oregano between your hands to release oils, then add to Dutch oven and stir and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add tomatoes and green chilies with juice, Knorr chicken bouillon cubes, water, and chicken broth. Cook and stir to combine.
- If using raw chicken, add it to the broth mixture now. Heat to boiling with lid partially covering the pot to allow steam to escape. Once it starts to boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 25 minutes or until chicken tests done at 165 degrees with a meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of chicken breast. Remove chicken from broth to plate to cool slightly before shredding. Set aside.
- If using already cooked, shredded chicken, add it when adding the beans.
- Add cubes of cream cheese to broth and whisk to combine until melted and smooth. Add heavy cream and heat on medium heat until bubbly. Then turn heat down to simmer.
- Add shredded chicken, beans, and corn, if using.
- Simmer until heated through, about 20 minutes.
- Squeeze in lime juice to taste. Serve with Monterrey jack cheese, avocado, and tortilla chips, if desired.
Great write up and that is some amazing chili!
Thank you so much! It was such a great event!
My husband has trouble eating tomato based chili and who doesn’t love chili? I’m going to try this recipe today!
Thanks, Theresa! There are tomatoes in the recipe, but they are not the star of the show. Let me know what you think.