Green Chile Chicken Chili for the First Real Soup Night

Chef's Overview

Dear Chefs, green chile chicken chili is the lighter, brighter cousin of the red bowl, built on roasted poblano and Anaheim peppers, tender chicken thighs and creamy white beans rather than ground beef and tomato. Charring the chiles yourself is what separates a flat, pale pot from one with real smoky depth, and it takes about fifteen minutes under the broiler. Thighs stay juicy through a half-hour simmer where breasts would dry out, and they shred into soft, rich strands that soak up the broth. A spoonful of masa harina and a handful of mashed beans thicken the chili without any flour or cream, keeping it bright rather than heavy. It comes together in about an hour, which makes it the ideal pot for the first evening cold enough to justify soup.

The Night the Thermostat Finally Won

Every year there is one evening when somebody on the team walks into the kitchen, rubs their hands together, and announces that it is officially soup season, usually about a week before the weather actually agrees. This chili is what we make that night. It has enough heat to feel warming without scorching anybody, enough body to count as dinner, and a bright squeeze of lime that keeps it from tasting like a February stew in the first week of October.

Red chili gets most of the attention, but green chili has a completely different personality, grassy and smoky where the red version is deep and earthy. That flavor comes almost entirely from the peppers, which is why canned green chiles never quite get there on their own. Blistering fresh peppers until the skins go black and papery unlocks a sweetness and smoke that no jar can match, and it is honestly the most satisfying part of the whole recipe.

Ingredients You'll Need

A mix of peppers gives the best result, with poblanos bringing body and mild heat and Anaheims or Hatch chiles adding brightness and a little more kick. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are the right cut because they stay tender through the simmer and shred beautifully, while breasts tend to turn stringy. Masa harina, the corn flour used for tortillas, thickens the chili and adds a gentle toasted corn flavor, and you will find it in the baking or international aisle of most grocery stores.

For the Chili

• 3 large poblano peppers
• 4 Anaheim or Hatch green chiles
• 1 jalapeño, optional, for extra heat
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini or great northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons masa harina
• Juice of 1 to 2 limes
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

For the Toppings

• Sour cream or Mexican crema
• Shredded Monterey Jack
• Sliced green onions
• Diced avocado
• Crushed tortilla chips
• Lime wedges

Step 1: Char the Chiles Under the Broiler

Set an oven rack about 4 inches below the broiler and turn it to high. Lay the poblanos, Anaheims and jalapeño on a foil-lined sheet pan and broil them for 8 to 12 minutes, turning with tongs every few minutes, until the skins are blistered and blackened in large patches on all sides. Do not worry about a few fully black spots, since that char is flavor and most of the burnt skin comes off in the next step anyway. If you have a gas stove, you can char them directly over the flame instead, which is faster and a little smokier.

Step 2: Steam and Peel the Peppers

Pile the hot peppers into a bowl and cover it tightly with a plate or plastic wrap for 10 minutes, which traps the steam and loosens the skins. Rub the skins off with your fingers or a paper towel, then pull out the stems and scrape away most of the seeds. Avoid rinsing them under the tap, since water washes away the smoky oils you just worked for. A short, nimble blade like our Umber 60 Damascus Paring Knife makes quick work of scraping out seeds and ribs, then give the peppers a rough chop into bite-size pieces.

Step 3: Dice the Onion and Garlic

Halve the onion through the root, make a series of vertical cuts toward the root without cutting through it, then slice across to produce an even medium dice. Mince the garlic finely so it melts into the base rather than leaving sharp bites. The flat edge and tall face of our Opal 60 Damascus Santoku Knife handle this kind of quick up-and-down chopping particularly well and scoop the pile straight into the pot, which is exactly the situation explored in When Should You Use a Santoku Knife Instead of a Chef Knife for Autumn Recipes.

Step 4: Sweat the Aromatics and Bloom the Spices

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until it is soft and translucent without much color. Stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander and oregano and cook for about a minute, just until the spices smell toasty and fragrant. Toasting the spices in oil like this wakes up their flavor far more than dropping them into the liquid would.

Step 5: Simmer the Chicken Whole

Pour in the chicken stock, add the remaining salt, and bring it to a boil. Lower the chicken thighs into the pot whole, drop the heat to a gentle simmer, and cover partially. Let them cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until they are tender and register at least 165°F in the thickest part, though thighs are at their most tender closer to 175°F. Cooking the chicken whole in the broth keeps it moist and seasons the stock at the same time.

Step 6: Shred the Chicken

Transfer the thighs to a cutting board and let them rest for 5 minutes so they are cool enough to handle. Pull them apart into bite-size shreds with two forks, leaving some pieces chunky for texture. Shredding rather than dicing gives the chili a softer, more homemade feel and lets the meat drink up the broth once it goes back in.

Step 7: Mash Some Beans and Thicken the Pot

Scoop about 1 cup of the beans into a small bowl and mash them roughly with a fork, then stir the mashed beans, the whole beans and the chopped chiles into the pot. Whisk the masa harina with 1/2 cup of the hot broth in a separate cup until smooth, then stir it back into the chili. Simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chili thickens enough to coat a spoon. For another bean-forward bowl with the same creamy body, our Creamy White Bean and Herb Stew is a great one to keep in mind.

Step 8: Return the Chicken and Finish Bright

Stir the shredded chicken back into the pot and let it warm through for about 5 minutes. Take the pot off the heat, squeeze in the juice of one lime, and add most of the cilantro, saving a little for the top. Taste it carefully and add more salt or lime until the chili tastes bright and balanced rather than flat, then let it rest for 10 minutes so the flavors settle. If you like the smoky poblano profile here, you will love our Charred Corn and Poblano Chowder to Bridge Summer and Fall.

Step 9: Top It and Serve

Ladle the chili into wide bowls and let everybody build their own, with sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack, green onions, avocado and a handful of crushed tortilla chips for crunch. Put out extra lime wedges, since a second squeeze right at the table brightens every bowl. Anyone who still prefers a deep red, beefy bowl can have a pot of our Cold-Night Beef Chili Recipe, Slow-Simmered Comfort in Every Spoon going alongside for a proper chili night.

A Pot Worth Making Twice

Green chile chicken chili has a way of getting better overnight, as the chiles keep releasing their smoke into the broth and the beans soak up everything around them. Make the full batch even if there are only two of you, then reheat it gently on the stove with a splash of stock, since it thickens considerably in the refrigerator. It freezes well for up to three months, which means one afternoon of charring peppers now can turn into an easy dinner in the middle of January. Fresh lime and cilantro at serving time bring it right back to life every single time.