This ground chicken chili has everything you want in a classic chili recipe: a thick tomato base, plenty of meat and beans, and loads of smoky flavor in every bite.
Chili with Ground Chicken
Ground chicken often gets a bad rep for chili because it’s a leaner meat and it’s not as flavorful, but I’m here to tell you it can taste great using this recipe. The secret is in my seasoning mix, not a packet, which is famous for adding a smoky depth to all my chili recipes, some of which have won blue ribbons in local fairs. You’re going to love this hearty ground chicken chili; I know it!
Ingredients
This hearty chili is made with ground chicken, canned beans (red kidney, white, or black, you pick), and canned diced and crushed tomatoes, which make up the liquid base. An onion, bell pepper, and garlic make the aromatic base, and it’s seasoned with a mix of chili powder, ground cumin, oregano, a bit of cayenne pepper, and salt.
How to Make Ground Chicken Chili
- Prep
Chop the veggies and measure the seasonings into a small dish. - Sauté, season, and brown the ground chicken.
Sauté the veggies until soft. Then add the seasonings and cook them down to bring out the flavor. Add the ground meat and cook until browned.
- Cook
Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and cook the chili on the lowest heat, covered, for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened. - Serve
Ladle the chili into bowls and serve it with your favorite chili toppings. Stretch leftovers by making chili tacos or over a baked sweet potato.
Laura’s Tips for Ground Chicken Chili
Although the seasoning has ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper, the chili is not spicy. You can make it spicier by using 1 teaspoon or dicing 1 jalapeño (with seeds) and sautéing it with the veggies (or as a topping).
Yes. You’ll need to brown the meat and veggies with the seasonings, then add the remaining ingredients to the crockpot and cook on LOW for 4 hours or HIGH for 2 hours. Everything else is cooked, so you’re just cooking down the tomato base.
Once cooled, I like to freeze leftover chili in 1 ½ cups servings for quick reheating or larger portions in a gallon-sized freezer bag for up to 3 months.
More Chili Recipes You’ll Love
Try this recipe and come back for my classic beef chili, my famous chili without beans, this corn chili, or for something different, my rotisserie chicken chili.
Hearty Ground Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 large yellow onion, 1 ½ cups chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped small
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 pounds of ground chicken
- 2 cans of beans (14.5oz each), red kidney, white, black, or a mix
- 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, with liquid
- 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
Instructions
Prep:
- Chop the onion, bell pepper, and garlic cloves. Measure the seasonings into a small dish and set aside. This makes adding the ingredients in the sauté step a breeze.
Cook:
- Heat a 5-6 quart Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the oil, chopped onions, and bell pepper, and sauté for about 3 minutes until they've begun to soften up. Add the minced garlic and spices and stir. Cook the vegetables for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the peppers are soft.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and add the ground beef to the pot. Cook the beef while breaking it up with a wooden spatula for 7 to 10 minutes, until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink.
- Add the beans, diced tomatoes (with the liquid), and the tomato puree to the pot. Stir to mix all the ingredients and bring them to a light boil (when it simmers on the sides).
- Reduce the heat to low, give it one last stir, cover, and simmer the chili for 30 to 45 minutes, opening up the lid to stir once or twice.
Serve and store:
- Ladle the chili into bowls and top it with your favorite toppings, such as shredded cheese and sour cream.
- Refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days or freeze the chili in freezer bags for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Swap fire-roasted tomatoes for regular diced tomatoes. Since ground chicken tends to be more bland than beef, I often opt for the more flavorful, smokier version.
- Use any two (2) 14.5-oz cans of beans in this recipe. I mixed white beans and kidney beans because that’s what I had on hand; you can use white, kidney, black, or a mix.
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Karen says
Love this recipe and make it for craft night and card night and the ladies love it also! Very hearty – I sometimes substitute corn for zucchini.
Sarah says
The seasoning of this ground chicken chili was spot on. It made up for chicken being naturally bland.
Jill says
This is a great chili recipe. I used turkey instead of chicken but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Delicious!