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mexican chicken chili with red kidney beans and cilantro as garnish

Mexican chicken chili with beans

Super delicious and tasty chicken chili stewed with red beans. This will be the best Mexican chicken chili recipe you've ever tried.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 2 people
Author: Tu

Ingredients 

  • 2 large chicken breasts trim excess fat, shredded or cut into 2 in cubes
  • 1 medium white onions medium dice
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 tbsp ground cayenne red pepper
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • 2 tbsp light brown sugar
  • 12 oz canned diced tomatoes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 can red kidney beans rinsed
  • 4.5 c chicken stock or water
  • salt and pepper to taste

Garnish & side

  • cilantro leaves
  • sour cream
  • lime cut into wedges
  • home-made soft rolls see notes

Instructions

  • In a medium cooking pot and on medium high heat, sauté the onions in enough oil until tender. Then add minced garlic and sauté for another minute.
  • Add chicken breast and stir occasionally. Cook until the meats are lightly brown, approximately 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Add ground cayenne, cumin, coriander, light brown sugar and sauté for another minute. Make sure to coat the chicken meats completely and evenly with all the spices.
  • Add bay leaves, canned tomatoes and cooking liquid. Bring the pot to almost boiling point, then lower the heat to simmer, partially cover and cook for 30 minutes.
  • Stir in kidney beans and simmer until the beans are all tender, approximately 15 minutes. If you want to thicken your chili, you can cook for another extra 15 minutes.
  • Remove bay leaves before serving. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper at this point if necessary.
  • Serve chili hot with cornbread, corn chips or home-made soft rolls. Garnish chili with cilantro, sour cream, shredded cheese or chopped scallion.

Notes

  • Make your own soft rolls: This honey dinner roll is a must-try recipe with very detailed steps by steps instruction. Or use this how-to guide to make your no-knead brioche rolls effortless.
  • This chicken chili benefits from low-temperature cooking. So make sure to adjust the heat low enough to simmer the pot rather than to boil. Do not allow the chili to boil especially if you cover the pot.
  • How to know if chicken chili is done? It is done when the meats are fork tender. You can test them by removing a piece of meat to a plate and using the fork to cut through it.
    • Any vegetables (in this recipe is red kidney beans) that intentionally cooked with the meat, should be added at a proper time to prevent them from overcooking.