Salsa Verde Chicken Chili – This might be the EASIEST chili recipe ever! Just 7 ingredients + 15 minutes and you’re ready to enjoy this lighter take on chili night. (Gluten-Free + Easy!)
I’m riding a serious salsa verde kick lately. After posting my salsa verde recipe, I’ve been adding green salsa to EVERYTHING–scrambled eggs, roasted veggies, tacos, chicken, and so much more.
One of our favorite ways to use salsa verde (store-bought OR homemade!) is in this SUPER easy Salsa Verde Chicken Chili recipe. It’s almost laughably easy and perfect for nights where you’re craving a cozy soup or chili but you don’t have a lot of time.
This easy chili recipe only takes 7 main ingredients and 15-20 minutes (TOPS) to pull together and still packs a flavorful punch. (As most soups and chilis do, this gets better with time, so if you have a few minutes to make it in the morning, it’ll be even more amazing that night for dinner!)
Here’s all you need to make this simple salsa verde chicken chili…
HERE’S WHAT GOES INTO MY SALSA VERDE CHICKEN CHILI RECIPE
COOKED CHICKEN. To keep things simple, our salsa verde chicken chili recipe uses leftover cooked chicken. (Rotisserie to the rescue!)
SALSA VERDE. The big flavor boost in this chicken chili comes from salsa verde. Green salsa is LOADED with flavor from tomatillos, jalapeño or chiles, cilantro, onion, etc. Using salsa instead of adding those ingredients individually to the soup saves lots of time without sacrificing flavor. I LOVE making this with my homemade salsa verde, but store-bought is even easier and faster.
WATER OR BROTH. To finish out the liquid, I add water or chicken stock to the soup. Since most salsas tend to have quite a bit of salt, I recommend using low-sodium or no-sodium added broth if you go that route.
GREAT NORTHERN BEANS. Salsa verde chicken chili is considered a “white” chili, so we use white beans! I most often reach for great northern beans, but white cannellini beans would also work in a pinch.
GREEN CHILIS. To play up the green chile flavor in the salsa and to add a bit of texture, I add a small can of green chiles to the chili. (Say that ten times fast!)
CUMIN, CHILI POWDER + SALT. And to add a bit of depth, I add cumin, chili powder, then salt to taste. (If your salsa runs salty, you may not need much additional salt, if any.)
WHAT TO SERVE WITH SALSA VERDE CHICKEN CHILI
- CORN CHIPS OR TORTILLA STRIPS. A quick and easy side dish for salsa verde chicken chili is corn chips or tortilla strips. Feel free to go with store-bought, or bake your own if you’re feeling fancy. It’s easy!
- CORNBREAD. If you’ve got time, cornbread is a GREAT side to go with chicken chili. I love my cakelike cornbread, gluten-free cornbread muffins, or maple cornbread. It only takes about 30-40 minutes start-to-finish and really makes this feel like a cozy meal!
- A LIGHT SALAD. If you don’t want to do tortilla chips or cornbread, a light side salad can be a great pairing.
FAQ + TIPS AND TRICKS FOR THE BEST SALSA VERDE CHICKEN CHILI:
WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO COOK CHICKEN FOR CHILI? I usually use leftover rotisserie chicken for my salsa verde chicken chili, but if you don’t have any on hand, poaching can be a great way to go. My blog friend Lisa has a great tutorial for how to poach chicken over on her site.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE STORE-BOUGHT SALSA VERDE? I really (REEEEALLY!!!!) love the tomatillo salsa from Sprouts. It’s shelf-stable so it’s easy to keep on hand, it’s got a little kick but won’t burn anyone’s mouth, and it tastes fantastic.
DO YOU HAVE A HOMEMADE SALSA VERDE RECIPE? Sure do! My homemade salsa verde is one of my favorites!
IS THIS CHILI SPICY? You’re in total control of the spice/heat in this chicken chili recipe. It all comes down to what salsa you use. (If you use mild salsa, it’ll be mild; if you use medium salsa, it will be medium, etc.) Be sure to check the label on your salsa, since salsa verde comes in mild, medium, and hot varieties!
CAN YOU FREEZE LEFTOVER CHICKEN CHILI? You totally can. Like most chili recipes, the beans and meat will have a *slightly* different texture when thawed, but it’s never been a deal-breaker for me. I love doubling chili to freeze half for later!
ARE YOU A CHILI LOVER? YOU MIGHT ALSO LOVE…
- Chili Cornbread Pot Pie (Gluten-Free + Vegan-Friendly)
- Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Chili
- Simple Slow Cooker Chili (A great classic chili!)
- The BEST EVER Pumpkin Chili
- Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili
Salsa Verde Chicken Chili (Quick + Easy!)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: About 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Salsa Verde Chicken Chili – This might be the EASIEST chili recipe ever! Just 7 ingredients + 15 minutes and you’re ready to enjoy this lighter take on chili night. (Gluten-Free + Easy!)
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 12–16 oz. cooked shredded or cubed chicken
- 2 cups salsa verde (green salsa), homemade or store-bought
- 4 cups water or chicken stock
- 2 (15 oz.) cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- salt, to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
Instructions
- In a Dutch oven or soup pot, combine cooked chicken, salsa, water, beans, green chiles, cumin, and chili powder. Stir to combine well.
- Bring to a simmer to heat through. Taste and add salt, as desired. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.
- This soup gets better over time, so feel free to make it early!
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Keywords: salsa verde chicken chili, chicken chili, salsa chicken chili, green chicken chili,
This recipe looks awesome! I can’t wait to try it. Pinned for later! 🙂
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This sounds so yummy! I love salsa verde. I will be making this soon!
I take it back. My recipe is just barely like this. I will be trying this instead! Sounds divine!
I made this last night and LOVED it, yet another one of your recipes that has not let me down! My boyfriend absolutely loved it too. I am excited to make egg tacos tomorrow for breakfast and spoon that leftover salsa verde on them. 🙂
★★★★★
Yay! I’m so glad it was a hit!
Oh my, is this ever good. My husband swooned he loved it so much. I made it easy too; used leftover rotisserie chicken, LaVictoria Chunky Salsa Verde, 4 cups of cooked Great Northern beans (I was out of canned beans), used chicken broth instead of water & added some left over fresh corn kernels. It was delicious. This will be a new addition to our mealtime repertoire. Thank you!
I am tardy in getting around to reviewing this recipe, but I wanted to say that we loved it. DH ate two bowls, and the next day was in the frig looking for the leftovers! I used leftover roast chicken, and for salsa, I used Target’s Roasted Salsa Verde (very good stuff by the way). Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you liked it!!! I’ll have to track down the Target salsa. Archer Farms makes some of my favorites 🙂
Emily — This was so incredibly easy and delicious! I made this recipe twice in a row because it was so enjoyable. The recipe for the salsa verde is simple and I feel made all the difference in taste! This is now in our regular dinner rotation. Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Christie – THANK YOU for your sweet comment! It absolutely made my day. We just made it again this week and the leftovers didn’t stand a chance!
So glad you published this easy recipe. I was just reading page 128 of Elizabeth Berg’s novel, Tapestry of Fortunes and one of the characters was making chicken chili with salsa verde. Made my mouth water, although I’ve never even tried it so I immediately googled the dish and came up with your recipe right away. I will definitely make this soon using rotisserie chicken and your recipe for salsa verde, plus our favorite–sliced avocado.
★★★★★