This Salsa Verde Chicken Chili 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…
Gather Your Ingredients
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. Chicken bone broth can be a great way to add extra protein here!
- 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 this 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 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!
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tell me all about it! Leave a star rating below when you try our Salsa Verde Chicken Chili recipe. I can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Salsa Verde Chicken Chili (Quick + 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 broth – I like no salt added bone broth for extra protein!
- 2 (15 oz.) cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed – I like no salt added
- 1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro optional
Instructions
- Combine. In a Dutch oven or soup pot, combine cooked chicken, salsa, water, beans, green chiles, cumin, and chili powder. Stir to combine well.
- Simmer. Bring to a simmer to heat through. Taste and add salt, as desired. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy warm with tortilla strips, grated cheese, or diced avocado. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge 2-3 days. This soup gets better over time, so feel free to make it early!
Notes
- Low Sodium! Since the salsa already adds some sodium, I recommend no salt added beans and no salt added (or low sodium) chicken broth or water for this soup.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition facts are an estimate only and will vary based on brands and amounts used.
Find it Online:
https://www.onelovelylife.com/salsa-verde-chicken-chili/
This is so easy and fast to make. I’ve made many time. It is easy to use whatever you have in the pantry also. I’ve used black beans. Butter beans. Pinto. I also will add a can of corn sometimes. Soup is a win win.
Delicious! So glad you love it!
this is excellent! So easy and so tasty.
i added chopped onions and a pinch of garlic. Also I used dried beans soaked overnight instead of canned. Turned out delicious. I will be making this often.
We love it. I make it different every time. Sometimes with grilled cheese, sometimes with masa cornbread. In summer I use our fresh cilantro. Definitely unsalted Bone broth. Thank you for sharing this ❣️
Yum, yum, yum! So glad you love it!
Giving it 5 stars for simplicity, time, and flexibility. This is my first time making green chili, but it’s very easy to change the quantities of ingredients, according to your personal taste. Instead of a can of chilies, I chopped up a jalepeno with a sweeter pepper and an onion, and sauteed them in the pot with a pound of ground turkey (not chicken). I cut the beans and the broth in half, just because of the consistency I was looking for, and used unsalted broth. This was ready to serve in well under a half hour, but today I have the luxury of letting it simmer all day. As the flavors come together, I’ll decide what else I want to do with it. This week, I happen to have some things in the fridge I can serve on the side to those who want toppings: a ripe avocado, queso crumbling cheese, and a bunch of cilantro I picked up yesterday.
Yum! So glad you were able to make it just the way you like!
I hate to be the Debbie downer but it seemed to have a super high salt content. Good flavor, next time I’ll use unsalted chicken broth and probably less salsa verde.
Sounds like a great plan for next time!
Love this recipe! It truly is so easy, my go to all the time 🙂
SAME! I love how fast & easy it is, yet still so flavorful!
This was amazing! So easy and flavorful!
YAY! So glad you enjoyed it Mary!
This soup is delicious. I did add corn the second time I made it the first time it didn’t even make it an hour. It was gone immediately. So delicious. With chips it’s even better. My kids say it tastes like a soup taquito.
Isn’t it just the best!? I’m so glad you loved it. THANK YOU for taking the time to leave a review!!!
This recipe was quick and easy! I used leftover chicken from a whole chicken I roasted, salsa Verde from Trader Joe’s, and chicken broth. The only thing I would change the next time is using low sodium chicken broth instead of regular. But it was really really good!
Ooh yum! I’m so glad you loved it Dana!
Just put a pot of this on the stove to cook all day, and omg… it’s already so delicious. Your salsa recipe was on point, we just added in a whole Serrano because we love spicy food! So so so so good, can’t wait for dinner time. 🥵
I LOVE hearing this! It’s one of my all-time favorite soups. Hope you loved your spicy version!
SO GOOD
I’m SO glad you loved it! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review–it’s so helpful!
So easy and so good. Followed your recipe exactly, might add an additional can of corn next time.
Thanks for this quick and easy recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Candace! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review! 🙂
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.
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!
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 🙂
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 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!
I take it back. My recipe is just barely like this. I will be trying this instead! Sounds divine!
This sounds so yummy! I love salsa verde. I will be making this soon!
Try
This recipe looks awesome! I can’t wait to try it. Pinned for later! 🙂