Southwest Chicken Chili

Chili is one of those recipes that we tend to make OFTEN, when we’re camping.

The ingredient list for pretty much any classic chili recipe can be purchased - in entirety - even in small town grocery stores on the road.

The times we veer off from a more traditional chili, the more unique ingredients are generally things that can be obtained, prepped, and preserved - when needed - prior to a trip.

Fancier peppers? Chop em up and put them in the RV freezer. More involved spice mix? Measure it all out into a baggie before hitting the road.

This easy chicken chili recipe is a FANTASTIC one when we want a great bowl of chili, that’s maybe a LITTLE different, without getting too out-there.

Technically a chili con carne, the meat in this easy chili recipe is chicken, rather than beef.

This makes for a chili that even my husband - coming off the end of more than a decade of Alpha Gal nonsense - can enjoy a big bowl of, without worry.

It’s also a great way to enjoy the outdoors! (Though it can definitely be cooked on a stove top, as well!)

We made the batch photographed for this post while staying at Rene Brunelle Provincial Park.

There was a cool breeze blowing off the lake, a couple woodpeckers keeping me company, the odd Bald Eagle flying overhead - just a really nice vibe.

In the end, we got to enjoy a fabulous meal outside - hearty beans, smoky peppers, etc.

Anyway, a great recipe to consider next time you’re in the mood for chili - let’s look at what you’ll need for a batch!

Ingredients

As always, I have some ingredient notes for you.

Ground Chicken

We generally default to ground chicken for this chili. You know, being a “Southwest chicken chili”, LOL. It’s also convenient for us, as the little frozen bricks of ground chicken stack well in the RV fridge.

If you prefer a turkey chili, ground turkey is another great option. Ground beef would also work, if you don’t need or want to make it with chicken.

You’ll have slightly different results using beef, but hey - there’s a LOT of flavour in this chili recipe!

As for other options...

If you have raw chicken breasts to use up, you can use shredded chicken - try my Dutch Oven Pulled Chicken to easily make it!

If you - like us - are a big fan of the convenience of rotisserie chicken (or otherwise have leftover chicken to use up), you can chop that up and use it in place of ground meat.

It’s your chili - go with what you like best!

Black Beans

While I’m all for kidney beans in chili in general, I went with black beans for this recipe, because it’s what I most think of when thinking of a southwest vibe - with pinto beans coming second.

That said, there are all kinds of beans that would work well in this recipe - Great Northern Beans, Navy Beans, White Kidney Beans.

Do what you like - it’s your chili to eat!

Fresh Produce

We use a variety of fairly basic veggies in this south west chicken chili.

In terms of peppers, we start with 3 bell peppers - use whichever colour(s) you like. We generally try to get at least one red bell pepper in there, but aim for a mix.

Then, there’s the poblano peppers - we’ll use 2 large or 3 smaller poblanos. If you can’t find them, feel free to use a couple regular sized green bell peppers instead.

If you’d like a bit more spice, feel free to add a couple green chiles - sometimes we’ll grill a couple Jalapeno peppers to add.

Then, there’s an onion (any type, but we usually use yellow or red), celery, and garlic gloves.

Finally, there is some canned corn in here - not technically fresh produce, but the subs can be!

Use a cup or cup and a half of frozen (thawed!) sweet corn, or 2-3 ears worth of fresh corn kernels, if you prefer.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Chicken Broth or Chicken Stock
Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
Olive Oil and/or Nonstick Cooking Spray
Salt and Ground Black Pepper
Tomato Sauce
Smoked Paprika
Ground Cumin
Dried Oregano
Dried Thyme
Bay Leaf

I’ll usually pre-measure the spices into a little baggie before a trip (They’re pantry staples at home, less room in the RV!), but other than that, I really don’t have anything to add as far as these last few ingredients go.

How to Make Southwest Chicken Chili

The full recipe - including list of ingredients - is in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post, here is the pictorial walk through:

Get a good fire going, set a grate over it.

Seed the peppers, cut into large pieces. Toss with a bit of Olive oil (or spray both sides with nonstick spray), sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.

Working in batches, cook pepper pieces over your fire until the peppers are soft and skin is charred.

Note: You can broil them in an oven, if you’re cooking the recipe indoors!

Remove from heat and allow to cool. If you’d like to, gently peel off the pepper skin while still warm - we don’t bother.

Once cool enough to handle, chop into smaller pieces.

Blend peppers with the chicken broth in a food processor or blender, or use an immersion blender to break it down into a chunky sauce.

Set aside.

Drizzle a little oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot, add onion. Cook - stirring often - until onion pieces are starting to brown.

Note: if you’re doing this over a stovetop, aim for medium-high heat.

Add ground chicken to the pot. Using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to break up any large chunks of ground meat, cook until browned all over.

Add celery, garlic, and as much of the chopped chipotle peppers as you’d like to the cooked chicken.

Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until celery is translucent and chipotles are fragrant.

Add the remaining ingredients - beans, corn, tomato sauce - and the spices, stir well to combine.

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes (on low heat if using a stovetop).

If you’d like the chili thicker, take the cover off and let the chili cook until it reaches the desired texture. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve hot, with your favorite chili toppings - a dollop of sour cream, sliced green onions, some tortilla chips, some chopped fresh cilantro, maybe some lime wedges or a little squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Leftovers

Leftover chili can be cooled to room temperature before storing in an airtight container. We’ll usually use a large freezer baggie.

Leftover southwest chicken chili will keep for 3 days in the fridge, or several months in the freezer.

More One-Pot Camping Recipes

Looking for more easy - but satisfying! - one pot meals to cook over your campfire? Here are some of my favourites!

Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
Beef & Root Vegetable Stew
Cajun Chicken Sloppy Joes
Campfire Chicken Curry
Campfire Chili
Chicken Marbella
Dutch Oven Jambalaya
Easy Chicken Curry
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Hearty Campfire Beef Stew
Indian Sloppy Joes
Mexican Sloppy Joes
Sloppy Giuseppes
Thankgiving Sloppy Joes
Traditional Sloppy Joes
Venison Chili
Venison Stew

Be sure to check out our other Camping Recipes, including Camping Desserts, Camping Snacks, Make-Ahead Camping Mix Recipes, and a ton of delicious Camping Main Dish Recipes.

Also, we had SO much fun designing gourmet jerky recipes for our camping trips, we started a whole new blog for them! Check out Dried & Tasty for all kinds of fun recipes to make in your food dehydrator!