Alright guys - it's still freezing pretty much everywhere so let's make some Chicken Chili Verde for lunches and dinners.
Chicken Chili Verde was a HIT when we were kids growing up in Tucson. I'd go over to my best friends house anytime this was on the menu. Literally it's one of the easiest things to make and I can't get enough. It's especially perfect because it's feels freezing in LA right now and I know that means it's even colder in the rest of the country. It's 100% healthy if you leave out the chips and just serve it on it's own as a soup/chili/stew. Trust me, you're going to want this one on regular rotation for the next few months. It's that good.
The cooking method is similar to how we make my Mexican shredded chicken. And it also has the most delicious peppery base with poblanos and other assorted peppers that are easy to come by at the grocery store! Ugh, literally can't get enough!
A word about the peppers in this recipe:
Poblano peppers are commonly mislabeled at the grocery store - sometimes they are called Pasilla peppers. They are dark green and shiny. And while they have a little bit of smokiness to them, they are not spicy once cooked!
Anaheim peppers are light green and not spicy at all! If you can't find them in the produce section, I've seen them a time or two in the canned food aisle and you could easily substitute the canned peppers in this recipe. No need to roast them if you're using canned.
Jalapeño pepper - I think we all know what these are. If you want to majorly cut down on spice, just use half. But this recipe isn't super spicy as is!! But just a heads up if you're making it for say, a 3 year old, maybe omit the jalapeño.
Chicken Chili Verde
Ingredients
- 2 pounds tomatillos husked and halved
- 3 poblano peppers halved
- 2 anaheim peppers halved
- 1 jalapeño pepper halved
- 1 yellow onion thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 bunch cilantro stems removed
- 1 lime juiced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 ½ lbs chicken thighs boneless, skinless
Instructions
- Place tomatillos cut side down, poblano peppers, anaheim peppers, jalapeños and unpeeled garlic cloves on a foil-lined large baking sheet. Place in the oven on broil for 10 minutes or until the tomatillos and peppers char.
- Transfer the poblano and jalapeno peppers to a glass bowl and seal with plastic wrap to steam (leave the tomatillos and garlic on the baking sheet for now). After steaming for 10 minutes, remove skin and discard.
- In a blender, combine the tomatillos and all their juices, peeled garlic cloves, assorted roasted and peeled peppers, cilantro, lime juice, cumin, salt, pepper and chicken stock. Blend the ingredients until they are well combined.
- Season chicken thighs with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper.
- In a large heavy bottom skillet or dutch oven, add 2 tablespoon olive oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the chicken and sear both sides until golden brown. Add the onions and saute for a few minutes before adding the mixture from the blender. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and shreds easily with a fork. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve in a bowl with tortilla chips on the side and tons cilantro on top.
We love this recipe! It's on our monthly meal rotation. It's incredibly flavorful. We enjoy it with tortilla chips. We leave out the Anaheim peppers, as they are difficult to find in grocery stores in our area, and it still tastes great.
I used your recipe as I guide but made some modifications based on the peppers I had on hand and wanting to use my instant pot for this recipe. The sauce turned out great and I took about half of that and added some cream and cheese to it a La enchiladas suizas. Added that to the thighs I cooked and shredded in instant pot. Will make rice bowls for the upcoming work we. I’m planning on saving/freezing the rest of the salsa.
How would adding a few hatch chili peppers work in this recipe? Can’t wait to make this!!
fully support that!
Can I make this in slow cooker?
Thx u
So good!!! Can't wait for to eat the leftovers tomorrow - the possibilities are endless - over rice, over nachos, make enchiladas! It was so comforting and flavorful!
Delicious!
What would your steps be for maki g in a slow cooker?
I made this for a chili cook off at work, and it was a big hit!! The sauce to chicken ratio is pretty high, so I doubled the chicken. Other than that, recipe was followed exactly and we loved it!
I don't eat chicken! Any meat subs?
Fabulous! Loved the peppers, I three in a bit of everything, bell, poblano, Cuban and jalapeno. Delicious.
Love this recipe and want to make it ahead and take it on spring break next week. Can you freeze this?
you sure can!
This is DELICIOUS!! I needed two sheet pans to broil everything and needed to occasionally rotate the peppers to char them all over. But otherwise I changed nothing and it was absolutely fantastic!!
Um... I knew this would be good! I had no idea it would be *this* good! Wow! My husband and kids loved it! Thanks for another winner Gaby!
Can this be made in advance? Serves ?
yes absolutely! serves 4-6
Hi Gaby!
Can I use this recipe but substitute pork stew meat for chicken?
absolutely