This hearty and comforting chicken chili with black beans and corn is filled with veggies and many layers of flavor! Easy to make, nutritious and absolutely delicious!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make one pot meal! This black bean chicken chili is ready in about 1 hour, it uses pantry staples, fresh veggies, chicken breast and no ingredients difficult to find in stores.
- Nutritious and filling! This chili is high in protein, low in fat, high in fiber and filed with nutrient dense ingredients. We use a tad of bacon for flavor and chicken breast. Black beans are very satiating and shown to be great for gut health.
- Great to feed a large crowd and meal-prep! This dish makes a big pot of goodness everyone will love, and reheat beautifully. In fact it might get better and better day after day.
Key Ingredients And Variations
- Chicken: I use chicken breast for this recipe. But you can use any chicken you prefer including leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie. Whatever is easier for you. Or if you prefer a vegetarian chili, skip the chicken and add more veggies and beans.
- Black beans: we used canned, it's so easy, convenient and budget friendly. Don't forget to rinse and drained them under cold water.
- Corn: the sweetness of the corn is a great addition to a chili which is a bit spicy.
- Chili powder: I find that chili powders can vary greatly in heat depending on the brand you get, so I recommend adding less than more to start with. You can always add more if you want more heat.
- Tomato paste and fire-roasted crushed tomatoes: they add a deep flavor to the chili.
- All the fresh veggies: I use onion, carrot bell pepper, a little jalapeño and garlic to add flavor and freshness.
- Bacon: we start the recipe with a little bacon and use its rendered fat to cook which adds a delicious subtle smoky flavor to the chili.
- Broth: use more or less depending on how thick you prefer your chili.
Steps To Make This Chicken Black Bean Chili
Chop the vegetables into small pieces.
Rinse and drain the canned black beans.
Cook the bacon until crispy, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Then cook the chicken until brown, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Then add the veggies and cook until softened, about 7-8 minutes.
Add the garlic and tomato paste.
Then add the chicken, bacon and spices.
Add the tomatoes.
Add the broth, black beans and corn.
Bring to a low boil then simmer for 25-30 minutes.
More Delicious Chicken Recipes To Try
- Chicken and Leek Pasta with Pancetta
- Air Fryer Chicken Cutlets
- Chicken Zucchini Boats
- Ground Chicken And Vegetable Stir Fry
- Creamy Dijon Chicken With Mushrooms and Leeks
Topping Ideas
- Cheese of course! Cheddar is my go to for chili.
- Avocado: probably my favorite topping for this recipe.
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt to add some creaminess and mellow the spice if needed.
- Chopped green onions or regular onions.
- Jalapeño for extra heat.
- Corn chips or crushed tortilla chips for irresistible crunch.
- Cilantro.
- Lime.
Tips And Frequently Asked Questions
- Rinse and drain the black beans under cold water. It'll remove extra sodium,
- Customize your chicken chili, especially when it comes to the spice level. You can make it mild, medium or spicy. Taste throughout the cooking so you can adjust.
- Simmer the chili once it got to a low boil. This will help develop all the delicious layers of flavor.
- If you have leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken, it would work great for this recipe in place of the breast.
- Storage: leftovers can be stored in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 4 days. You can also freeze them in a freezer-safe container for up to 4 months. Make sure the chili is completely cooled before freezing.
- Reheating: chili can be reheated on the stove or in the microwave. Keep an eye on it cause like some soups, chili tends to splatter in the microwave.
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Chicken Chili with Black Beans and Corn
This hearty and comforting chicken chili with black beans and corn is filled with veggies and many layers of flavor! Easy to make, nutritious and absolutely delicious!
Equipment
- large pot such as Dutch oven
- wooden spoon
- veggie chopper optional
Ingredients
- 3-4 slices bacon chopped small
- 1 pound chicken breast skinless, boneless, chopped into bite size
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper or more to taste
- ½ yellow onion finely chopped, about 1 cup
- 1-2 carrots finely chopped, about ¼ cup
- 1 red bell pepper finely chopped, about ⅓ cup
- 1 yellow or orange bell pepper finely chopped, about ⅓ cup
- ½ jalapeño finely chopped, about 1 tablespoon
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon chili powder or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 14.5 ounces can fire roasted tomatoes crushed or petite diced
- 2 14.5 ounces cans black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 14.5 ounces can corn drained
- 1 ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 lime juiced
Optional
- a little oil if needed
Topping Ideas
- shredded cheese
- green onions
- sour cream
- corn chips
- avocado
- cilantro
Instructions
- Start by cooking the bacon in the large pot until crispy on medium high heat stirring often, about 5 minutes. Then remove the bacon with a slotted spoon, leaving the rendered fat into the pot. Set aside.
- Then add the chicken bites to the pot, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook until no longer pink, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Then remove chicken from pot and keep aside.
- Add in the finely chopped onion, carrots, bell peppers, jalapeño to the pot. If the pot seems a little dry, add a drizzle of oil (this will depend on how much fat the bacon rendered). Reduce heat to medium and cook veggies stirring often for abut 7-8 minutes until softened.
- Add the minced garlic and tomato paste and mix it in well until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Then sprinkle the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add back in the bacon and chicken and stir everything together until all coated.
- Then add the can of tomatoes and stir it in. Scrape and mix in any bits left at the bottom of the pot if needed. Cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add the black beans, corn and broth. Bring to a low boil. Then reduce heat to medium low and simmer chili for 25 to 30 minutes uncovered, stirring a few times.
- Serve chili warm, squeeze a little lime over, and top with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Notes
- Chili powders are not created equal, some are spicier than others, so always start with a little less than too much and adjust per heat level preference.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container refrigerated for up to 4 days.
*The nutritional values shown in this recipe are approximate for one suggested serving size using the ingredients listed but not including any optional items and may vary per actual preferred portion sizes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 366.9kcal | Carbohydrates: 45.2g | Protein: 30.7g | Fat: 7.9g | Saturated Fat: 2.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 55.6mg | Sodium: 488.6mg | Potassium: 615.7mg | Fiber: 13.9g | Sugar: 7.1g | Vitamin A: 3330.9IU | Vitamin C: 73.2mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 4.5mg
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About Priscilla Lawrence, Certified Nutritionist
Hi there, I'm Priscilla Lawrence, a certified nutritionist, recipe developer, food photographer & mom of two. I was born and raised in Paris, France, but have been living in San Diego, California...
Cindy says
EXCEPTIONAL! This chili is sooo easy and oh sooo delicious. Perfectly spiced! I topped with ALL of the recommended toppings.:) Thank you! Yum!
Priscilla Lawrence says
I'm so happy to hear you loved this recipe! Thank you so much!
Cynthia says
Incredible and so easy to make. My son has been using it for meal prep. So nutritious and full of protein (30g's !!!) and tastes amazing! M-M good. 🙂