An easy peasy twist on a classic, this Chicken Chilli Con Carne is easy, healthy and totally delicious – plus it can be made in under 30 minutes – perfect for busy weeknights!
To say I have a chilli con carne obsession would be an understatement – I just love a good chilli – I love the flavours, it’s simple to make and can easily be made in double or even triple quantities to stash away in the freezer for future homemade ready meals. In fact, so far on this blog I have already shared 6 different versions of chilli – including my Quick Beany Chilli, my Sweet Potato Chilli and my absolute favourite, Slow Cooked Chilli Beef. But I am always looking for ways of reinventing this delicious classic.
The thing about a beef chilli is, if you want to make it properly, it does take a while…and while most of that time is hands off time…well, there are often times when you just don’t have the time to let it simmer on the stove top or cook for hours in the oven.
So I began toying with the idea of a chicken chilli – I have fallen head over heels in love with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, lately – OK maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but I really do like them for their fab combination of flavour, convenience, and nutritiousness. Plus they are really good value for money, meaning you can ether save some pennies or afford to trade up to better quality chicken. 🙂
So anyway I decided to try my beloved (!) boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a chilli…and do you know what? It worked a treat and makes a weeknight chilli con carne a doddle to rustle up…plus it’s fab if you are cooking for fussy children (or adults!) who don’t like beef, or you are trying to cut down on red meat.
If chicken thighs are not your thing, then by all means use the same quantity of chicken breast fillets instead. Or you could easily make this veggie by using Quorn chicken pieces.
If you are wanting to stretch this further, why not add an extra can of beans or a tin of sweetcorn? And if you want to make this even quicker and easier, swap the chilli flakes and other spices for a tablespoons or two of mild chilli powder instead.
To make this meal more healthy, I served it with brown rice, but it would be good with white rice too, or in tortillas. And if you are making this at the weekend, or when you have more time, it would be great with all your favourite extras: guacamole, salsa, sour cream, tortilla chips…it’s easy to turn this kind of food into a feast!
If you want a wine to go with this, I would pick a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc – pretty much anything will go with chicken, but Sauvignon Blanc does well with tomatoes and spice. If you prefer red, try a young fruity Argentinian Malbec or Chilean Merlot.
Chicken Chilli Con Carne
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 500 g boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced
- 3 cloves garlic crushed or grated
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika smoked ideally
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes
- 1 red pepper chopped into bitesize pieces
- 400 g tin tomatoes
- 400 g tin kidney beans
To serve
- 300 g brown rice (or white rice, or tortillas)
- 2 tablespoons coriander plus extra for garnish (optional)
- 1 lime quartered for serving (optional)
- Guacamole, salsa, sour cream, tortilla chips etc. (optional)
Method
- Place the olive oil and diced onion in a wide, deep pan and fry on a gentle heat for 3 minutes until the onion is softened.
- Turn up the heat and add the diced chicken thigh meat and brown for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Turn the heat back down and add the garlic, cumin, paprika and chilli flakes, stirring frequently.
- Add the red pepper, tomatoes and kidney beans, give everything a good stir and bring to the boil, then turn down to a gentle bubble for 15-20 minutes to cook the chicken and thicken the sauce. Stir occasionally.
- While the chilli is cooking, make the rice according to packet instructions / your own preferences (or heat the tortillas).
- When the chilli is ready, stir in the chopped coriander and serve with the rice, lime quarters and extra coriander as garnish.
Love chicken? Check out my collection of Easy Peasy Chicken Recipes…
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I love a chilli feast – it’s just perfect with guacamole isn’t it. Sometimes we have it with chips and cheese for a naughty treat!
I am totally obsessed with chilli, Mandy – I especially love it when I have got the time to make guacamole and salsa and have it with tortilla chips and sour cream too – and sometimes cheese! Lovely on a baked potato too – that often happens the day after! Eb x
Chilli is so versatile. Loving a chicken version and your photos are so bright and vibrant too! Little Miss GF made us chilli for tea the other week. I must share this recipe with her…… maybe she’ll fancy doing tea for us again!
Oh wow – well done Miss GF! I love the idea of my two making tea one day…at 6 and 7.5 they are a bit little at the moment, but won’t be long! Thanks for your kind comments about my photos…I love the colours too – the contrast with the limes, the chilli, the coriander and the pot especially…I must say I am so enjoying the photography side of blogging at the moment…so much fun – I just wish I had more time to play, that and the money to spend on all the cookware I really, really want…and the space to store it all!! Eb x
I would love this easy chicken chilli too Eb and I definitely agree with you about boneless skinless chicken thighs! They’re great for stews, chillies and curries and so much moister than chicken breast, although the rest of my family tend to like breast meat if I give them the option! Thank you so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice.
Thanks Corina – I have a total obsession with boneless skinless chicken thighs at the moment – they just have so much more flavour and can take much longer cooking without getting overcooked…but without all the fiddliness of bone in skin on thighs – though I do like to use those in my traybakes. The rest of my family don’t really get a choice but Mr G really likes them and I’m not sure my little ones would know the difference – they just like chicken! 🙂 Eb x
i have made a chicen chilli con carne before, but my OH complained that it wasn’t beef mince! Honestly that man does not like change! Yours looks very tasty Eb and has spurred me on to try a chicken one again soon.
ps. lovely photo of you x
Oh no – sorry to hear he didn’t like it – why don’t you call it something different – Mexican Chicken, maybe? Then he won’t have any preconceptions…or would that make things worse?!? Let me know how you get on!! Thanks for your lovely kind comments 🙂 Eb x
Oh wow that just looks like an amazing dish! Love chilli as it is proper comfort food and this sounds perfect 🙂
Thanks, Emma! Totally agree about chilli being proper comfort food – perfect as it starts to get a bit chilly 🙂 Eb x
Chilli con carne is a family favourite and we also love it with chicken. Yours looks and sounds delicious. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
It’s a good one, isn’t it? Perfect for a quick and easy midweek meal. Thanks for your kind comments 🙂 Eb x
This sounds delicious Eb. I never really make chilli with chicken, tending to go for beef or a veggie version if I’m feeling extra well behaved. I love the idea of switching in chicken instead, or I wonder if it would work as well with turkey 😉
Thanks Charlotte 🙂 The chicken works really well as a change from beef – I would really recommend it! And yes I’m sure this would be great with turkey too – I’ve been eyeing lots of my recipes, thinking hmmm – that would work well with turkey… 🙂 Eb x
My feature at this week’s Sunday Fitness & Food link-up! What a beautiful dish! Congrats!
Oh wow! Thanks so much!! I’ll be popping over later to take a look 🙂 Eb x
Oooh chicken chilli!! Yum! (Really should have eaten before I read this!!!) Agree with you about the skinless/boneless chicken thighs, they are my go to chicken pieces as they have more iron in than chicken breasts so they are better for the Peachicks! Plus I reckon they taste better too!!
Aw, thanks Midge 🙂 Skinless/boneless chicken thighs are so fab, aren’t they? Good point about the iron and totally agree with you about the flavour – plus I love how you can’t overcook them in the way it is so easy to do with chicken breasts. I like the skin on / bone in version for some things – like my traybakes but the skinless/boneless ones are so good for this kind of thing. Thanks for your lovely kind comments 🙂 Eb x
This looks fabulous! One of the reasons I love Fall so much in New England is because of the cooking!! This will be a perfect meal after a brisk late afternoon on the soccer field with the kids. Thanks for sharing…Pinned 🙂
Aw thanks Angela – I love fall (or rather autumn as we say over here) for the exact same reason – such great food!! And that lovely contrast between the chill outside and then coming home to a lovely warming meal – it is totally my favourite season! Thanks for your kind comments 🙂 Eb x
I do love a good chilli, but haven’t even thought of putting chicken in it before. #cookblogshare
You really should try it, Louise – it works so well and it’s so quick and easy to do! Eb x
It looks good, and I will be trying it very soon,
I am a great fan of smoked paprika and, with the other herbs and spices, the flavours seem nicely balanced.
The only change I will be making is to use a fresh chilli rather than the flakes (I had a bumper crop this year, well over over 300 from 4 plants, with a couple of dozen Dorset Naga’s from another).
Another I am considering is adding chocolate near the end of cooking time. It works very well in beef chilli, but do you think it would work in this recipe?
So pleased you like it, Andy! It’s one of the most popular recipes on my site, so you are in good company. I love your idea of using fresh chilli. I use dried chilli flakes simply for speed and also to ensure I get the chilli just right…my kids would not thank me for making this too hot! Chocolate does work well in a chicken chilli too. In fact if you like the flavour of chocolate and chilli, you might like to check out this recipe: Easy Chicken Mole. Do let me know how it goes! Eb 😀
After this evenings meal I now know why it is a popular recipe.
I stuck to the recipe*, with the exceptions in my previous message and, not being sure of the chocolate, did half with and half without. My wife and I both agree the chocolate (1/2 square of dark) added another dimension to the very tasty ‘original’.
*It was a ‘last minute’ decision to make this today, so as I did not have enough chicken thigh I added a well known makers vegetarian Chicken Style Pieces. I can’t say they added any flavour to the recipe, but they certainly did not detract from it.
I will be passing this recipe, and your site details, on to family and friends.
Our only dilemma now is chocolate or no chocolate!
I’m so pleased you liked it Andy! So interesting to hear about your chocolate experiment…now I want to try the chocolate version!! Thank you so much for leaving this lovely comment on my blog and for sharing my recipe and website with your family and friends 🙂 Eb