Add a hint of smoke to a classic chicken chili using chipotle peppers and sweet potatoes to create a perfectly balanced smoky chicken chili.
I feel like it’s been forever since I shared a new recipe here, time is just flying by these days and getting away from me. This smoky chicken chili is a recipe I was working on a couple of months ago but with this cold weather snap we’ve had in Toronto, I finally perfected it and it’s finally the right time to share it with you. This is the kind of recipe to have simmering on the stove for a comforting meal this weekend. The smokiness in this chili comes from chipotle chili peppers which are a smoke-dried jalapeño pepper. Chipotles are one of my favourite ingredients to use in recipes because they add a complex flavour that you can’t otherwise achieve. You can also try them in my chipotle chicken sandwiches. Recipes are all about balance, so I’ve used some sweet potato in this chili to balance out the spice and smoky flavour from the chipotle peppers. Plus, I just really love using sweet potatoes in any chili recipe.
You see, my kitchen was pretty quiet over the holidays, but I’m slowly getting back in the swing of things. As you all know, 2015 is chugging along. And life, as always, is chugging along as well. I’ve had things on pause, or some kind of slow-motion over the past little while, but as Stephen Chbosky wrote in The Perks of Being A Wallflower (one of my favourite books) “Life doesn’t stop for anybody.” Boom. So true. Let’s keep things going and moving, as hard as it is sometimes when all you want to do is run away from all responsibility.
Classes are starting up again. Classes for my last semester of university. I can’t believe it. It’s been a journey, with its fair share of ups and downs, and I know this semester will be no different. But I feel as though I’m sort of ready for it. I’m ready for it to start and I’m ready for it to finish. It took a while, but right now, I’m at a place in my life where I am ready to be done and I’m ready to close that undergraduate chapter. If you would have asked me this question two months ago, my answer would have been completely different. But I am starting to feel this new, excited energy about things, which I didn’t have before. Maybe it’s because I keep repeating my mantra for 2015 to myself “Just do the next right thing.” You should give it a try, it makes things, changes, struggles a little bit easier, simpler and less overwhelming.
Smoky chicken chili recipe breakdown
Add some spice and flavour to a comforting healthy chili packed with chicken and sweet potatoes with a hint of chipotle peppers.
Louisa Clements
Yields 4-6
15 minPrep Time
30 minCook Time
45 minTotal Time
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Ingredients
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.
- Add onions, saute until softened, about 2 minutes.
- Add garlic, spices and salt. Cook another minute or until fragrant.
- Add pickled jalapenos and chipotle peppers. Stir another minute.
- Add diced chicken, cook for 4-5 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
- Add diced tomatoes, sweet potatoes, black beans and chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low, and simmer, partially cover for 18-20 minutes.
Notes
Recipe by Louisa Clements
Let me know if you give this smoky chicken chili a try in the comments below.
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