Tequila Chicken Chili is my newest chilli creation. It's easy and fun to get creative when making a pot of chilli. I have sometimes used beer, and even coffee or tea. This time I wanted to compliment spicy chili peppers with a Mexican twist, so tequila went into this tequila chicken chili pot. Lime juice and cilantro rounded out the Mexican inspiration.
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About Chipotle Peppers
Chipotle chilli pepper with its adobo sauce gives the tequila chicken chilli a wonderful smoky spiciness. I love having this versatile staple in my pantry. Chipotle peppers are dried and smoked jalapeno. Adobo sauce is a combination of paprika, oregano, salt, garlic, and vinegar that the peppers are preserved in. The adobo sauce is wonderful for adding to barbecue sauces, tacos, on burgers, pizza and tons of other dishes. Check out Everything You Need To Know About Chipotle for more info. You can store the unused portion of the can in a covered container in the fridge for a couple of weeks to use in other recipes, like this Chipotle Chicken Enchiladas.
Adjust your Spice Levels to your Liking
OK, so yes, we like a lot of spice at my house. Don't let the spice level in this recipe scare you, though, if you prefer less heat. It's very easy to dial it down. Try scraping out the seeds before mincing, and/or reduce the number of chipotle peppers. You can also leave out the chipotle peppers and just use the adobo sauce for a much more subtle heat. I couldn't resist using one of my homegrown cayenne peppers as well, although I did remove the seeds and pulp. You can leave that out, if you prefer, too.
On the other hand, feel free to dial the spice up, if you are daring.
For more chilli inspiration, check out Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chicken Chili. And what's chili without Cornbread?
Recipe
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Tequila Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 lb lean ground chicken
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 onion diced
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 2 tsp dried cumin
- Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste.
- 1 28 oz can no sodium added diced tomatoes and their juice
- 1 14 oz can red kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 1 14 oz can white kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 1 lime juice and zest
- ¼ cup tequila
- 3 chipotle peppers minced, plus 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 1 cayenne pepper seeded and minced (optional)
- 1 large red or green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 2 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high.
- Add ground chicken and cook, breaking up with a spoon until browned and no longer pink, about five minutes.
- Add onion and garlic and cook until softened, about three minutes.
- Add chilli powder, cumin, salt and pepper, cooking and stirring for about a minute.
- Add all remaining ingredients except the cilantro.
- Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about an hour.
- Remove from heat and allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve in bowls with cilantro and lime wedges
Nutrition
Marisa
Love the sound of this smoking hot chilli! Beautiful photos as well !
Colleen
Thanks Marisa! I did provide advise on dialing it down, but yes, we like it hot 🙂
Cassie @ Crumb Kitchen
This is fantastic, Colleen! I've never heard of using tequila in chilli (or even tea or coffee like you mentioned!), but it seems to add something wonderful to the dish. Great recipe. 🙂
Colleen
Thanks Cassie! Chilli is a fun dish to play around with. 🙂
Nicoletta @sugarlovespices
Love your pictures Colleen! Too bad you had to change your plan for the rain, but I see that you created a wonderful dish there! We like spices too, in our dishes, my husband especially 🙂 . And the addition of tequila, spot on!
Colleen
Thank you so much, Nicoletta, I always love your photos and recipes, too!
Bernice Hill
Wow. I really like this spin on chili...and your photos are lovely too.
Bring on the tequila!
Colleen
Thank you Bernice. Yay for tequila 🙂
Meaghan
This chilli looks AH-mazing!! Beautiful photography.
Colleen
Thank you so much Meaghan, it was delicious!
Karen Ahmed
You had me at Tequila! The shot and the props are amazing!
Colleen
Thanks so much Karen!
Elaine @ Flavour and Savour
This is MY kind of meal! Love these flavours. Pinning!
Colleen
Thanks Elaine!