Mexican Chili

Mexican chicken chili is a hearty, flavorful, and delicious Mexican chili that breaks up Taco Tuesday with all the spices you love.

This is an OH SO GOOD chili that will be on your monthly rotation, perfect for a crowd or to curl up on the couch with your favorite movie.

Why you will love Mexican Chili.

Family Friendly: For us, Mexican night could be every night. My kids are major picky (uggggggggg) and somehow, with tons of patience, I have gotten them to love cumin, garlic, and onions.

That means that this Mexican Chicken Chili soup is one of the rare things I can get them to eat without complaining.

Variations are easy: What I love about this Mexican Chili is that you can easily alter your chicken with ground beef (or even pulled pork if you have some leftovers), and you can add and take away ingredients to taste with almost no real effect.

Additionally, this perfect meal tastes great with dipping tortilla chips and corn chips crumbled on top. 

Simple Chili Ingredients

RELATED: Mexican Lime Soup (with chicken) is a light and delicious weeknight recipe.

• cooking oil
• chicken breast, cut into cubes
• Seasonings and spices – dry minced onion, minced garlic, salt, dried parsley, garlic powder, black pepper, and chili powder. 

• chicken broth
• can of salsa (flavor of choice)
• canned – chili beans, corn, diced tomatoes (optionally use the fire-roasted tomatoes for heat), condensed tomato soup
• chopped fresh cilantro, optional for serving

How to make Mexican Chicken Chili

1. In a large stockpot, add vegetable oil and uncooked chicken. Heat on medium high heat until chicken is cooked through.
2. Add all spices, which include chili powder, minced onions, minced garlic, salt, dried parsley, garlic powder and black pepper.
3. Drain the can of whole corn and add to the stock pot.

4. Dump in a whole jar of salsa. You can make this any level of heat you would like.
5. Add a cans red chili beans and one can of condensed tomato soup.
6. Heat chicken chili on medium high heat until it just begins to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cover.
7. Continue to heat the pot of chili for 30 minutes, and then ladle chili into a large bowl for serving. Store leftover chili in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge. 

Expert Tips

If you want your Mexican chicken chili spicier, add 1-2 tablespoons more chili powder or one can of 4oz diced green chilies.

Another great tip when cooking this chili is to opt for spicy hot salsa, which already comes flavored and ready with spices and heat.

Toppings for Mexican-Inspired Chili

A classic chili recipe always tastes excellent with optional toppings like chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, green onions, and chopped avocado, and serve with homemade tortilla chips.

The most common ways to add heat to traditional chili is green chiles, garlic cloves, extra chili powder, or a dash of hot sauce. 

Easy Recipe Variations

Change the Beans in Chili – This particular homemade chili recipe uses a can of chili beans, which come preseasoned in the can.

Changing the bean to black beans or red beans (kidney beans) is fine, but you may need to add additional seasonings and spices to compensate for the change in flavor. 

Change the Protein – Try lean ground beef over cooked chicken. 

Extra Flavor – Minced yellow onion, cloves garlic, or a squeeze from a lime wedge all make delicious choices when finding the perfect taste. 

Related Mexican Recipes

There are so many unique Mexican flavors out there that you cannot just eat one delicious recipe! 

If you want more of a traditional family meal, try Mexican Chicken Casserole (a cast iron recipe), old fashioned and crunchy Frito Chicken Casserole, or simple and tasty slow cooker Mexican chicken thighs! 

Delicious flavor isn’t always just in a main dish. We love a Mexican street corn salad recipe, Parmesan Mayo Corn on the Cob, and the perfect potluck street corn casserole. 

It might not be on your radar, but warm Elote dip and Mexican cornbread casserole should be now.