This unique ground chicken chili will become a family favorite. This is no ordinary chicken and white bean chili recipe. Made very special with Swiss chard and plenty of Italian flavors, the combination makes one great bowl of soup.
One can never have too many chili recipes. Take a look at my recipe for Hatch Green Chili with Pork.
Giada served this up a couple of months ago on her show, Giada at Home. I went to Food Network and bookmarked the recipe and vowed to give it a try. It’s so delicious I couldn’t wait to share it with you.
The unique combination of the flavors march right up the aisle, all the way to the altar, and to everyone’s surprise, and without much ceremony, join in holy matrimony. A fusion of flavors that you’ll find irresistible.
What Makes This Ground Chicken Chili Unique?
- This Italian version brings us a delicious version using Italian spices for an out of this world flavor experience.
- Swiss chard: I’ve never seen Swiss chard in a chili, which is about the most beautiful vegetable to prepare. With it’s deep rich green leaves and vivid red veins and stalks, it just makes you feel good about cooking with it.
- Parmesan Cheese. Another unique ingredient for chili. After all, to us here in the Wild West, chili usually comes with ground beef, tomatoes, pinto beans and topped with grated cheddar.
- Sweet Corn: Adds a nice crunch and truly makes this fusion chili recipe.
- Ground Chicken: I love cooking with a package of ground chicken. Lighter than ground beef, it still brings a great flavor to this dish.
- Creamy White Beans bring the texture and even more health benefits.
We truly thought this was the best ground chicken chili recipe we’ve had.
Let’s take a look.
Table of contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cannellini White Beans: Using canned beans makes this recipe a quick fix.
- Ground Chicken: You can use a blend of ground chicken, or ground chicken breast.
- Swiss Chard; Is mild in flavor, easy to prep. It’s flavor is not as intense as kale and more delicate with texture.
- Frozen Corn
- Parmesan Cheese
- Flat Leaf Parsley
See recipe card for complete list of ingredients and quantities.
About Ground Chicken: Using ground chicken can be a nice break from ground beef. It’s lighter in taste, fat and calories and holds up in the heartiest of recipes. Unless labeled as ground chicken breast, ground chicken is made with both dark and white meat. I prefer the blend as adding a little fat equals a moist texture and more flavor.
Spices You’ll Need
- Ground Cumin: Cumin is a warming spice that bring an earthy and citrus note to this chili.
- Fennel Seed: I love using fennel seeds in Italian recipes. They have a sweet, licorice flavor that will bring a sweet taste to recipes.
- Dried Oregano
- Chili Powder Seasoning: Chili Seasoning is a blend of spices used to season Tex-Mex style chili recipes. Use your favorite brand.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Ingredient Swaps
- Ground Chicken: Substitute ground turkey for the ground chicken.
- Chili Powder Seasoning: If you’re out of chili powder seasoning, but have chile powder (a single blend red chile powder) feel free to switch it out. New Mexico red chile powder is a good choice, or Ancho chile powder, a milder red chile powder. Keep in mind, using a single blend chile powder will bring more spice to the recipe.
- Cannellini Beans: White Great Northern Beans will work just fine for ground chicken chili.
Step by Step, How To Make Ground Chicken Chili
- Step 1: In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the ground chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, fennel seeds, oregano, and chili powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.
- Step 2: Sprinkle the flour over the chicken mixture and stir.
- Step 3: Add the white beans, chopped Swiss chard and corn to the chicken mixture.
- Step 4: Add chicken broth, stir well and simmer for about an hour until liquid has reduced by about half and the chili has thickened. Add red chile flakes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Ladle the ground chicken chili into bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan and chopped parsley.
Variations
- Make it creamier: This white bean chili is very hearty and thick with texture. If you want to make it creamier, use a fork to smash some of the beans against the side of the pan. And if you really want to make it creamier, add sour cream or even a chunk of cream cheese.
- Grind Your Own Chicken: You can easily find ground chicken breast in the meat counter at the grocery store, but remember, every step that the butcher takes to break down any piece of meat is charged to the customer. To save money, you can easily purchase boneless skinless chicken or chicken thight. Just cut it into large chunks and add it to your good processor. Pulse it until the chicken is ground. The advantage to using dark meat (chicken thighs) is simple: a little more fat = a little more flavor.
- Can You Make This With Rotisserie Chicken? Great idea! Remove the skin and bones from a rotisserie chicken and cube the meat. This will allow you to skip the browning process for the chicken. Please take the time to brown those onions however. The enhanced flavor from browning onions is well worth the time.
What To Serve It With
- Cornbread is a always a great side dish for this hearty soup.
- Or lighten things up with a Simple Side Salad.
Tips For Success
- When using canned beans, always drain and rinse to remove the starchy liquid and any unwanted sodium that may alter the flavor of the recipe.
- When adding the fennel and oregano, use the palms of your hands to rub them and break them down. This will allow more of their pure flavor to infuse the soup.
- When cooking the ground chicken, use a wooden spoon to stir and break apart the chicken. Doing so will allow the spices and seasonings to evenly flavor the dish.
Make-Ahead, Storage and Freezing
- Make Ahead: I highly suggest you do this. As with any soup, the flavors are enhanced the next day. This is a perfect chili recipe for entertaining. You can make this a couple days ahead of time and reheat when ready to serve.
- Refrigerator Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. To reheat, use a microwave or stovetop. If using a microwave, the 50% power feature is your best friend. Heat in 30 second increments to gently warm the soup without blasting it.
- Freezing: Store chili in an airtight container for up to three months. I like to use freezer safe zip-lock back. Just stand them up and scoop the soup in. Squeeze the air out, seal well and lay them flat to optimize freezer space. Remember to use a sharpie to label and date. Let the chili thaw overnight in the refrigerator then reheat.
Questions You Might Have
Absolutely! Follow steps 1 and 2 for browning the onions and the chicken. Then add to a slow cooker and continue with the steps. Cook on low for 4 hours. This technique would be great for a make-ahead to feed that hungry football crowd.
Simply omit the flour, or use a gluten free flour. The remainder of the ingredients are naturally gluten free.
Easy! Simply double up on the red chile flakes. Doing so won’t overpower the stellar lineup of ingredients.
Giada’s Ground Chicken Chili with White Beans
I hope you give this chicken chili with ground chicken and white beans a try. It’s truly a great bowl of soup.
More Chili Recipes
We love our chili recipes here on The Ranch, here are some more popular recipes.
I consider soups and stews to be my specialty, so don’t miss my soup and stew category. You’ll find a ton of irresistible slurp worthy recipes. Including the most popular soup recipe on my site for Anthony Bourdain’s New Mexico Style Chili, A richly flavored, hearty beef chili stew featuring beef chuck and New Mexico Hatch Chiles and Poblano peppers.
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Giada’s Ground Chicken Chili with White Beans
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Neutral Oil canola or vegetable oil
- 1 large onion chopped, about 1.5 cups
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 pounds ground chicken
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt plus more for seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 Tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 2 cannellini or other white beans 15-ounce cans, rinsed and drained
- 1 bunch Swiss chard about 1 pound, stems removed, leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 ½ cups frozen corn thawed
- 4 cups Chicken Broth
- ¼ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the ground chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, fennel seeds, oregano, and chili powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.
- Stir the flour into the chicken mixture. Add the beans, Swiss chard, corn, and chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Simmer for 55-60 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chili has thickened.
- Add the red pepper flakes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Ladle the chili into serving bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.
Notes
- When using canned beans, always drain and rinse to remove the starchy liquid and any unwanted sodium that may alter the flavor of the recipe.
- When adding the fennel and oregano, use the palms of your hands to rub them and break them down. This will allow more of their pure flavor to infuse the soup.
- When cooking the ground chicken, use a wooden spoon to stir and break apart the chicken. Doing so will allow the spices and seasonings to evenly flavor the dish.
Nutrition
Giada’s Ground Chicken Chili with White Beans …It’s What’s For Dinner
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
Wowza…that is some high praise! And of course, now I wish I had a bowl…. 🙂
It’s pretty darn easy to make. I’m going to be posting another soon. This just may NOT be the best White Bean Chili. As always, thanks for stopping by
‘I don’t own a Panini press, but I do own a grill pan and a brick.’
The best sentence I have ever read on a food blog! You have put a smile on my face 🙂
Thanks for stopping by my blog Mr. P. Always love new visitors
Such a great and unique combination of ingredients, you have to love Giada. Thanks for joining us at Souper Sunday this week! The round-up is now posted.
Aloha,
Deb
I love Souper Sunday. Thanks for stopping by Deb.
I love white bean chili. I’ll be giving this recipe a try!
Thanks for stopping by Kristi
I never would have thought to make an Italian version of chili, but I trust Giada implicitly. And you. These pictures are beautiful! What a great presentation.
I agree Joanne. She’s got great recipes. As always, thanks for stopping by.
That sounds like a great “black and white” chili. Whenever I hear chard, all I can think about is the move Zulu! because one of the main characters was Lt. Chard. He wasn’t Swiss though, he was Welsh 😉
Giada rocks my world! I’ve never been disappointed with any of her recipes.
Thanks for stopping by. I agree, I’ve saved so many of her recipes. Have only made a few and they are delicious.
That looks really good. I’ve never found a great white chili – I am going to try this soon!
You shouldn’t be disappointed. Thanks for stopping by
Sounds wonderful! I love Giada, I will have to try this soon.
She puts out some yummy stuff that’s for sure. Thanks for stopping by Natashya
I make a Wicked White Chili that has 4 1st place trophies, and was in the local( not a chili cook off either!) newspaper for third in a city wide cook off.. If you want the recipe, E-mail me! Key ingredients- cooked cubed chix breast, sweet Italian sausage, Jalapenos, and Alfredo sauce..
YOU BET
Hi – I’d be very interested in seeing your chicken chili recipe.
I love hte sound of this chicken and white bean version of chilli. I always associate beef and kidney beans with chilli so this is a nice alternative! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by NQN. I think I’ve never met a chili I didn’t like, unless it just too doggone hot.
This sounds so good – I love the spices. Chard grows well up here in Montana and I usually freeze some at the end of summer. What a great winter use. I am adding this to my soup recipes. Very nice post – you made me grin (as usual).
Let me know how you like it. Thanks for stopping by Vic