Chicken Chile Colorado
I have been wanting to try this recipe for Chicken Chile Colorado and let me just say…it was spectacular!
Last year around this same middle of winter time, I make Chile Colorado Beef Stew and pretty much dreamed about it throughout the year.
This is a traditional Mexican stew, and not really what I consider “chili”.
And no…it doesn’t have anything to do with the state of Colorado.
“Colorado” in Spanish means something that is a deep, red color and that’s how it was named.
This recipe is a little different because it uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and not beef, for this flavorful, spicy dish đŸ™‚
Most of the spice and depth of flavor come from these dried Mexican chiles.
Some specialty stores may carry them, my local store does not so I ordered them from Amazon (as I do quite often đŸ˜‰ )
Click below to order these from Amazon!
How to Make Chicken Chile Colorado
You’ll need 5 guajillo chiles, and 4 each of the ancho and arbol chiles.
Remove the stems and get rid of those.
Take out (or shake out) some or most of the seeds.
More seeds will create more spice and less seeds…less spice.
First we need to rehydrate these chiles.
Put 2 cans of chicken broth in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
Remove from heat and put the chiles into the hot broth.
Let them soak for 20 to 30 minutes and this will bring them back to life.
Pour the chiles and the broth into a blender or food processor.
Blend until smooth, which took me more than a minute.
This is the consistency you want and with no chunks of chiles.
While the chiles were soaking, I cut almost 4 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs into bite size pieces.
Set a large soup pot over medium high heat and add a few Tablespoons vegetable oil.
Once the oil is nice and hot, coat the chicken in flour and season with kosher salt and pepper.
They will go into the pot and cook 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir the chicken a few times throughout.
And while the chicken cooks, dice 2 onions, LOTS of garlic, and set out some cumin and oregano.
Add the diced onions and 2 Tablespoons each of cumin and oregano.
Cook for a few minutes, stirring a few times.
Add some minced garlic and cook 1 more minute.
Almost ready…
Finally, pour a can of chicken broth and the star of this show…the blended Mexican chiles.
Let this simmer on low for 45 minutes, or even a little longer if you’d like.
Taste for seasoning toward the end of cooking and add more kosher salt and pepper if needed.
And if it’s too spicy, add some honey.
The sweetness will balance out the heat level a bit.
You have a few options on how to serve this stew.
Just by itself is enough, or the traditional way is to serve with rice or tortillas.
You can also set out toppings such as cheese, sour cream, and green onions for Chicken Chile Colorado
This was part of our playoff football party spread.
We tore the soft tortillas and used them to pick up the chicken bites.
Also, I made honey cornbread and let me just say the sweet and spicy combo was on point đŸ™‚
And the leftovers were even better the next day!
If you like Chicken Chile Colorado, you might also like these recipes…
Slow Cooker Chicken Fajita Soup
Chicken Birria Tacos
Mexican Street Corn Chicken Enchiladas
Mexican Shrimp Pad Thai
.
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Chicken Chile Colorado
Chicken Chile Colorado is like traditional Chile Colorado only using chicken thighs in place of beef, a flavorful stew served with tortillas
Ingredients
- 5 guajillo chiles
- 4 ancho chiles
- 4 arbol chiles
- 3 14 oz cans chicken broth
- 3 Tbsps vegetable oil
- 3 1/2 to 4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into bite size pieces)
- kosher salt, pepper
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 onions diced
- 2 Tbsps cumin
- 2 Tbsps oregano
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- Optional: 1 to 2 Tablespoons honey if it's too spicy, the honey will help
Instructions
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Remove the stems from the dried chiles and remove some of the seeds (this depends on your spice preference, more seeds will be more spicy).
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Add 2 cans of the chicken broth to a saucepan and add the chiles. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Let them soak in the hot water 20 to 30 minutes.
-
Pour the chiles and broth into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth (mine took over a minute).
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Set a large soup pot over medium high heat and add the oil. Coat the chicken pieces in the flour and season with kosher salt and pepper. Once the oil is hot add the chicken and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring a few times.
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Add the onion, cumin, and oregano and cook 5 more minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.
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Add the remaining can of chicken broth and the blended chiles. Bring this to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Taste for seasoning and add more kosher salt and pepper if needed, add honey if it's too spicy.
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Serve with rice, tortillas, cornbread, or with toppings such as cheese, sour cream, or green onions.
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