Easy Red Chicken Chili Recipe

It's the middle of the week, you've had takeout too many times already, and you're hoping for a quick and easy dinner. Trust us, you're not alone. It happens to the best of us. But even on those nights when you need a home-cooked meal, you may not want to put a ton of time and effort into it. Enter: this easy red chicken chili.

This recipe from recipe developer and food photographer Petar Marshall brings together all the great flavors and ingredients of a traditional chili with a unique spin. "The chicken adds a nice flavor while keeping it a bit lighter than your typical ground beef chili," he says.

With simple, easy-to-find ingredients, this red chicken chili recipe requires just a few steps. And the best part? After five minutes of prep time, it'll be finished cooking and ready to dish up with plenty of toppings in just 30 minutes. Make it for those nights when you need a good home-cooked meal in a pinch, and then save the rest for leftovers to keep enjoying throughout the week.

To get started on making a batch of this easy red chicken chili at home, grab all of your ingredients first. This is a quick recipe, so having everything on hand will definitely make the process smoother.

For this red chicken chili recipe, you'll need two large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed, one yellow onion, one red bell pepper, three cloves of garlic, one 15-ounce can of tomato sauce, one 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes, one 15-ounce can of red kidney beans, two cups of chicken broth, one and a half tablespoons chili powder, garlic salt, and black pepper.

To serve and garnish the red chicken chili, you'll need shredded cheddar cheese and chopped cilantro. "You can keep it simple with the cheese and cilantro for toppings or mix it up," says Marshall. "Avocado, crushed tortilla chips, or raw onions would make a great topping as well."

To get started on making this easy red chicken chili recipe at home, first prepare all of the vegetables. Grab a cutting board and a sharp knife, dice up the red bell pepper into small pieces, and then do the same with the onion. Next, mince up the garlic.

Before you get started on cooking, cut up the two chicken breasts into small chunks. "The smaller pieces will make the cooking process for the chicken go much quicker," says Marshall.

Once all of the vegetables and the chicken are prepped, it's time to get cooking. Use a Dutch oven or a large pot for this recipe. Put it on the stove, turn the heat to medium, and then sauté the onion, red bell pepper, and garlic. According to Marshall, you don't need to fully cook the vegetables, as they'll finish cooking with the rest of the ingredients. "You just want to sauté enough to get a great caramelized flavor from the vegetables," he says.

Once the vegetables are sautéed, it's time to cook the chicken. Add all of the chicken into the vegetable mixture, and cook on medium. Cook until the chicken shows no pink, giving a sign that it's fully cooked. Be sure to season your chicken with garlic salt and pepper to taste to add more flavor to the dish.

With the vegetables and chicken cooked, you're ready to add all of the liquid ingredients to finish off the chili. Pour all of the beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth in the pot. Add in the chili powder, and then stir the mixture well to fully combine. Once everything has been added to the pot, let the chili simmer on medium-low for 30 minutes. During this time, it will reduce and slightly thicken for the perfect consistency. Once the chili is ready, dish it up with shredded cheddar cheese and chopped cilantro on top.