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Barbecue Chicken Chili

This Barbecue Chicken Chili with grilled corn takes a classic comfort food meal and gives it a fresh summertime twist. Bright, light & totally delicious.

Barbecue Chicken Chili close up image

Barbecue Chicken Chili

Originally published August 2014.

Regular readers of Rock Recipes will know that I use my Smokin’ Summer Spice Dry Rub on practically everything that’s cooked on the backyard grill.

Beef brisket, pulled pork and lamb chops have all seen plenty of this fantastic dry rub. I even sprinkle it on as a seasoning mix for great simple burgers.

Smokin' Summer Spice Dry Rub photo of spices in mason jar with title text added for Pinterest

With some summer fresh tomatoes, corn and zucchini on hand, I decided to incorporate them all into a tasty summertime chili that once again used my favourite dry rub.

In this recipe the dry rub is the only seasoning that the chili needs to keep it light, fresh tasting and still well seasoned. (Please note that I have provided an option for a simplified dry rub using fewer ingredients in the recipe as well).

fresh red organic tomatoes on the vine

Vine ripened tomatoes are great for this recipe but you can use the same amount of canned tomatoes out of season.

Grilling the chicken, corn and peppers add plenty of smoky flavour while keeping the overall taste still very fresh. The crunchy kernels of sweet corn add little bursts of sweetness that are just delicious too.

If you like you can even grill the chicken, corn and peppers the day before, especially if you are grilling anyway, and get a big jump on the next day’s dinner.

In the NOTES section there is a simplified spice selection to use in place of the BBQ Spice rub suggested if you prefer to keep it a little simpler.

Barbecue Chicken Chili

Barbecue Chicken Chili

A quick serving suggestion.

As with all our soups, stews and chilis. one quicka nd easy suggestion to serve alongside is our easy 6 ingredient Biscuit Muffin Bread. Add it to any meal where you would serve rolls or biscuits, in a much shorter prep time.

Biscuit Muffin Bread photo with title text for Pinterest

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Barbecue Chicken Chili with text

Barbecue Chicken Chili

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Barbecue Chicken Chili close up image
Yield: 6 to 8 Servings

Barbecue Chicken Chili

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

This Barbecue Chicken Chili with grilled corn takes a classic comfort food meal and gives it a fresh summertime twist; bright, fresh & totally delicious.

Ingredients

  • Aprox. 6 tbsp Smokin' Summer Spice Dry Rub
  • 2 ½ boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 medium red onion, , finely diced
  • 3½ cups canned or diced fresh tomatoes
  • 2½ cups plain tomato sauce
  • 3 tbsp molasses
  • 3 ears grilled sweet corn
  • 1 cup grated zucchini, (optional, squeeze to remove excess liquid)
  • 1 large grilled sweet pepper, , diced small
  • One 19 oz can kidney beans, , about 2 cups, drained and rinsed

Instructions

  1. Begin by coating the chicken with the dry rub. Cover and place in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.
  2. Grill the chicken, corn and peppers. Dice the chicken and peppers into bite sized pieces and remove the corn kernels from the cob.
  3. Saute the garlic and onions in the olive oil until the onions begin to soften.
  4. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, molasses, sweet corn, grilled pepper and grated zucchini (optional) and kidney beans.
  5. Simmer for about 20 minutes before adding the grilled chicken and simmering for an additional 15 minutes.

Notes

If you want a simplified dry rub for the chicken try mixing together

½ tsp cumin

1 tbsp smoked paprika

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp black pepper


Recommended Products

Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 355Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 8gCholesterol 43mgSodium 762mgCarbohydrates 44gFiber 11gSugar 17gProtein 26g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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Vicky

Wednesday 17th of September 2014

Wow love the idea of grilling the chicken and veggie first before adding it to the chili! I'm sure this really takes the chili to the next level! YUM!

Barry C. Parsons

Wednesday 17th of September 2014

It's all about building those layers of flavour!

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