January 16, 2025
Main Dishes

Smoked Chicken Chili Recipe

Infuse your smoked chicken chili recipe with incredible smoky flavor by placing a whole chicken directly above the simmering chili base, allowing the drippings to enhance the beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, and spices below. Once smoked to perfection, shred the chicken and stir it into the rich, smoky chili for a crowd-pleasing meal.

Why This Recipe Works

Layers of Flavor: The smoking process to make smoked chicken chili creates layers of flavor that you simply can’t achieve any other way! As the chicken slowly cooks, it develops a deep, complex taste profile that infuses the entire chili.

Never Bland: This chicken chili recipe is packed with flavor, not only from infusing it with smoke, but also by using a combination of bold, flavorful ingredients! The combination of fire-roasted tomatoes, plenty of spices, and cream cheese creates deep flavors that keep you coming back for more. And since we smoke the chicken directly over the chili base, the flavorful juice from the chicken drips down and adds extra flavor to the mixture!

Perfect for a Crowd: Since we use a whole chicken here, along with a hearty mix of beans, corn, and vegetables, you will have enough smoked chicken chili to feed a crowd! Even better, the flavors actually improve if made a day ahead, making it ideal for entertaining. Just set up a toppings bar with various garnishes, and you’ve got the perfect cozy dinner that everyone will love!

Supplies Needed

Aluminum foil pan
Wire rack
Kitchen shears
Spray bottle
Heavy-duty tongs
Meat thermometer

Ingredients

Whole Chicken: I used a whole chicken here, since it will smoke up beautifully and give you plenty of chicken! For ease, you can technically use a shredded rotisserie chicken and mix it with the smoked chili base. However, I think smoking the chicken along with the chili base adds loads of flavor.
Onion: Onion adds a savory depth of flavor to the chili.
Peppers: To add a bit of heat, I used a combination of red bell pepper, poblano pepper, and jalapeño pepper.
Garlic: For added flavor and aroma!
Fire Roasted Tomatoes: Fire roasted tomatoes add an extra layer of smoky flavor. But if you prefer, you can use regular canned, diced tomatoes.
Black Beans: I like to add black beans to my smoked chicken chili for extra heartiness. If you don’t like beans in your chili, you can omit them.
Corn: I used frozen corn here! You can use fresh, frozen, or canned (just make sure to drain them).
Chicken Stock: My preference for the liquid here is chicken stock or chicken broth.
Cream Cheese: Cream cheese adds the perfect amount of creaminess!
Masa Harina: This is essential for authentic flavor and proper thickness.
Lime: To brighten up the flavors a bit!
Spices: You will need a combination of chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper and Mexican oregano to season this smoked chicken chili to perfection!

How To Make Smoked Chili

Preheat: Preheat the smoker to 250 F.
Cook the Veggies: In a frying pan, sauté the red pepper, poblano pepper, jalapeno, onion, and garlic until tender and soft(about 6-8 minutes).
Add Beans & Corn: Fold in the drained and rinsed black beans and the corn. Pour this mixture into a large aluminum foil pan.
Combine with Tomatoes, Stock & Cream Cheese: To the pan add the canned tomatoes, chicken stock, and softened cream cheese in cubes and mix to combine.
Prep the Chicken: Remove the chicken from the packaging and pat it dry. Use kitchen shears to remove the backbone and crack down the breastbone to lay the chicken flat. Lightly coat the whole chicken in olive oil and season with 4-6 tbsp of the dry rub on all sides and under the skin of the breast meat.
Smoke the Chicken & Chili Base Mixture: Place the spatchcock chicken onto a wire rack and place the wire rack over the aluminum foil pan so it’s sitting on top of the smoker grates (if this isn’t stable you can place these each on the grill side by side instead. Smoked for 2.5- 3 hours, spray the chicken with chicken stock as needed until the internal temperature of the breast meat reaches 165 F.
Remove: Remove both the chicken and the chili base mixture from the smoker and set the chicken aside to rest for 15-20 minutes.
Finish the Chili Base Mixture: Use a whisk to mix the cream cheese cubes into the chili base. Stir in the lime juice and masa harina mix again and set aside tented in foil (you can also transfer this to a pot on the stove over low heat if desired).
Shred Chicken: After the chicken has rested, shred all of the meat by hand and remove any bones, cartilage, and skin as needed.
Combine Everything: Add the shredded smoked chicken meat into the chili base and mix everything to combine.
Enjoy: Serve with your favorite chili toppings and enjoy!

What To Serve With It

Smoky chicken chili can be served with so many different side dishes and toppings! I recommend serving it with warm smoked cornbread with jalapeño honey butter, smoked corn on the cob, smoked baked potatoes, or a grilled broccoli salad. You can also serve the chili in homemade cornbread bowls!

Traditional toppings like shredded cheese, sour cream, diced avocado, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges work beautifully. For an extra touch, serve with pickled jalapeños or pickled onions and crispy tortilla strips!

Tips For Smoking

Don’t forget to spray the chicken with stock every 45 minutes! This will ensure that the chicken doesn’t dry out while smoking.
Position the chicken so the legs face the hotter part of your smoker. The breast is generally the first part of the chicken to finish cooking and potentially dry out.
Let the chicken rest the full 15-20 minutes before shredding to retain maximum juiciness! If you cut into it too quickly, the juices will all run out.

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