This Green Chile Chicken Stew is a family favorite that combines diced green chiles, salsa verde, celery, carrots, potatoes, and chicken for a hearty stew! Use a whole fryer or leftover deli rotisserie chicken for an out-of-this-world stew that is sure to be a new personal favorite for you too!
Easy Salsa Verde & Green Chile Chicken Stew
There’s nothing quite like a homemade stew to activate all the senses. My Green Chile Chicken Stew is aromatic, appetizing, and all-around amazing. Aside from being absolutely delicious, it is a relatively healthy meal that is also quite filling and fabulously flavorful!
As the stew cooks and all of the flavors mingle, your kitchen will smell glorious - just like a gourmet’s! Allowing the ingredients to simmer together gives every morsel of this mouthwatering dish depth.
From the first bite to the last scrape of the bowl, you will never tire of the taste, thanks to the array of exciting ingredients and select seasonings.
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I make this green chile chicken stew on weekends for a late lunch or early Sunday dinner. This also makes it a go-to when I want to make a one-pot meal for a serve-yourself supper.
Everyone always enjoys this easy chicken stew, especially when it is served piping hot! When there is any left, you better believe it's a first-round pick to reheat it the next day and do it all over again!
What You'll Need
The ingredients list is a combination of classic chicken soup components plus some Mexican-inspired flavors, making this stew simple to prepare. The zesty spices add so much to the chicken! Which makes it a winner among those who are bored of anything bland.
This chicken is anything but plain! The daring can even add a dash of hot sauce for more heat!
- Chicken – Get a whole fryer big enough to feed 6 people. Have a leftover portion of rotisserie chicken? Great! Cut the recipe in half and use up your deli chicken in the best stew ever!
- Water – Enough to cover your chicken in the pot.
- Bay Leaves – Adds extraordinary flavor! Using bay leaves is a great part of how to boil chicken and end up with more flavorful chicken. *Just don’t forget to remove them before serving!
- Coriander – A delicious spice to liven up the stew and add depth of flavor.
- Cumin – A slight spice, with earthy flavors to round out the stew. This is one of my favorite spices for any recipe based on Mexican food!
- Paprika – Zesty and flavorful. Another of my favorite spices to use with any protein!
- Salt & Pepper – Add as much of each as you’d like to taste. These are your basic spices for highlighting wonderful ingredient flavors!
- Chicken Bouillon – I like the Knorr brand cubes the best. But any sort of bouillon will do. If you're using a deli rotisserie chicken, swap out your broth for chicken broth but keep the added bouillon.
- Onion – Onions bring richness and a subtle bite.
- Garlic – Garlic is fragrant, earthy, and full of its unique flavor.
- Potatoes – A hearty element to make this dish a meal in itself.
- Carrots – Color and texture are important, plus the slight sweetness is sublime.
- Celery – More veggies to punch up the health factor, not to mention the subtle crunch.
- Green Chiles – I would opt for New Mexico Hatch fire-roasted green chiles if you have them available. Even better, use fresh chiles and roast them under the broiler for an a-m-a-z-i-n-g upgrade to this stew recipe!!
- Salsa Verde – Spice is nice! And salsa verde is undoubtedly my favorite salsa. This totally explains why this chicken stew is in heavy rotation in my household! 🙂
- Lime (juice and zest) – The citrus element brightens up the stew. You can use bottled lime juice, but fresh is best. Plus, the added lime zest is absolutely divine!
- Cilantro – Jazz up the overall flavor and add a vibrant color.
How to Make Chicken & Green Chile Stew
This incredibly easy-to-make chicken and green chile stew is even easier if you want to use leftover chicken or pull apart any remaining deli rotisserie chicken. To use leftovers, skip through the boiled chicken directions and use chicken broth with your pre-cooked chicken.
- Place your full chicken into a large stockpot or Dutch oven with enough water to cover the chicken completely. Add the 2 bay leaves and bring the chicken to a low boil for 40 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the boiling broth and transfer it to a large tray or platter to pull apart. Allow the chicken to cool slightly before removing all the skin and pulling off the wings and legs to help speed along the cooling process. Once cooled enough to handle, pull off all the chicken meat from the carcass. Break the meat into bite-sized pieces and shreds. *Discard the bay leaves.
- Strain the broth in your stockpot if desired and return 6 cups of the broth to the stockpot with the pulled chicken.
- Add the seasonings - coriander, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper, as well as the chicken bouillon cubes. Stir everything into the broth, then add the vegetables - onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, and celery. Next, add the canned green chiles and the salsa verde. Bring the stew to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Stir in the lime juice, lime zest, and a half cup of cilantro. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Garnish with more cilantro if desired.
You can serve with bread, cornbread, flour tortillas, hand-torn sourdough, or crackers. Sometimes I top each bowl with a dollop of sour cream for a wonderful creamy green chile chicken stew version. Enjoy!
*To thicken your chicken stew, make a slurry of 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour with an equal amount of cold water. Mix until smooth, then add a ¼ cup of broth and mix until smooth again. Whisk the slurry into your stew.
How to Store Chicken Stew
Place any leftovers into an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Make sure that your stew is fully cooled before refrigerating or freezing.
To freeze the green chile chicken stew, place it into an airtight container and leave about a half-inch of space for expansion during freezing. Your frozen chicken stew will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer but is best used within the first 2 months.
Thaw frozen chicken stew by refrigerating it overnight before serving, or by using the thaw function of your microwave. Reheat your green chile chicken stew in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop at medium heat.
📋 Recipe
Green Chile Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (raw, thawed)
- water (enough to cover the chicken)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- each, salt & pepper (to taste)
- 2 cubes chicken bouillon (Knorr brand recommended)
- 1 small yellow onion (diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced, about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 medium russet potatoes (diced)
- 2 large carrot
- 2 ribs celery
- 8 oz diced green chiles (Hatch fire-roasted are best)
- 16 oz salsa verde (2 cups)
- 1 lime (juice and zest)
- 1 cup cilantro (divided - two ½ cup portions)
Instructions
- Place your chicken into a large stockpot or Dutch oven with enough water to cover the chicken. Add the bay leaves and bring the chicken to a low boil for 40 minutes.
- Remove the chicken from the broth and transfer it to a tray or platter to pull apart. Allow the boiled chicken to cool slightly before removing the skin and pulling the wings and legs off to help speed along the cooling process. Pull the chicken meat from the carcass. *Discard the bay leaves.
- Strain the broth in your stockpot if desired and return 6 cups of broth to the stockpot with the pulled chicken.
- Add the seasoning including coriander, cumin, paprika, black pepper, and chicken bouillon cubes. Stir into the broth, then add the vegetables including onion, garlic, potatoes, carrot, and celery. Also, add the canned green chiles and the salsa verde then bring the stew to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Stir in the lime juice, lime zest, and a half cup of cilantro. Serve immediately.
Notes
Place any leftovers into an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Make sure that your stew is fully cooled before refrigerating or freezing. To freeze the green chile chicken stew, place it into an airtight container and leave about a half-inch of space for expansion during freezing. Your frozen chicken stew will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer but is best used within the first 2 months. Thaw frozen chicken stew by refrigerating it overnight before serving, or by using the thaw function of your microwave. Reheat your green chile chicken stew in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop at medium heat.
Nutrition
Angela is an at home chef that developed a passion for all things cooking and baking at a young age in her Grandma's kitchen. After many years in the food service industry, she now enjoys sharing all of her family favorite recipes and creating tasty dinner and amazing dessert recipes here at Bake It With Love!
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