By Trunk-or-treat was Friday. I made fifteen quarts of chili in the biggest pot I own and a crockpot running simultaneously, and I delivered it to the church parking lot in Kevin's truck because the minivan already smelled like chili from a previous incident and I was not compounding the problem. The neighborhood turned out in force — sixty kids, minimum, in costumes ranging from elaborate to "I put a sheet on my head five minutes ago."
Jack in his farmer costume was the hit of the evening, mostly because he stayed in character the entire night. When people asked what he was, he said, "I'm a farmer. Do you know what kind of soil you have here?" Several adults were genuinely stumped. One dad started a conversation about clay content with a five-year-old in overalls and it went on for ten minutes. Kevin had to extract Jack from a landscaping discussion to go trick-or-treating.
Emma's horse costume held together for approximately forty-five minutes before the cardboard body disintegrated in the drizzle. She spent the rest of the night as "a horse that had an accident," which she played for laughs because Emma plays everything for laughs. Noah's robot costume was structurally sound because Noah builds things to last, but he couldn't fit through doorways and had to turn sideways at every house.
I served the chili with cornbread — Jiffy, always Jiffy — and cheese and sour cream on the side. A woman named Karen from three blocks over asked for the recipe and I told her, and she said, "That's it?" and I said, "That's it." Good chili is not complicated. Good chili is ground beef and beans and tomatoes and seasoning and time. If you need a recipe with seventeen ingredients and a two-day prep time, you're making a performance, not a meal.
After the kids went to bed, Kevin and I ate leftover chili on the couch and watched a scary movie that was neither scary nor good, and I fell asleep with a bowl on my lap, which is the most honest review a movie can receive. Kevin put a blanket over me and didn't wake me up, which is the kind of love story they don't make movies about but should.
When Karen from three blocks over asked me for the recipe, I meant every word of my answer — good chili should not require a dissertation. This chicken enchilada version is what I reach for when I need something that feeds a crowd fast and still gets people coming back for seconds with bowls scraped clean. It came together in thirty minutes before I ever loaded the crockpot into Kevin’s truck, and it held up beautifully on a cold, drizzly Halloween night next to a folding table, a box of Jiffy, and sixty kids in costumes. If you want the recipe Karen got, here it is.
Easy 30 Minute Chicken Enchilada Chili
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (10 oz) red enchilada sauce
- 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and sliced green onions for serving
Instructions
- Saute the aromatics. Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 3–4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Cook the chicken. Add the chicken pieces to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4–5 minutes until no longer pink on the outside. It does not need to be cooked through at this stage.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Pour in the enchilada sauce, diced tomatoes, black beans, kidney beans, corn, and chicken broth. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Simmer. Bring the chili to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is fully cooked through and the flavors have melded.
- Taste and adjust. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, chili powder, or a splash of broth if needed to reach your preferred consistency.
- Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with shredded cheddar, sour cream, and green onions. Serve alongside Jiffy cornbread — always Jiffy.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 340 | Protein: 30g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 38g | Fiber: 9g | Sodium: 820mg