Chicken Chili with Cornmeal Dumplings

Chicken Chili with Cornmeal Dumplings

Is anyone else over winter? I’m so done with cold weather. Overnight it dumped more snow here. Thankfully, it’s a snow day. So we will indulge in some cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate. Which I think I deserve after shoveling 4 inches of snow off my driveway.

A big pot of warm soup sounds great for dinner tonight. This chili is great because it is a one pot meal, which means less dishes which is always a plus. Since this chili has the cornbread on top in the form of dumplings, you don’t even really need to make a side dish. This was a hit with grown-ups and kids alike. Stay warm and enjoy!

Chicken Chili with Cornmeal Dumplings (Serves 6-8)

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 poblano chile, seeded and chopped small
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
1 (15 ounce) can cannellini bean (low sodium if you can find it), rinsed well
1 (15 ounce) can hominy, rinsed well
1 cup green salsa
2 chicken breasts, roasted and meat shredded
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup cornmeal
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk, chilled
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. (You can roast the chicken in this oven while the rest of the chili cooks. Just cook the chicken to 165 degrees F).
  2. Heat oil in Dutch oven or large oven safe pot over medium heat. Add onion through poblano. Cook until veggies soften, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, pepper, and cumin. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.
  3. Stir in broth through salsa. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.
  4. While simmering, make dumpling dough. Mix flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir buttermilk and butter together in a separate bowl until butter starts to clump. Add to flour mixture and combine with a spatula until dough forms.
  5. Add chicken and cilantro to chili. Using a ¼ cup measuring cup lightly sprayed with cooking spray, scoop dumplings onto the top of chili, spreading around pan as much as possible. You should get about 8 level scoops.
  6. Bake, uncovered, until dumplings are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Nutrition information (amount per serving):
Calories: 481
Protein: 24 g
Fat: 17 g
Saturated fat: 8 g
Cholesterol: 67 mg
Carbohydrates: 51 g
Fiber: 7 g
Sodium: 874 mg

Recipe notes: Celery and carrots aren’t traditional chili ingredients. But this is kind of a cross between chili and chicken pot pie, so I felt they worked just fine. Use whatever chile you have a heat tolerance for – poblano, anaheim, jalapeño. If you had white whole wheat flour, you could use that for all the flour. If you use entirely all-purpose flour, you could probably decrease the sugar to 1-2 tablespoons. I kept it at 3 to help with the bitter taste of the whole wheat flour.

Source: Slightly adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

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