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{This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill.}

The day after Christmas…perfect day for a bowl of this Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tamale Chili.

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tamale Chili | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

And just like that it’s the day after Christmas. Hoping each and every one you had an amazing Christmas with your family. And for those of you who did not celebrate, I hope you had a relaxing day off!

My family and I had one of the best Christmases yet. It finally snowed, really snowed! Which made for one of the best white Christmases ever. The day was filled with good food and even better company. I have so much to share, but I’m going to save all the details for another day, as I’m attempting to keep today’s post short and sweet in an effort to spend less time online, and more time with my family.

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tamale Chili | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tamale Chili | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Every year for New Years, my family and I have always made a Mexican feast. This is something my late Aunt Katie started and we’ve carried on the tradition. Back when my cousins and I were kids, we’d spend the week after Christmas at our cabin in Ripley, New York. My Aunt Katie always used to bring tons of fresh tamales for New Years Eve and it was something everyone looked forward to each year.

Here’s the thing, I’ve attempted to make homemade tamales before, and well, I don’t really have a desire to do it again.

They are a lot of work, like a lot. Too much for me, and especially when feeding over seventeen people.

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tamale Chili | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

These days I stick to tamale inspired recipes (hello to this tamale pie), plenty of tacos (new recipe coming on Thursday!), and bowls of guacamole.

This year’s recipe is all about easy slow cooker tamale chili (with stove top and instant pot directions too). If you guys like tamales, and you like chicken tortilla soup, then this is your kind of a chili. It’s basically a cross between those two recipes and it is DELICIOUS.

I used my favorite Mexican spices, some chipotle in adobo, and my homemade enchilada sauce (recipe in my cookbook) to flavor the chili. To make the chili thicker, creamier, and to give it that true tamale taste, I used Bob’s Red Mill Cornmeal. Guys, the cornmeal is what makes this chili. It adds that sweet corn flavor of Masa, which is used in traditional tamales.

And then the toppings. You all know how I love my toppings, and I did them up for this chili with some cilantro, lime, mango, avocado, homemade tortilla chips, and crumbled goat cheese.

So. Flippin’. GOOD.

Trust me, this is your New Year’s recipe, or at least sometime in the next few weeks. Everyone you are serving to is going to love this recipe, and it’s the perfect warming chili to cozy up to after a day of playing in the snow.

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tamale Chili | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tamale Chili

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 341 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1. In the bottom your crockpot, layer the onion and garlic. Add the chicken, ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Pour over the enchilada sauce and 4 cups broth. Add the apple cider vinegar, chipotle chilies, and cornmeal. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Shred the chicken using two forks. Taste and add salt if needed.
    2. In a small bowl, combine the mango, lime juice, and lime zest, and cilantro.
    3. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with mango, tortilla chips, avocado, and cheese. Garnish with cilantro and limes. Enjoy!

To Make in the Instant Pot

  • 1. In the bowl of your instant pot, layer the onion and garlic. Add the chicken, ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Pour over the enchilada sauce and 4 cups broth. Add the apple cider vinegar, chipotle chilies, and cornmeal. Cover and cook on high pressure/manual for 20-30 minutes.
    2. Once done cooking, use the natural or quick release function and release the steam. Shred the chicken using two forks. Taste and add salt if needed. Finish as directed above.
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Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tamale Chili | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Winter chili perfection.

{This post is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Half Baked Harvest cooking!}

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Really enjoyed this! Also found the leftovers to be even better. My coworkers were jealous of my lunch box for sure!

  2. 5 stars
    I can’t find the Bob’s cornmeal will regular cornmeal work? I looked at Walmart and target no luck:/

    1. Hi! Yes, regular cornmeal will be great! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂

  3. This was EXCELLENT without the salsa and goat cheese. Could only find ground Pasilla Chile. I used Bob`s Red Mill polenta grits since I had that on hand. Anticipating the leftovers today. Thanks for a great recipe.

  4. We love your recipes! A co-worker made this and sent me the link and she said it was wonderful! I tried to put into My Fitness Pal to calculate nutrition, but it says no recipe found with the URL link. Has anyone else reported having an issue with importing your recipes into MFP? Just curious.

    1. HI! Honestly, I am not familiar with My Fitness Pal, so I really am not sure. I am going to look into it though. Sorry I could not help more. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂

  5. I LOVE your Mexican recipes Tieghan! I made your Carnitas Bar recipe for New Years Eve for 14 people but subbed the pork from your Tamale Bowl recipe from your cookbook (which my husband says is the best dish I’ve ever made!) – my whole family was very impressed!
    I just have one question for you – how do you get your tortilla chips to look so crispy and delicious?!

    1. HI! I actually just pan fry them in a little olive oil and then sprinkle with salt. I also often bake them too (with olive oil and salt and at 400)! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂

  6. This was a huge hit at my house. I had all the fixings and my kids loved personalizing their chili. I also had leftover rice and we each added a scoop to our bowls. Will be making again for sure!

  7. 5 stars
    Totally delicious, as usual! Everyone went back for seconds.

    More Instant Pot recipes, please! I’m getting ready to go back to work after mat leave and want to have my arsenal of IP recipes FULL.

  8. Finally worked up the courage to use my instant pot tonight, and made this recipe. About 5 minutes after starting, I received a “burn” message on the IP ? seems like even though I added the cornmeal on top some of it sank and stuck to the bottom. I ended up cooking it on the stove top, but am disappointed I couldn’t use the IP.
    What did I do wrong??

    1. HI Alexis, I am so sorry for the trouble. I honestly have no idea what could have happened. What brand instant pot are you using? Again, so sorry for the trouble.

    2. I had the exact same thing! I have an Instant Pot DUO and the manual says it’s from “starch deposits” which may be the cornmeal. I just threw mine on slow cook to finish the meal.

  9. 5 stars
    Just found your site this year and following on Instagram. Love the flavors of your recipes and just tried this one tonight. Another winner! Full of smoky flavor and compares favorably to other chicken or turkey chili recipes I’ve tried. Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for 2018.

  10. 5 stars
    This is a keeper for my family. Made it in the crockpot with 2 bone-in chicken breasts and swapped the spices for a generous portion of “taco seasoning.” (I like the Spice Island brand from Costco). Even my “picky” eater ate it. We told her it was a creamy chicken soup. Haha.

  11. 5 stars
    First of all, I don’t know how you manage to consistently hit all the right tastebuds in our household — but you do! I can always count on your recipes to be spot on. Thank you for that. As for this soup — delicious! And that comes from a Texan household that can feel rather territorial around anything that ventures into the tortilla/tamale/Tex-Mex realm. Always thrilled to see slow cooker meals, too — you can’t beat them for wintertime aromatherapy. Wishing you and yours the happiest of new years!

  12. I really want to try this but I’m kind of afraid. I do like tamales and I do like chicken but I live in a rural part of Arkansas and don’t know that I can find ancho chili powder or Mexican oregano. Where do you find these unique ingredients? I can order them on Amazon for about 10 dollars each, so I really want to make sure this is a yummy recipe. It looks beautiful and I love chili and soup that I can freeze that is hearty and comforting and this one looks like a winner.

    1. I just used the “regular” chili powder and oregano I already had on hand. Still terrific! Hope that helps 😉

    2. HI Erica!! No need to order anything, you can just use regular chili powder and regular oregano. No need to buy anything special. So sorry for the trouble. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Happy Holiday’s 🙂

  13. Love that this is a slow cooker recipe Tieghan! LOVE Bob’s products! Hope you had an awesome Christmas!