The first time I ate Southwest Chicken Chowder, I’m pretty sure I cried because it was so wonderful.
I’m not usually this dramatic about my dinner, but at the time, I was three days post-partum with my second son, exhausted, weepy, and starving. And this yummy chowder was a gift from my friend, Kate, who knows that bringing dinner to a new mom is about #3 on the list of “Nicest Things You Can Do for Anyone.”
I have made this many times since then. I don’t always shed tears of joy eating it, but almost. I love that this dish is yummy and allergy-friendly, as we manage multiple food allergies. It’s perfect for rainy days, cold days, hot days, basically any day you need dinner. Which here, is every day. We do not skip dinner.
I tweaked Kate’s recipe to work for a crock pot, and it works great! Just don’t forget the toppings! Especially avocado. I recently realized not everyone likes avocado. It was quite shocking. One final note – you may want to peek on this now and then to see if it needs more broth.
Southwest Chicken and Rice Chowder
- 2 chicken breasts, uncooked
- 2 tsp of chili powder
- 1 tsp of cumin
- 1 tsp sea salt (you may need less if your broth is salty)
- two bay leaves
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp of garlic powder
- one chopped onion
- 3/4 c of brown rice, uncooked
- can of black beans, or two cups of prepared black beans
- can of corn, rinsed, or two cups frozen
- can of diced tomatoes, rinsed
- 4-5 cups of chicken broth (I find that I need five because my crock pot isn’t the greatest and cooks a little too hot, but you may find four to be enough.)
- juice of one lime
Toppings, as desired
- chopped cilantro
- chopped avocado
- lime slices
- shredded cheddar cheese
- sour cream
- corn chips
- Lay your chicken in the crock pot and cover with all the other ingredients except the beans.
- Pour the broth on top and cook on low for 3 hours. At this point, add the beans and cook for a remaining 3 hours. (If you are in a pinch, you can cook it all together for the six hours…I just prefer my beans more intact.)
- Before serving, take your chicken out and shred it, if desired. Mine usually is so tender I can shred it in the crock pot with a fork! Taste to see if you need to adjust your seasonings, and then add your toppings and eat it up!
My family loves this recipe, and it’s a hit when I need to take a meal to someone. When chicken thighs go on sale, I use those instead of breasts, and then package the meal in freezer bags to thaw overnight and pop in the crockpot already prepared. This is great!
Thanks for the freezing tip, Kayla!
Everything is in my crockpot to have for dinner! I had to make a few adjustments so I could use what I had on-hand, but I’m excited to try it out tonight…yay! 🙂
I make those kind of adjustments all the time! 🙂 Hope you enjoyed every single bite.
I live in NC too. What part are you in? We’re in the Triad area, High Point. Your recipe sounds so good.
Hi – I have just found your blog and this recipe, it sounds delicious! One question – do you know if this could be done as a freezer meal? ie. assemble it all & then defrost & make in crock pot? Thanks in advance!
I’m not sure – I would think it would do just fine to make and then freeze.
I made this for a church potluck today, thinking I would feel deprived because it was the only thing “on plan” that I could have ….it was awesome! I think it’s going to have a weekly place in my menu…Yum! Thanks for all you’re hard work!
YIPEE!!!!
This is in my crock right now and smells aaammmaaazzzzing!!! I made chicken on the grill the other night, and as I was cleaning up dinner, I threw the rest of the chicken breasts from the package into a freezer bag with the rest of the ingredients, except for the beans, and put it in the freezer. This morning I pulled the bag out, defrosted it in a bowl of water for a few minutes until I could empty the bag out into the crock pot. Super easy, and no cleanup this morning! Can’t wait for dinner time – love easy meals like this!!
Smart plan!!! 🙂 I hope you enjoy!
Beautiful! This would be a VERY easy crossover for maintenance or kiddos, just by switching up toppings.
Excellent advice, Gwen…as usual. 🙂
Crockin’ right now! Smells great!
I’m crockin’ too! But a roast. 🙂
Fantastic! We loved it!
I love crock-pot recipes. This looks great 🙂
I agree! Jessica makes me hungry. I need a snack.
OMGosh yuuuuuuum!
I know, right?
This sounds mouth-watering! And I haven’t even had breakfast yet. =) Thanks so much for sharing. Printing to make soon.
I could have eaten this for breakfast. lol