Martha Stewart Chicken Chile Stew Recipe

The trick that makes this stew thick without adding flour is one I use in everything now. Martha Stewart’s Chicken Chile Stew is a big-batch chicken chili recipe made with bone-in chicken thighs, three poblano chiles, cannellini beans, oregano, and chili powder, where half the beans get mashed to a paste and stirred back in to thicken the broth naturally. It feeds 12 people.

This chicken stew recipe is one of Martha Stewart’s best chicken chili recipes for feeding a crowd in the fall and winter. I make it when I have people coming over and I want a pot of something on the stove that looks like I cooked all day but really took about an hour. The shredded chicken in a thick, chile-spiked broth is the kind of food nobody says no to.

Try More Soup Recipes:

• Chicken Chili Hominy
• Chicken Soup
• Chicken And Dumplings

Why You Will Love This Chicken Chile Stew:

• The mashed bean trick is brilliant: Martha takes half the beans and mashes them with a potato masher, then stirs the paste back into the pot. It thickens the stew without flour or cream. The whole beans stay whole for texture and the mashed ones disappear into the broth. I use this trick in regular soups now too.
• It feeds 12 people from one pot: 3 1/2 pounds of chicken thighs, 3 cans of beans, and enough broth to fill a big pot. This is the recipe I make for game day, for family dinners, for any time I need to feed a crowd without making 4 different things.
• Shredded chicken is better than chunks here: The meat gets pulled apart by hand after simmering and stirred back in. The shreds soak up the broth and every spoonful has chicken in it instead of fishing around for a chunk at the bottom.

Chicken Chile Stew Ingredients

• 3 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 10)
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 teaspoons safflower oil
• 3 poblano chiles, ribs and seeds removed, chopped (about 1 3/4 cups)
• 1 large onion, chopped (about 3 cups)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 cans (15.5 ounces each) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• Lime wedges, for serving
• Cilantro sprigs, for serving
• Salsa fresca, for serving

How To Make Martha Stewart Chicken Chile Stew

1. Brown the chicken: Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high. Brown half the chicken skin-side down, turning once, until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes. Move to a plate. Do the same with the rest.
2. Cook the chiles and spices: Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Turn the heat to medium. Add the poblano chiles, onion, and garlic. Cook, stirring and scraping up the browned bits, until the onion is soft and golden in spots, about 5 minutes. Add the oregano and chili powder and cook stirring until it smells good, about 30 seconds.
3. Simmer the chicken: Put the chicken back in with any juices. Add the broth and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low. Cover and simmer until the chicken hits 165 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes. Move the chicken to a plate to cool.
4. Mash the beans and thicken: Mash half the beans to a paste in a bowl with a potato masher. Stir the mashed beans and the whole beans into the pot. Turn the heat to medium and simmer uncovered until the liquid thickens, about 10 minutes.
5. Shred and serve: Take the skin and bones off the chicken. Pull the meat into bite-size shreds and stir into the stew. Simmer 1 minute. Serve with lime wedges, cilantro, and salsa fresca.

Recipe Tips

• Mash half, keep half whole: This is the whole technique. The mashed beans thicken the broth like a roux without adding any flour. The whole beans stay intact for texture. I tried mashing all of them once and the stew turned into a thick paste. Half and half is the sweet spot.
• Brown in two batches: 10 chicken thighs do not fit in one layer. Crowding steams the chicken instead of browning it. Two batches, 10 minutes each. The golden skin adds flavor to the broth even though you take it off later.
• Shred by hand, not with forks: Pull the meat apart with your fingers when it is cool enough to touch. You get uneven, natural shreds that hold the broth better than neat pieces from a fork. I did it with forks once and the meat turned stringy.
• Squeeze lime on each bowl: Martha serves lime wedges on the side and the acid is what ties everything together. Without it the stew tastes a little flat. I squeeze half a lime per bowl and it wakes the whole thing up.

How This Is Different From The Hominy Version

I already made Martha’s chicken chili with hominy and these two share a few ingredients but they are different dinners. That one serves 4, uses boneless thighs in strips, and has hominy for chew. This one serves 12, uses bone-in thighs you shred, and gets its body from mashed cannellini beans.

• I make the hominy chili on a Tuesday for my family. I make this stew on a Saturday when the house is full. Different scale, different vibe.
• The mashed bean technique in this version makes a thicker, heartier stew. The hominy version is more of a brothy chili. Both are good for different reasons.

If you want quick and small, make the hominy one. If you want a pot that feeds everyone, this is the one.

What Goes Well With This Stew

I put out a bowl of tortilla chips and a jar of salsa next to the pot and let people help themselves. A warm stack of cornbread is the only thing I add and even that is optional.

Someone once brought guacamole and it turned into the best accidental pairing. A spoonful of guac on top of a hot bowl of stew sounds weird and it works.

How To Store Leftovers

This freezes better than almost anything I make. I fill quart containers and stack them in the freezer for cold nights. The mashed beans keep the broth thick even after freezing and thawing. It lasts in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Reheat on the stove over medium, adding a splash of water if it gets too thick. I have brought a frozen container to work, microwaved it, and had the best desk lunch of my life. This is the recipe that makes me feel like I have my life together.

FAQs

• Why mash half the beans? The mashed beans dissolve into the broth and thicken it naturally without flour, butter, or cream. The whole beans stay intact so you still get bites of bean in every spoonful. It is the smartest thickening trick I have learned from any recipe.
• Can I use boneless thighs? You can but the bones add flavor to the broth during simmering. If you go boneless, the stew will be lighter. I would add a little extra broth to make up for the lost body. Martha uses bone-in for a reason.
• What are poblano chiles? Large, dark green chiles that are mild and slightly sweet. Not spicy like jalapenos. Martha uses 3 of them and they add a deep pepper flavor without making the stew hot. You find them near the bell peppers at the store.
• Can I halve this recipe? Yes. Use about 1 3/4 pounds of thighs, half the beans, half the broth and water, and 1 or 2 poblanos. It still works the same way. I have made a half batch and it served 6 comfortably.

More Soup Recipes:

• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Tomato Soup
• Corn Chowder

Nutrition Facts

(1 serving, serves 12)

• Calories: 300
• Total Fat: 10g
• Saturated Fat: 2g
• Cholesterol: 65mg
• Sodium: 550mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 25g
• Protein: 25g