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One-Pot Chicken Chili with Cornmeal Dumplings

By Cecelia Jenkins

Published on June 26, 2018

Time

1½ hours

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

One-Pot Chicken Chili with Cornmeal Dumplings

Ingredients

Chili

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped1 poblano chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped¾ teaspoon pepper ½ teaspoon salt 3 garlic cloves, minced2 teaspoons ground cumin 5 cups chicken broth 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed1 (15-ounce) can white or yellow hominy, drained1 cup jarred green salsa 1 (2½-pound) rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded, meat shredded into bite-size pieces (3 cups)½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Dumplings

1 ½ cups (7½ ounces/213 grams) all-purpose flour ½ cup (2½ ounces/71 grams) cornmeal 3 tablespoons sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ¾ teaspoon salt ½ cup buttermilk, chilled8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Before You Begin

Do not rinse the hominy after draining it; its residual starch adds body to the chili. Be sure to chill the buttermilk and cool the melted butter so the butter clumps when the two are combined. We developed this recipe using Quaker Yellow Cornmeal and Frontera Tomatillo Salsa.

Instructions

  1. For the chili: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, poblano, pepper, and salt and cook until vegetables have softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  2. Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in broth, beans, hominy, and salsa and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until flavors have blended, about 10 minutes.
  3. For the dumplings: Meanwhile, whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl. Stir buttermilk and melted butter together in second bowl until butter forms clumps. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir with rubber spatula until incorporated.
  4. Add chicken and cilantro to chili and stir until incorporated. Using greased ¼-cup dry measuring cup (and using spoon as needed to free dough from cup), drop 8 level scoops of dough around perimeter of pot and 1 level scoop of dough in center, spacing scoops about ½ inch apart.
  5. Bake, uncovered, until tops of dumplings are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.
One-Pot Chicken Chili with Cornmeal Dumplings
Photography by Keller + Keller. Styling by Catrine Kelty.

One-Pot Chicken Chili with Cornmeal Dumplings

Headshot of Cecelia Jenkins
By Cecelia Jenkins
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Time

1½ hours

Yield

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

Chili

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 poblano chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
¾ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
5 cups chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can white or yellow hominy, drained
1 cup jarred green salsa
1 (2½-pound) rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded, meat shredded into bite-size pieces (3 cups)
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Dumplings

1 ½ cups (7½ ounces/213 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (2½ ounces/71 grams) cornmeal
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk, chilled
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Chili

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 poblano chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
¾ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
5 cups chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can white or yellow hominy, drained
1 cup jarred green salsa
1 (2½-pound) rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded, meat shredded into bite-size pieces (3 cups)
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Dumplings

1 ½ cups (7½ ounces/213 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (2½ ounces/71 grams) cornmeal
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk, chilled
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

Chili

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 poblano chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
¾ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
5 cups chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can white or yellow hominy, drained
1 cup jarred green salsa
1 (2½-pound) rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded, meat shredded into bite-size pieces (3 cups)
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Dumplings

1 ½ cups (7½ ounces/213 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (2½ ounces/71 grams) cornmeal
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk, chilled
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

Timesaving ingredients make this one-pot chili-cornbread combo easy to prepare, and its bold, bright flavors make it easy to eat. We first softened an onion and a poblano chile in a Dutch oven before stirring in garlic; cumin; chicken broth; a can of creamy cannellini beans; a can of pleasantly chewy, ultracorny hominy; and a cup of jarred green salsa, which, in addition to roasted tomatillos, contains green chiles, onions, and cilantro for even more flavor. We then stirred in 3 cups of cooked rotisserie chicken and simmered the chili for just a few minutes until the flavors came together. Taking inspiration from chicken and dumplings, we dropped dollops of easy stir-together cornmeal biscuit batter on top of the hot chili and transferred the pot to a 450-degree oven, where the dumplings could rise and cook through without turning soggy.

Before You Begin

Do not rinse the hominy after draining it; its residual starch adds body to the chili. Be sure to chill the buttermilk and cool the melted butter so the butter clumps when the two are combined. We developed this recipe using Quaker Yellow Cornmeal and Frontera Tomatillo Salsa.

Instructions

  1. For the chili: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, poblano, pepper, and salt and cook until vegetables have softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  2. Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in broth, beans, hominy, and salsa and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until flavors have blended, about 10 minutes.
  3. For the dumplings: Meanwhile, whisk flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl. Stir buttermilk and melted butter together in second bowl until butter forms clumps. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir with rubber spatula until incorporated.
  4. Add chicken and cilantro to chili and stir until incorporated. Using greased ¼-cup dry measuring cup (and using spoon as needed to free dough from cup), drop 8 level scoops of dough around perimeter of pot and 1 level scoop of dough in center, spacing scoops about ½ inch apart.
  5. Bake, uncovered, until tops of dumplings are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

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