Readily available at most grocery stores, canned chipotles in adobo sauce add kick to this slow cooker chicken chili from a recipe by Katie Workman.
Readily available at most grocery stores, canned chipotles in adobo sauce add kick to this slow cooker chicken chili from a recipe by Katie Workman.Matthew Mead/Associated Press

The easiest way to use these peppers and sauce is to puree the whole thing. I just dump the contents of the can right into the food processor or blender. Then I store the puree in a sealed container in the fridge. Whenever a soup, stew or a chili (or anything that calls for a little touch of smoky heat) needs a little something extra, in goes a tablespoon or two of the puree.

Speaking of secret weapons, one of the best appliances to earn that description is the slow cooker. For many of us, this handy kitchen cooker takes up permanent residence on the counter during the colder months. The unparalleled pleasure of walking into your home at the end of a long day to be greeted by the scent of a cooked meal is hard to overstate.

In this chili, these two secret weapons join together to turn juicy and moist boneless, skinless chicken thighs into a somewhat spicy and couldn’t-be-easier chili. I often make chili with ground chicken or turkey, which we all love, but it was nice to change it up with real cubes of chicken. This one is a definite weeknight keeper.

Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

Start to finish: 4 to 6 hours on high, 6 to 8 hours on low (15 minutes active)
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons pureed chipotles in adobo sauce
28-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juices
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Two 15½-ounce cans black beans, drained
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 scallions, trimmed and chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Kosher salt
Shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend
Sour cream
Method:
In a large slow cooker, combine the onion, carrots, garlic, chipotles in adobo, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin and beans. Stir to combine, then add the chicken and stir again. Cook in the slow cooker on high for 4 to 6 hours, or low for 6 to 8 hours. Stir in the scallions and lime juice just before serving. Taste, then season with salt. Serve with shredded cheese and sour cream on the side.
Nutrition information per serving: 410 calories; 110 calories from fat (27 percent of total calories); 12 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 175 mg cholesterol; 910 mg sodium; 29 g carbohydrate; 9 g fiber; 6 g sugar; 44 g protein.