When we saw a recipe in Cook’s Country magazine for One Pot Chicken Chili with Cornmeal Dumplings we were awestruck. Why didn’t we think to add cornmeal to our buttermilk biscuits and put it on top of chili? It’s a genius idea and we just have to share. So we made Cornmeal Biscuit Topped Chicken Chili. We changed up a few things in our version – we use fire roasted corn instead of hominy, navy beans instead of cannellini and green salsa from the refrigerator section of our local grocery store.

This chili is so quick to put together, especially if you use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. We like to roast our own when we have the time but both work just fine. This chili is just as good the next day and you can crisp up the biscuits by reheating it in the oven. We don’t usually like to eat leftovers but she makes an exception for this delicious chili!

You can get most everything you need at Trader Joes!

Ready to top with biscuits.

Magically, the melted butter will coagulate when added to the cold buttermilk, making the BEST cornmeal biscuits!

Scoop biscuits and place atop the chili – you’ll probably get between 9 and 10.

Allow to cool and dinner is served!

Cornmeal Biscuit Topped Chicken Chili

(adapted from this Cook’s Country recipe)

Chili

• 1 TBS vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 anaheim or poblano chile, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
• ¾ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 15 oz can cannellini or navy beans, rinsed
• 16 oz bag frozen Trader Joe’s fire roasted corn
• 1 cup jarred or fresh green salsa
• 2½-pound rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded, meat shredded into bite-size pieces*
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Dumplings

• 1 ½ cups (7½ ounces) all-purpose flour
• ½ cup (2½ ounces) cornmeal
• 3 TBS sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ cup buttermilk, chilled
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

* When we have time, we like to roast chicken breasts in the oven and use the meat in the chili. To do this, you need 3 good size chicken breasts with bone-in and skin on. Preheat oven to 425° F. Place the breasts skin side up in a pan lined with foil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and remove skin and take the meat off the bones. Shred into bite sized pieces.

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, chile pepper, 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.

Increase heat to medium-high. Stir in broth, beans, corn, and salsa and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until flavors have blended, about 10 minutes.

For the dumplings:

Note: Be sure to chill the buttermilk and cool the melted butter so the butter clumps when the two are combined.

While the broth mixture is simmering, 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.

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) or a large (2-inch) scoop, drop scoops of dough around perimeter of pot and 1 or 2 scoop of dough in center, spacing scoops about ½ inch apart.

Bake, uncovered, until tops of dumplings are golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 6 to 8