Low Carb White Chili

I am a straight sucker for soups and chili. I am guilty of making them in the dead of summer because I really like a one pot wonder type of dish…you know, something that doesn’t require extra sides to dress it up and is fantastic leftover! I want to be able to throw last night’s dinner in the microwave and have the easiest lunch ever. #mealprep, amiright?

As I’ve said before, I eat low carb/keto, so I needed figure out a way to enjoy one of my favorite dishes, white chicken chili, without the beans. I didn’t want it to be just meat and broth, so I decided I would subtract the beans and bulk it up with chopped zucchini instead. I made this for the first time sort of on a whim and didn’t have one of the key ingredients on hand – green chile. So being the creative genius that I am (ha!), I just took the jar of salsa I had in my fridge and used that instead. And guess what? Magic happened. I now have to make this in double batches because it disappears so quickly in our house. No kidding, I will double the recipe and it will still be gone within 3 days.

Also, if you can chop a vegetable, you can make this recipe. It is so straight forward and simple that from start to finish, you could have a hot bowl of chile ready in less than an hour. Get after it!

Ingredients:

1-1 1/2 lbs of ground chicken (or turkey…or pork…or a mixture of any of the three)
1/4 large onion, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup of salsa or chopped green chile
12 ounces chicken or veggie stock
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne *optional – if you use a spicy salsa, you might want to omit the cayenne
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1) Season meat and onion with garlic powder, salt and pepper and brown on medium high.
2) Add chopped zucchini, salsa, stock and spices and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and allow to simmer until zucchini is cooked through and tender.
3) Add sour cream and heavy whipping cream and heat through.
4) Serve hot and garnish with any of the following: shredded cheese, extra sour cream, sliced avocado, chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, etc.