Taste the Wonders of the World: Chicken Enchilada Chili

Buckle up your taste buds and grab your favorite spoon. The first stop on our 2022 Wonders of the World tour is an ancient Maya city on Mexico's Yucatán peninsula: Chichén Itzá! And to take us there, we've created a brand new Spice' n Easy recipe mix: Chicken Enchilada Chili! 

Chichén Itzá is an enchanting city of temple ruins, ornate carvings of feathered serpents, sacred cenotes, and ancient mysteries with a majestic jungle backdrop. This ancient city, believed to have been home to a very diverse population, is reflected in the cuisine of today's Yucatán region, which has a variety of culinary influences, including Mexican, Spanish, Caribbean, and Lebanese.

So what dish did this ancient wonder inspire? We wanted to create a Spice ‘n Easy recipe mix that contained Mexican flavor favorites like chiles, lime, cumin, and pepitas. We also wanted it to be a dish that felt uniquely ours and that would keep us warm and well-fed through the winter months. In thinking through our favorite Mexican dishes (sopa de lima, pozole, cochinita pibil, chilaquiles, tamales… the list is truly never-ending), we kept coming back around to a saucy comfort food we can never get enough of, enchiladas.

Did you know that the Maya are believed to have made the first enchiladas? Tortillas rolled in pepitas were wrapped around boiled eggs and smothered in chile sauce.

What’s the best part of an enchilada? Arguably, the sauce. 

And thus began our quest to make the sauciest enchiladas of all time by turning them into a chili (a very Savory Spice thing to do). Of course it wouldn’t be as simple as chucking our best-selling Canyon Road Enchilada Dry Sauce into some chicken broth and calling it a day. We wanted to achieve a saucy, flavorful base from simple ingredients and methods–– and, dare we say, we nailed it. 

The resulting Chicken Enchilada Chili recipe mix is a complex blend of fruity and mild ancho chiles, sweet bell peppers, rich paprika, nutty pepitas, aromatic alliums, and earthy cumin. All you need to do is add your protein, tomatoes, and a splash of lime juice to the rich, red chile sauce and smother with your favorite toppings. This bold, comforting, one-pot chili comes together in under 30 minutes but tastes like it's been simmering all day. 

Customize the heat level of this family-friendly chili with sour cream and cheese to tame the gentle heat or turn it up a notch by adding fiery, fresh-sliced jalapeños or a dash of your favorite hot sauce. We like to pair Chicken Enchilada Chili with dippable taquitos or tortilla chips for an extra enchilada-licious experience. 

Only here for a limited time, get your Chicken Enchilada Chili Spice ‘n Easy while you still Yuca-can! For teasers of what tasty trip we are taking next and to learn more about Wonders of the World series, read our Taste the Wonders of the World blog.

When you make yourself a bowl, share your cozy creation with us on Instagram (@savoryspiceshop) and for even more internationally inspired seasonings, shop our World Flavors selections.