Is There a Mild Version of Microwave White Chicken Chili for Sensitive Palates?

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Discussion Overview

This thread explores experiences and opinions regarding the spiciness of microwave white chicken chili, particularly focusing on alternatives for those with sensitive palates. Participants share their personal experiences with the recipe, including adjustments made to reduce heat and the impact of different ingredients.

Discussion Character

  • Anecdotal
  • Opinion-based
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant, identifying as a consultant, found the chili too spicy and had to add sour cream and drink milk to manage the heat.
  • Another participant shared that their family, usually fond of spicy foods, struggled with the heat and suggested using green taco sauce or mild enchilada sauce as alternatives.
  • Several users mentioned their enjoyment of spicy foods, with one participant stating they added extra hot peppers to their version.
  • One participant noted that the brand of salsa verde used can significantly affect the chili's spiciness, sharing their experience with different brands.
  • Another participant expressed that they did not find the chili hot and questioned whether the wrong type of peppers were used.
  • One participant shared a story about their grocery experience while trying to find poblanos, highlighting the confusion around pepper varieties.
  • Another participant mentioned that their children enjoyed the chili with sour cream, indicating a preference for milder flavors.
  • One participant expressed dissatisfaction with the recipe, finding it too spicy and the onions too raw.
  • Several participants discussed the appearance and identification of poblanos versus other pepper types, sharing insights on their characteristics.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Views differ on the spiciness of the chili, with some participants finding it too hot while others enjoyed the heat. There is no clear consensus on the best way to adjust the recipe for milder palates.

Contextual Notes

Participants shared personal experiences and adjustments made to the recipe based on their family's preferences and tolerance for spice. The discussion reflects a variety of cooking experiences and ingredient substitutions.

Who May Find This Useful

Consultants looking for insights on modifying recipes for varying spice tolerances may find this discussion helpful.

babywings76
Gold Member
Messages
7,266
Holy Cow that was hot! :eek: Oh my goodness! I added a ton of sour cream and chips and had to drink a swig of milk after almost every bite! Wow! Anyone else try this? My husband and I may be whimps. ;) My kids, who usually love taco soup, chili, and other stuff like that had a hard time eating it also. We ended up having to make them hot dogs.:yuck: I think it was the salsa verde. I didn't realize until after all was said and done, that salsa verde is made from jalepenos and tomatillos. There you go! :rolleyes:

I liked making this in the DCB, and liked the concept of the white chicken chili, but I wonder if there's another way to make it without the salsa verde?
 
babywings76 said:
Holy Cow that was hot! :eek: Oh my goodness! I added a ton of sour cream and chips and had to drink a swig of milk after almost every bite! Wow! Anyone else try this? My husband and I may be whimps. ;) My kids, who usually love taco soup, chili, and other stuff like that had a hard time eating it also. We ended up having to make them hot dogs.:yuck: I think it was the salsa verde. I didn't realize until after all was said and done, that salsa verde is made from jalepenos and tomatillos. There you go! :rolleyes:

I liked making this in the DCB, and liked the concept of the white chicken chili, but I wonder if there's another way to make it without the salsa verde?

Try green taco sauce in it's place - 2 brands I find here are La Victoria, and Ortega.

You could also use mild green enchilada sauce. I've found that as Ortega, and Old El Paso.
 
I added extra hot peppers to mine!!!!! But everyone is different, we like spicy. :)
 
We use Pace Salsa Verde. It's a relatively new product from them, but DH will eat that all day until he is dead and bloated lying on the living room floor whimpering... "why didn't I stop eating?! Why?!" It has a little kick though. I think it may be a Michigan thing? We are in Arizona and used to spice so it seemed perfect to me. I'm with Becky, enchilada sauce would be less "warm". Make sure it says "mild". I personally love this recipe!
 
It didn't taste hot to me...could you have gotten the wrong kind of peppers?
 
You can tone it down by using one poblano instead of 2. That's what I did when I made it earlier this week. I used a green bell pepper as the second pepper so that there was still "vegetation" in it. :)The brand of salsa verde you use will affect the chili. I got La Victoria (I think) once, and it was pretty hot. But the Meijer Gold brand was fine.
 
Chef Stephanie Petersen said:
We use Pace Salsa Verde. It's a relatively new product from them, but DH will eat that all day until he is dead and bloated lying on the living room floor whimpering... "why didn't I stop eating?! Why?!" It has a little kick though. I think it may be a Michigan thing? We are in Arizona and used to spice so it seemed perfect to me. I'm with Becky, enchilada sauce would be less "warm". Make sure it says "mild". I personally love this recipe!

Hey - she's in Pennsylvania!:p

It's true though, I think people in the Southwest/West are used to more heat in their food. At our Cluster Meeting where we sampled this, everyone commented that it was too spicy, and there was a big discussion on how to tone down the heat!
 
I haven't tried this one yet, I would just leave out the pablano peppers. I had an ulcer as a child and don't even really like pepper because all my food had to be very bland. But the basic recipe sounds yummy.
Deb
 
I made this for DH and he liked it! He's very picky and usually does not like green sauces but he gave the approval to make this on rotation to his mom's red classic chili recipe this winter! Yeay! I personally loved it! Diddn't find Pablamo peppers so I used another one and it was not hot! Passilla pepper I think!
 
Do be careful on the peppers--I don't buy them much, and the sign at my grocery said "poblano" but they were jalepenos! Yikes--that would have been fiery! I did find poblanos at another grocery--I love this chili and am doing it at a show on Wednesday! I also did half the onion, cuz I'm not an onion fan!
 
Mine was spicey too. But we like spicey just not HOT. It was the salsa in my chili because I tasted the pepper before I added it to the chili. My kids are 4 and 2 and they both ate it with a little sour cream. Although my 2 year old would eat salsa daily if we let him!!
 
  • Thread starter
  • #12
We had a lot of leftovers and took it to a family party today. We all loved it as a dip! :) We like spicy, but on the mild side. I think if I serve it as a main dish, I'll have to figure out how to tone it down. I can't remember what brand it was that I used. Hmmm.

As far as it being poblanos, that's a funny story...my store only had bell peppers so I spoke with the grocer guy. He said he doesn't have much demand for them, but felt bad that I couldn't make my recipe so he said he'd order them. So I went back and it looked like he ordered them and a bunch of other types of peppers, but nothing was labeled. I had no idea which ones were the poblanos. I ended up speaking with several workers and the manager came out and helped me. We tried making an educated guess. We chose the ones that were bigger, like bell peppers instead of the small ones (which I think were jalepenos?) The manager joked with me that if they were the wrong ones she's buy something from me to make up for it. ;) Long story short, I got a catalog show possibility from her. :) Now I am curious if they were the wrong ones, it would be funny to let her know she owes me. ;)
 
poblanos are the same color as jalepenos but they are longer and look "crushed" or deflated
in other words not plump and firm like a jalepeno
 
Poblanos (in my experience) are a darker green. They look more like a green pepper, but darker and longer.Picture here: http://www.getrealdenver.com/wp-content/photos/poblano.jpg
 
DebbieJ said:
Poblanos (in my experience) are a darker green. They look more like a green pepper, but darker and longer.

Picture here: http://www.getrealdenver.com/wp-content/photos/poblano.jpg

Hm, interesting... everytime I buy these at our Von's they are not listed as Pablamos. They are called Passillo peppers!? Strange! I guess I am buying to right ones! lol:rolleyes:
 
DH and I both hated it. Onions tasted too raw, and it was so hot it was almost inedible. DH likes spicy and I don't. Will never make this at a show.
 
They are definitely not those?! hmm, oh well, I am using the pablamos even if they don't say it! ;)
 
The recipe calls for poblanos, not pablamos.
 
The second time I made it I put whole chicken breast in the DCQ. Then chopped the chicken with salad choppers right before I added the beans and salsa. I liked it better this way!
 
try adding a can of chicken broth when you first cook the onions, i did it yesterday and they seemed to cook quicker it will cut down some of the heat too and will make it go further if you have a crowd.
 
I've made this a few times for my family and we loved it (daughters 9 and 13)
I'm making it at a show tonight...I hope they don't find it too spicy!
Thanks for the advise - I may knock out one pepper!

We are doubling the recipe...ya think I could put all 6 garlic in the batter bowl at the same time?

We are also making cornbread muffins...Soup and Slippers!
 
Teresa Lynn said:
try adding a can of chicken broth when you first cook the onions, i did it yesterday and they seemed to cook quicker it will cut down some of the heat too and will make it go further if you have a crowd.

Thanks for the tip!
 
  • Thread starter
  • #24
I forgot that when I made this the first time I didn't own the southwestern seasoning, so I used a taco seasoning packet. I think that may have been part of the reason why it was so spicy. I just made this recipe again, only this time I used the southwestern seasoning and I used the green salsa instead of the salsa verde. It turned out very mild--almost too mild. So maybe I'll go back to using the Salsa Verde. I guess the southwestern seasoning is milder than my taco seasoning?
 
babywings76 said:
I used the green salsa instead of the salsa verde. It turned out very mild--almost too mild. So maybe I'll go back to using the Salsa Verde. I guess the southwestern seasoning is milder than my taco seasoning?
Green salsa is salsa verde. But if you had 2 with different names, then one might have been spicier than the other. That's what I found when I made it - one brand of salsa was hotter than the other.

Salsa Verde is green because it's made with tomatillos (a relative of gooseberries) instead of tomatoes. It also includes jalapeño peppers. Different brands include different amounts of peppers, which will affect the heat.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #26
The Salsa Verde was Pace? I think the green salsa was Ortega? Maybe? I can't remember for sure. But the green salsa didn't list jalapenos (sp?) on it, just green chilies and tomatillos (sp?) (Sorry, I can't spell today! ;))
 
Yummy! I made this recipe 3 times for my family-it's a hit! I've done it all on the stove top-one pan.

Couldn't find fresh peppers other than bell.

DH & DS like it HOT! I'm more into the Mild/Medium. DD's like it Medium.

1. I used no peppers -perfect for me! 2. I used 1 whole little can of chopped jalepenos -I used a whole lot of sour cream in mine, do did DD's -guys :love: it! 3. I used half a little can of chopped jalepenos -much better!
 
Has anyone tried doing is in a stockpot on the stovetop instead of the microwave?
I just got my set of pans and wanted to try something in it and this sounds so good.
 
A past host of mine just called me yesterday to say that she made it in a pot on the stovetop. She said it was good, but didn't give me details about cook time, etc.
 
I made this last night only used 1 poblano and a whole jar of the salsa. I didn;t even try to give it to the kids because it has my tastebuds buzzing! It was goo though. Just a bit spicy for me. DH liked it but it could have had a lot more heat for him.

I will make it again. Think I will try it on the stovetop though. Probably start with the onions then add hicken then peppers. Grill em up good than simmer everything else.
 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a mild version of Microwave White Chicken Chili for sensitive palates?

Yes, you can easily make a mild version of Microwave White Chicken Chili by adjusting the spices and ingredients used in the recipe. Opt for less spicy seasonings and avoid adding any hot peppers or spicy ingredients.

What ingredients can I substitute to make the chili milder?

To make the chili milder, consider using less garlic and onion, and replace any spicy beans or peppers with milder varieties. You can also use low-sodium chicken broth and fresh herbs like parsley instead of spicy seasonings.

Can I use low-sodium ingredients for a healthier mild chili?

Absolutely! Using low-sodium chicken broth, canned beans, and other ingredients can help reduce the overall sodium content while still keeping the chili flavorful and mild.

How can I enhance the flavor without adding spice?

You can enhance the flavor of your mild chili by incorporating ingredients like lime juice, fresh cilantro, and mild cheese. These ingredients add depth without introducing heat.

Is it possible to make the chili creamy without adding spice?

Yes, you can make the chili creamy by adding ingredients like sour cream, cream cheese, or a splash of heavy cream. These will add richness and creaminess without contributing to the spice level.

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