Spicy Chicken Tacos with Southwestern Succotash

It was this time of year two years ago that my husband and I went on a road trip to New Mexico.

I had been to New Mexico several different times before then, but I really fell in love with it on that 2019 trip. It’s such an enchanting place, with its desert & mountain landscape and deliciously spicy foods.

I bought a couple of cookbooks while in Albuquerque and have been making recipes out of them here and there for the past two years. This recipe came from one of them, New Southwest. I’m not sure where exactly I picked up the cookbook, but I’m glad I did.

Chicken tacos are my preferred taco in life. I love eating them on soft or hard shells, with cheese, lettuce, tomato and salsa. I’m also a fan of putting other toppings on them. This Southwestern Succotash was a real winner when it came to the chicken tacos.

Succotash is a classic Southern dish that is primarily comprised of lima beans and corn. This recipe is different, and takes hints from the Native American and Hispanic culture of the Southwest. It’s a really filling topping with tons of great flavor.

Making the chicken taco base is simple: just simmer some chicken breasts with chiles, peppers, and crushed tomatoes for an hour or two. You really want that chicken to have all sorts of flavor from the chiles and peppers. This chicken ended up super spicy, but you can modify it depending on your preferred heat level.

Enjoy!

Spicy Chicken Tacos with Southwestern Succotash

• Servings: 6-8
• Time: 2.5 hours
• Difficulty: Medium
• Print

A spicy chicken taco stuffed with a Southwestern succotash that consists of sunflower seeds, peppers, zucchini, beans and corn.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. chicken breast
• 1 (4 oz.) can green chiles
• 2 tsp. cumin
• salt & pepper
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 (32 oz. can) crushed tomatoes
• 2 jalapenos, sliced in half and seeds scooped out
• 3 chipotle chiles in adobo, plus 1 TBS. adobo sauce
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Flour tortillas, for serving

For the Southwestern Succotash:

• 1/4 cup sunflower seed kernels (shells removed)
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 (14.5 oz) can corn, drained
• 1 (14.5oz) can pinto beans, drained
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• salt & pepper

Directions

1. Place chicken breast in a large pot. Season with cumin, salt, pepper and chili powder. Stir in green chiles, crushed tomatoes, jalapenos, chipotle chiles and adobo sauce and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 1-2 hours.
2. Remove chicken from pot and let cool on a plate. Shred with two forks. Using an immersion blender, pulse remaining tomato sauce in the pot until smooth. Add chicken back to pot and stir to combine.
3. Meanwhile, make the Southwestern succotash: toast sunflower seeds in a large skillet. Stir in onion, bell pepper and jalapeno. Saute until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in zucchini, corn, pinto beans, chili powder, salt and pepper. Continue sauteing for another 3-4 minutes.
4. Make the tacos: spoon chicken into warm flour tortillas. Top with succotash.