Warm up with Fresh White Chicken Chili
A fresh twist on classic chili
Chicken Chili: A Staple Winter Recipe
I’d bet that you’d have a hard time finding a Midwest family that doesn’t have chili on their weekly dinner rotation in the winter – and our family is no exception! We love the classic tomatoey chili packed with ground beef but sometimes it’s time to freshen things up…in steps our Creamy White Chicken Chili Recipe!
This delicious chili provides a lighter alternative to traditional beef chili with creamy broth and brighter flavors. If you also crave a warm, filling, Mexican-inspired flavors after a long day of working outside in the snow – or making snow forts 🙂 – welcome, you’ve come to the right place!
Why you’ll love this Delicious Chili
- With our kids in sports throughout the winter, we still benefit from a pack-it or reheat-it meal rotation. This is such an easy meal prep that will keep you full on busy weeknights!
- Introduce fresh flavors to your weekly dinner rotation. This broth is light and creamy and won’t make your family feel like they are overindulging in chicken broth-based meals throughout the cold months
- It’s wonderfully convenient to not have to worry about keeping an eye on the meat or noodles separately as you would with traditional chili – this recipe is made in one pan
How to Make White Chicken Chili
Equipment
- 4.5 Quart Dutch Oven
Ingredients
Seasoning:
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- ½ teaspoon each: ground cumin, dried oregano, salt
- 1/4 teaspoon each: black pepper, cayenne pepper
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
Chili
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1/3 cup half and half, (half milk, half cream)
- 2 (15.5 oz.) cans cannellini beans, drained
- 2 (4 oz.) cans mild green chiles, undrained
- 1 ½ lbs. bone-in skinless chicken breast
- 1 (15.25 oz.) can whole kernel sweet corn, drained. Can sub frozen corn.
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
Optional additions for extra flavor
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Hot Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Mustard Powder
Garnish Options
- Lime wedges, Fresh Cilantro, Diced Avocado, Sour cream, Tortilla Strips, Fritos, Monterey or Pepper Jack cheese
Steps to make White Chicken Chili
- Combine the seasonings and set aside.
- Melt the butter in a 4 1/2-quart pot. Add the diced onions and jalapeno pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the flour and toss to coat. Cook for 2 minutes, until raw flour smell is gone.
- Add the chicken broth in small splashes, stirring continuously. Add the half and half in the same manner.
- Add the beans whole or reserve 1 heaping cup of drained beans and combine it with ½ cup broth. Blend in a food processor, blender, or immersion blender. Add it to the soup along with the remaining whole beans. (This helps to thicken the broth.)
- Add the seasonings, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and green chiles. Bring to a boil. Let it boil gently for 15 minutes, uncovered, then reduce to a simmer.
- Season each side of the chicken with salt/pepper. Add the chicken and the corn to the pot and let it simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, uncovered. (Cooking too rapidly will make the chicken tough.) Stir throughout cooking to lift any beans that may have settled to the bottom.
- Remove and shred chicken once cooked through. Return shredded chicken to the pot.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in the softened cream cheese. Stir continuously until the cheese is fully melted into the chili.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Serve with cornbread, tortilla chips, or my favorite french bread!
Printable Recipe Card
Creamy White Chicken Chili
Equipment
- 4.5 Quart Dutch Oven
Ingredients
Chilli
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 1 Yellow Onion diced
- 1 Large Jalapeno pepper seeded and diced
- 4 cloves Garlic minced
- 3 tbsp Flour
- 6 cups Chicken Broth
- 1/3 cup Half and Half (half milk, half cream)
- 2 (15.5 oz) cans Cannellini beans drained
- 2 (4 oz) cans Mild green chiles undrained
- 1 1/2 Ibs Bone-in skinless chicken breast see notes
- 1 (15.25 oz) can whole kernel Sweet Corn drained. Can sub frozen corn.
- 8 oz Cream Cheese softened
- Salt and Pepper
Seasoning
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
Optional additions for extra flavor
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Hot sauce
- 1/2 tsp Mustard Powder
Additional Garnishes
- Lime Wedges
- Diced Avocado
- Sour Cream
- Tortilla Strips
- Fritos
- Monterey or Pepper Jack cheese
Instructions
- Combine the seasonings and set aside
- Melt the butter in a 4 1/2-quart pot
- Add the diced onions and jalapeno pepper and cook for 5 minutes
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute
- Add the flour and toss to coat. Cook for 2 minutes, until raw flour smell is gone.
- Add the chicken broth in small splashes, stirring continuously
- Add the half and half in the same manner
- Add the beans whole or reserve 1 heaping cup of drained beans and combine it with ½ cup broth. Blend in a food processor, blender, or immersion blender. Add it to the soup along with the remaining whole beans. (This helps to thicken the broth.)
- Add the seasonings, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and green chiles. Bring to a boil. Let it boil gently for 15 minutes, uncovered, then reduce to a simmer.
- Season each side of the chicken with salt/pepper
- Add the chicken and the corn to the pot and let it simmer gently for 15-20 minutes, uncovered. (Cooking too rapidly will make the chicken tough.) Stir throughout cooking to lift any beans that may have settled to the bottom.
- Remove the chicken and shred it once cooked through. Return it to the pot.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in the softened cream cheese
- Stir continuously until the cheese is fully melted into the chili.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
- Serve with cornbread or my favorite french bread!
Questions People are asking about Homemade White Chicken Chili
Absolutely but make sure to still pan fry the onion, garlic, jalapeno, and flour beforehand. You can throw everything in with the chicken uncooked and let sit for 3-4 hours on high (add the cream cheese in 10-15 minutes before finished) or for a speedier way you can cook and shred the chicken separately and add it into the crock pot with the rest of the ingredients for a shorter amount of time.
We use Cannellini beans, aka White Kidney Beans. These are your classic chili beans, they are thick and provide that smooth, nutty flavor. They are a pretty easy find at your grocery store but if you need a substitute, you can choose another type of white beans like Great Northern beans or Navy beans.
Besides from the many garnishes we put on our chili we also like to serve it with a side of our homemade bread! Check out our favorite bread recipes:
5 Ingredient French Bread
Artisan Sourdough Bread
Sourdough Loaf
Wait! Don’t throw the bones away, did you know that you can use these bones to make nutrient rich bone broth? After shredding the chicken, we take the bones and use them in our Instant Pot Bone Broth
Pin this for later!
Other Hearty Dishes:
Hearty Squash and Sausage Soup
Delicious and Easy BBQ Chicken Poutine Recipe
How to Make Creamy Potato Soup
How to Make Homemade Sloppy Joes
Healthy Chicken Harvest Casserole
Affiliate Disclosure & Content Disclaimer
This post may contain affiliate links from a paid sponsor, Amazon or other program. When you use these links to make a purchase I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This allows me to continue creating the content that you love. The content in this article is created for information only and based on my research and/or opinion.
Emily T.
DAILY INSPIRATION ON THE GRAM @hearty.sol
it's hip to be square!
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