White Bean Chicken Chili
5/1/2023
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This White Bean Chicken Chili is a one-pot recipe that’s packed with delicious veggies, shredded chicken and all the spices.
Make it creamy with either cream cheese or Greek yogurt, and you’re on your way to the most flavorful white bean chili of your life.
It’s chili season, friends! Whether it’s this white bean chicken chili or this simple green chili or this vegetarian chili, we got you covered with delicious chili recipes suited for every palate.
Creamy Chicken Chili with White Beans
If you’re a creamy chili lover like me, then this white bean chicken chili is calling your name! It’s made creamy from a combination of cream cheese (or Greek yogurt if you prefer!) and emulsifying the white beans and a few other soup ingredients right in the pot.
We love that this white chicken chili recipe differs from classic red chili and embraces both veggies and poultry.
White Bean Chicken Chili Ingredients
The following variety of canned, fresh, and seasoning ingredients come together to create the most flavorful white bean chili. Here’s what you’ll need on your grocery list:
Canned Ingredients
- Green chiles
- White cannellini beans
- Chicken broth
- Yellow corn
- Pinto beans
- White hominy
Fresh Ingredients
- White onion
- Garlic cloves
- Poblano pepper
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Fresh lime juice
- Cream cheese (or Greek yogurt!)
can I use chicken thighs instead?
Don’t have chicken breasts? Feel free to swap them for boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.
Since it’s a dark meat, you’ll get a richer flavor out of them!
Seasonings and Spices
- Ground cumin
- Ground oregano
- Garlic powder
- Green hot sauce (feel free to omit if you’re not a spicy fan!)
- Olive oil
- Salt
How to Make White Bean Chicken Chili
This white bean chicken chili can be whipped up in one, yes ONE, pot! It’s one of those chili recipes that’s crucial to both the flavor and the creaminess that you add ingredients to the right place at the right time. Which is why we’re here to walk you through step-by-step how to make this deliciously creamy chili to ultimate perfection:
Prep and Pre-Heat!
Grab a large pot or Dutch oven! Heat pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat, and then add olive oil.
Great Jones
The Dutchess
This is hands-down my favorite Dutch oven. It’s a 6.75 quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven that’s super high-quality and gorgeous.
Sauté Fresh Veggies
When the olive oil is fragrant, add diced onion to the pot and sauté for about 2 minutes. Then, add garlic, diced poblano pepper, and salt to the pot and sauté until the onion is translucent.
Deglaze
Next, deglaze the pot with the can of green chiles by pouring the chiles into the pot. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to make sure you loosen up all the brown bits at the bottom of the pot. This will help keep all that delicious sautéed onion and poblano pepper flavor in your chili.
Time for Chicken and Spices
Add the cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and cannellini beans to the pot and mix well. Then, add the chicken breasts and chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil, uncovered.
Simmer
Once boiling, turn heat to low, cover, and let the soup simmer for 20 minutes. When the chicken is done cooking, remove it from the pot and shred it using two forks, and then set aside.
Emulsify until Smooth
Next, use an emulsifier blender to cream the soup by blending the onion, poblano peppers, garlic, cannellini beans, broth and spices together. You can do this right in the pot instead of dirtying another bowl. Once fully creamed, add cream cheese (or Greek yogurt) and emulsify that until fully creamy.
Add Remainder of Ingredients
Then, add the shredded chicken and the rest of the ingredients (corn, hominy, and pinto beans) to the pot and stir until combined. Turn heat up to medium/high and cook until the soup comes to a boil.
Serve and Enjoy
Remove from heat, stir, and enjoy! We recommend serving this white bean chicken chili with a slice of toasted sourdough or topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt.
Slow Cooker Directions
Lucky for you, this recipe can easily be made in the slow cooker.
- Place everything EXCEPT the pinto beans, corn, and hominy in your slow cooker and cover.
- Cook on high for around 3-4 hours or low for 6-8.
- Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove and shred it with 2 forks.
- Then, use an emulsifier blender to blend the contents of the slow cooker.
Place the shredded chicken back in and add the beans, corn and hominy. - Mix and cook on high for an additional 15-30 minutes before serving!
Storage
Transfer leftover chili into an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
White Bean Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium white onion, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large poblano pepper, seeded and minced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 4-oz. can green chiles
- 2 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground oregano
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 15-oz. can white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 lb. boneles sskinless chicken breasts
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 4 oz. cream cheese, or Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 15-oz. can yellow corn
- 2 15-oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15-oz. can white hominy, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon green hot sauce, optional
Instructions
- Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add olive oil.
- When the olive oil is fragrant, add the onion to the pot and saute for about 2 minutes.
- Then, add the garlic, poblano pepper, and salt to the pot and cook until the onion is translucent.
- Next, deglaze the pot with the can of green chiles by pouring the chiles into the pot. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to make sure you loosen up all the brown bits at the bottom of the pot.
- Add the cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and cannellini beans to the pot and mix well.
- Finally, add the chicken breasts and chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil, uncovered.
- Once boiling, turn heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- When the chicken is done cooking, remove it from the pot and shred it using two forks. Set aside.
- Next, use an emulsifier to cream the soup by blending the onion, poblano peppers, garlic, cannellini beans, broth and spices together.
- Then, add cream cheese and emulsify that until creamy.
- Once creamy, add the shredded chicken and the rest of the ingredients to the pot and stir until combined.
- Turn heat to medium/high and cook until the soup comes to a boil.
- Remove from heat, stir, and enjoy!
Tips & Notes
- Nutrition includes Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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The recipe is excellent as-is and doesn’t need any changes. But it can also be tailored further to your tastes, based on the time you have and the contents of your fridge.
I like to ramp up the veggies (chopped large), so I often add a full onion (instead of 1/2), 3 carrots, 2-3 celery stalks, 1/2 to 1 bell pepper, 3 jalapeno peppers, 1 medium zucchini, and 4 to 8 oz mushrooms. I usually add a second can of a different kind of beans (such as garbanzo or pinto). The spices listed in the recipe give lots of flavor; if you like your chili hot, add 3/4 to 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. If you happen to have fresh basil on hand, I add 3-4 leaves per bowl as a garnish (I don’t recommend adding dried basil). Other optional garnishes include avocado slices, tomato slices, and grated cheese.
Thanks for sharing, Kevin!!