White Chicken Chili

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This creamy white chicken chili is made with shredded chicken, hearty beans, green chiles, corn and a delicious blend of seasonings. It’s a warm and cozy dinner that’s ready in under an hour and you can make it on the stovetop or in the slow cooker.

This one-pot white chicken chili is a wonderful variation of the classic chili with tender chicken, white beans and corn in a rich and creamy broth. The great thing about this chili is each person can make it their own with the toppings they love like tortilla strips, sliced avocados, shredded cheese, sour cream, or jalapenos. Pair the chili with some crusty bread for a hearty dinner on a cold day.

This recipe uses rotisserie or leftover cooked chicken as a shortcut but you can use raw chicken and cook it in with the broth as well. The broth is made creamy with cream cheese and is a great way to offset the heat from the green chiles. Corn adds a little bit of sweetness to compliment the special blend of savory spices like cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, paprika and ground coriander.

If you’re in the mood for more soups and stews, try this creamy tortellini soup, a classic beef stew, or this chicken gnocchi soup.

Ingredients in White Chicken Chili

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI RECIPE TIPS

• Chili powder – Chili powder is a blend of savory spices like cayenne, cumin, oregano, onions and garlic. There’s only a tiny hint of spiciness but it mostly adds an earthy, mildly spiced and smoky flavor. Use 1/2 teaspoon for a milder chili.
• Coriander – Ground coriander is not a common spice most people have in their pantry so you can skip it and it won’t break the recipe. However, if you’re curious or have it at home, I highly recommend including this spice. It adds a lot of warmth and flavor depth to soups.
• Cayenne – A dash of cayenne spices things up but feel free to skip this spice if you want a milder chili, or add more if you’re in the mood for something spicy. You can also try spicing things up by adding some poblano peppers, jalapenos, or ancho chili powder.

• Pureeing – This step is highly recommended for a creamier, thicker chili. I used an immersion or hand blender and blended it in a Pyrex measuring cup. If you don’t own a food processor or blender, remove one cup of chili and mash the beans with a fork, or take a potato masher and mash directly in the pot. You can also puree one cup of the white beans before adding it to the soup if you prefer.
• Cream cheese – Cream cheese adds more flavor and creaminess and paired with pureeing, helps thicken the chili. Try using block cream cheese so you can cube them into smaller pieces. Cubing them helps them melt quicker in the chili.
• Toppings – I love adding tortilla strips for the added crunch factor. Other toppings you can add are cilantro, sour cream, shredded Monterrey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese, sliced avocados, or jalapenos.

• Slow cooker method – Add all the ingredients, except for the cooked chicken and cream cheese to a 6 qt. slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours. Add cream cheese and cooked chicken towards the end and cook on HIGH for another 15 minutes or until the cream cheese melts smoothly into the chili. If using raw chicken, add the chicken with the rest of the ingredients, cook, then shred before adding back to the chili with the cream cheese. For a thicker chili, puree or blend a cup or so and stir back in to mix.
• Leftovers – Leftovers will keep up to 3-4 days in the fridge.

And that’s about it. Let me know how you liked the chili, what substitutions you made, or what toppings you used in the comments below.

This post was originally published on December 12, 2016 and updated on January 14, 2024.

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