It's officially soup season aka my favorite time of the year! Let's be honest, I eat soup year round, but when the temps start to drop I just love a comforting warm bowl of any number of soups, chilis or stews. Especially this one! I think I've finally nailed an easy, yet impressive White Chicken Chili! I actually prioritized posting this one after I made it for my husband, and he called it bowl-licking good. My parents asked for the recipe and already made it prior to me posting this and also raved about it. My mom even shared some with her neighbor who asked for the recipe too. So I figured I better get it up here fast!
So what is White Chicken Chili? Is it real chili? Short answer, yes. People most commonly think of red chili when they hear the word "chili" with ground beef and kidney beans. White chili is instead made with chicken, white beans and green chiles. My version also includes yellow onion, garlic, jalapeno, corn, fresh cilantro, chicken broth, cream cheese, ½ and ½ and of course lots of spice! You can definitely control the level of spice here, as I'll explain below whether you like your chili extra spicy or on the mild side. I've also linked below my red, traditional chili recipe.
Start by heating a large pot over medium heat. Add some butter and olive oil and melt/warm. Toss in your onion to saute for a few minutes. Add jalapeno and saute a couple more. Add garlic and saute just another minute. Then your canned green chiles and cook 2 more.
Toss in your chicken. I make the chicken ahead of timing by simply boiling in water or chicken broth on the stove, cooling then shredding.
Add about half of your spice mixture. Combine well with chicken and other ingredients. Cook for a couple minutes.
Pour in your chicken broth and turn heat up to high. Add your beans.
And your corn.
Once chili comes to a slight boil stir in the rest of your spice mixture. Here is where you can customize. The spice level here is mild. To heat it up I recommend adding double your cayenne. If you don't like any spiciness then omit your cayenne. Also add fresh cilantro. Stir well. Turn heat down to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes.
Stir in cream cheese and half and half. This is what will thicken up your chili and give it more of a white color. The more spice you add the darker the broth will be. I also recommend testing your chili prior to adding the cream cheese and half and half to make sure you don't want to add any additional seasoning. Stir well and cook a couple more minutes until the cheese has dissolved into the broth. If you'd like the consistency to be a little thicker, simply add a little more cheese and half and half.
Ladle into a bowl.
You can go ahead and serve now or add some toppings!
I love to top mine with some additional fresh jalapeno and cilantro.
And tortilla strips! Shredded cheese and sour cream are other great topping options.
You guys I'm drooling as I'm posting this. Definitely going to eat some again for lunch later! Also I snagged this cute bowl from the West Elm outlet for like $5. Love it!
And it's really that simple! This chili also heats up great. You can store it in your fridge for about 4 days and freeze the rest in an airtight container, so it's perfect to make ahead of time. It's also very healthy! No guilt meal prepping this guy for lunch during a busy work week! Enjoy! I hope you try it out and leave me a comment below with what you thought!
If you like this recipe, you also might like:
- 1 lb shredded chicken (make ahead by boiling in some water or chicken broth for 10 minutes, cooling then shredding)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 small jalapeno, diced
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 cans diced green chiles
- 2 32-oz boxes low sodium chicken broth
- 2 15-oz cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn (canned or frozen - rinsed and thawed)
- 1½ tablespoon chili powder
- ½ tablespoon chipotle chili powder
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 4 oz cream cheese (I used ⅓ reduced fat)
- ¼ cup half and half
- optional for topping: jalapeno slices, fresh cilantro, tortilla strips, shredded cheese, sour cream
- Mix spices together in a small bowl. See note in post for controlling spice temp.
- In a large pot over medium heat add butter and olive oil.
- Once melted and heated through add onion and saute for 3 minutes.
- Add jalapeno and saute another 2 minutes.
- Add garlic and saute another minute.
- Stir in cans of diced green chilies and cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in chicken and half your spice mixture. Combine and cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in chicken broth, beans and corn.
- Bring to boil and stir in rest of spice mixture and cilantro.
- Turn down heat and simmer for 40 minutes.
- Adjust spice as needed.
- Stir in cream cheese and half and half and cook a few more minutes.
- Serve hot with any of the above toppings.
Susan
Just made this recipe and it’s delicious 😋
Laura Lee
Thank you!! I'm so glad you liked it!