White Chicken Chili

by 29 Comments

This White Chicken Chili will quickly become your go-to for lunch or dinner on cold nights. Make it in the slow cooker, Instant Pot or on the stove. 

Two bowls of white chicken chili with an avocado and cheese and cilantro

*Originally published October 2015*

Hi Friends!

When I make my first batch of White Chicken Chili, you know that soup season is officially here. I love soup because it’s so low maintenance. You basically can just throw whatever’s in your fridge or pantry in a pot, let it simmer a while and boom – dinner! It’s perfect for food prep because it reheats well and it’s easy to pack for lunch.

This White Chicken Chili is a slight twist on one of my mother-in-law’s recipes and we eat it pretty frequently. Adding salsa verde to flavor the broth is a fun little trick and you can totally control the spicy level by deciding if you want mild or medium salsa and/or adding jalapenos or green chilis. 

 

Another fabulous thing about this soup is that the possibilities for toppings are pretty much endless. I load mine up with avocado, salsa and cheese, but a squirt of lime juice or some sour cream are also great additions!

Here’s how you make it:

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White Chicken Chili

Two bowls of white chicken chili with an avocado and cheese and cilantro
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5 from 5 reviews

This Easy White Chicken Chili is the perfect lunch or dinner soup and a nice change from traditional tomato-based chili.

  • Author: Lindsay L
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pound chicken breast
  • 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 can no-salt-added cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
  • 3/4 cup salsa verde (mild, medium or hot)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • salt, to taste
  • optional: juice from one lime and a jar of canned green chilis or jalapenos
  • optional toppings: cheese, avocado, salsa, sour cream

Instructions

  1. To make in the crockpot, add all ingredients, stir, cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Shred the chicken and serve with toppings
  2. To make in the Instant Pot: Quarter chicken breasts, add all ingredients to instant pot and cook on high for 10 minutes. Check to see if chicken shreds easily. If not, cook a few more minutes. You may want to start with only 2 cups of chicken broth. You can always add more if it’s too thick for your liking.
  3. To make it on the stove, in a large pot or dutch oven, dice chicken and saute onion, garlic and chicken until chicken is cooked through. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer at least 10 minutes. Spoon into bowls, top as desired and serve warm.

Notes

I sometimes start with only 2 cups of broth because I like mine thicker. You can also add more broth after it’s been cooking a while but it’s harder to remove the broth without removing flavor!

If you buy your salsa verde, look for a brand with the fewest ingredients and the lowest sodium content. You can also make your own!

 

This White Chicken Chili will quickly become your go-to for lunch or dinner on cold nights. Make it in the slow cooker, Instant Pot or on the stove. 

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

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Comments

  19. It’s a good thing I’m going to the grocery store today, this just got added to our dinner menu for next week. I love white chili but haven’t been able to find a good one!

    Reply

  20. Great EASY recipe! I’ve yet to make a batch of chili this fall because we have been having un seasonally warm temps, up in to the 90’s-no quite chili weather yet, but we’ll get there 🙂

    Reply

  22. I made this yesterday and it was delicious! The only change I made was to use 2 cans of beans and a chopped jalapeno. I only used 2 cups of broth as I also like it thicker. I did add the optional can of green chilies. What I liked most about this recipe is it did not require any cream or cream cheese. A great healthy version which will be my go to recipe in the future.

    Reply

  23. I always grew up eating chili on rice so I served this on white rice with cheese and a squeeze of lime. It was so good. I gave my two year old all components separately with a little bit of shredded cheese on top and after eating the cheese off the top, she ate a couple bites of the chili, too! I couldn’t believe it. It was so easy, and perfect for me and my toddler. Will definitely make again.



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  24. Love this recipe and will definitely be making it often! So easy. I used only two cups broth and mixed in some little pasta (ditalini). I didn’t have green chilis so I added a chopped jalapeño. Delicious!



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  25. Have this in the crockpot today! 2nd time making it as it is so easy and a crowd favorite. I added an extra chicken breast I had in the fridge. Looking forward to the leftovers






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