Creamy White Chicken Chili Recipe

This creamy white chicken chili recipe is slow-cooked with chiles, caramelized onions, beans, spices, and shredded chicken for a delicious, comforting soup. You may never eat regular beef chili again after trying this. It’s that good.

If you love soup as much as I do, yes, it’s my favorite food, then absolutely check out my fantastic beef and barley or ham and bean soup recipes.

White Chicken Chili

White chicken chili, also known as white chili or chicken chili, is a hearty soup consisting of white beans, chiles, spices, and chicken. While there is no concrete history of the creation of this soup, many believe it to have originated in the Southwest region of the United States during the 1970s to 1980s. The flavors of chicken chili don’t mimic that of a classical chili recipe due to the different ingredients used.

A traditional white chicken chili is thick using beans from the soup that are pureed and added back to it to give it thickness. It can also be thickened with a slurry or roux if need be. It is also commonly garnished with quite a bit of shredded cheese before serving. As with any soup recipe, more flavors will begin to marry and present themselves the next day after making it.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Beans – You can use dried navy, cannellini, Great Northern, or even pinto beans will work.
• Chicken – I prefer a whole roasting chicken as it is more cost-effective and will aid in making homemade chicken stock for the soup.
• Peppers – This is subjective, but I use green bell, poblano, and jalapeño peppers.
• Onion – You can use medium-sized white, sweet, or yellow onions. You will also need a few cloves of garlic.
• Celery – I like the addition of celery and its flavor to the soup.
• Spices – Most recipes call for just ground cumin, but I love the addition of dry ground coriander and oregano.
• Cheese – Chicken chili is traditionally loaded with shredded cheese, and you can use Monterey jack, white cheddar, or pepper jack cheese.

How to Make White Chicken Chili

Start by soaking covering the beans in a container and soaking them for 12 to 24 hours.

Next, add oil to a large rondeau pot (8 quarts) over low heat and add the onions to caramelize. This can take up to 1 hour. Stir them occasionally.

In the meantime, rinse your whole chicken well inside and out with cold water to remove any of the excess water that it was packaged in.

Transfer the chicken to a large pot (8 quarts) along with 1 gallon of water and cook over medium heat for 60 to 75 minutes or until the chicken is cooked throughout.

Once you add the chicken in there, you can add any fresh or frozen vegetable scraps into the pot to help enhance the flavor of the stock.

With about 20 minutes left in the chicken-cutting process, seed and medium-dice the peppers.

Add the peppers, garlic, and celery to the pan with onions and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes to get a light roast. Be sure not to char as the overly cooked skin can cause the soup to be bitter. See Notes.

Stir in the dry spices and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the stock and set it aside to cool.

Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer or chinois. Deglaze the pan with onions and peppers with 1 cup of chicken stock and cook for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pan.

Transfer the roasted onions, peppers, and onions to a blender and puree until smooth.

Add the pureed mixture back to the rondeau pot along with the stock and drained soaked beans and bring it to a boil.

Next, cook the beans for about 45 to 60 minutes over low to medium heat or until the beans are tender.

Remove the meat from the chicken and roughly chop it and add it to the soup and mix to combine.

Finish with cream, salt, and pepper.

Garnish with shredded cheese and sliced green onions.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 2 days ahead.

How to Store: You can store this chili in a container covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This will freeze very well and be covered for up to 6 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating and serving.

How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of chili to a medium-sized pot and cook over low heat until hot. You may need to add some chicken stock, salt, and pepper to bring back flavor and moisture.

Chef Notes + Tips

• Cayenne pepper can be added if you prefer more spice.
• Additional spicy peppers like serrano or habanero peppers can be used.
• Onion and garlic granules can also be added to this recipe.
• If you’re nervous about the peppers causing a bitter flavor to the soup, you can roast them separately and then peel, seed, and roughly chop them before adding them to the onions.
• When using canned beans, be sure they are strained and add them to the pot along with the pureed peppers and onions. Start with half the chicken stock and add more to thin it out. You will only need to heat the beans since they are already cooked. Continue directly to procedure 13.
• If the soup is not thick after the beans are cooked, remove about 2 cups and add them to a blender with ½ cup of stock and puree until smooth. Add the pureed beans back to the pot. This will help give some body and thickness to the soup.

More Soup Recipes

• Clam Chowder
• French Onion Soup
• Broccoli Cheddar
• Ham and Lentil
• Scotch Broth

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Creamy White Chicken Chili Recipe

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5 from 24 votes

This white chicken chili recipe is slow-cooked with chiles, onions, beans, spices, and shredded chicken for a delicious, comforting soup.

Servings: 10

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 1- pound dry navy, cannellini, or great northern beans
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 peeled and medium-diced yellow onions
• 1 whole roasting chicken
• 2 seeded and mediumce diced green bell peppers
• 2 seeded and medium diced poblano peppers
• 2 seeded and medium diced jalapeños
• 2 medium diced ribs of celery
• 10 finely minced cloves of garlic
• 3 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 2 tablespoons dry oregano
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• Shredded Monterey jack or pepper jack cheese for garnish
• Sliced green onions for garnish

Instructions

• Start by soaking covering the beans in a container and soaking them for 12 to 24 hours.
• Next, add the oil to a large rondeau pot (8 quarts) over low heat and add the onions to caramelize. This can take up to 1 hour. Stir them occasionally.
• In the meantime, rinse your whole chicken well inside and out with cold water to remove any excess water it was packaged in. Transfer the chicken to a large pot (8 quarts) with 1 gallon of water and cook over medium heat for 60 to 75 minutes or until the chicken is cooked throughout.
• Once you add the chicken in there, you can add any fresh or frozen vegetable scraps into the pot to help enhance the flavor of the stock. With about 20 minutes left in the chicken-cutting process, seed and medium-dice the peppers.
• Add the peppers, garlic, and celery to the pan with onions and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes to get a light roast. Be sure not to char as the overly cooked skin can cause the soup to be bitter. See Notes.
• Stir in the dry spices and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Remove the chicken from the stock and set it aside to cool. Strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer or chinois.
• Deglaze the pan with onions and peppers with 1 cup of chicken stock and cook for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pan.
• Transfer the roasted onions, peppers, and onions to a blender and puree until smooth. Add the pureed mixture back to the rondeau pot along with the stock, drained soaked beans, and bring it to a boil.
• Next, cook the beans for about 45 to 60 minutes over low to medium heat or until the beans are tender.
• Remove the meat from the chicken and roughly chop it. Discard the skin and leftover carcass. Add the chopped chicken to the soup and mix to combine.
• Finish with cream, salt, and pepper. Adjust any seasonings with cumin, coriander, or oregano.
• Garnish with shredded cheese and sliced green onions.

Notes

Make-Ahead: You can make this recipe up to 2 days ahead.

How to Store: You can store this chili in a container covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This will freeze very well and be covered for up to 6 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating and serving.

How to Reheat: Add the desired amount of chili to a medium-sized pot and cook over low heat until hot. Add chicken stock, salt, and pepper to add flavor and moisture.

Cayenne pepper can be added if you prefer more spice.

Additional spicy peppers like serrano or habanero peppers can be used.

Onion and garlic granules can also be added to this recipe.

If you’re nervous about the peppers causing a bitter flavor to the soup, you can roast them separately and then peel, seed, and roughly chop them before adding them to the onions.

When using canned beans, be sure they are strained and add them to the pot along with the pureed peppers and onions. Start with half the chicken stock and add more to thin it out. You will only need to heat the beans since they are already cooked. Continue directly to procedure 13.

If the soup is not thick after the beans are cooked, remove about 2 cups and add them to a blender with ½ cup of stock and puree until smooth. Add the pureed beans back to the pot. This will help give some body and thickness to the soup.

Nutrition

Calories: 388kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 19gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 93mgSodium: 123mgPotassium: 560mgFiber: 7gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1210IUVitamin C: 27mgCalcium: 115mgIron: 4mg

Course: Main, Soup

Cuisine: American, Southwest

Author: Chef Billy Parisi