White chicken chili is pure comfort food. Our easy recipe is perfectly spiced, creamy, and filled with tender shredded chicken, white beans, green chilies, and corn.
If you love chili, I am begging you to try this white chili! We have a few chili recipes on Inspired Taste, from traditional beef chili to Texas red chili and this turkey chili. But this white chicken chili has a special place in my heart because it calls for one of my favorite ingredients: green chiles!
Our white chili recipe uses canned Hatch green chilies, white beans, and tender shredded chicken. It tastes quite different from red chili but is just as delicious and comforting!
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: You can use chicken thighs or breasts for this chili. I usually use chicken thighs because they become soft and tender.
- Onion and Garlic: I’m pretty generous with the onion and garlic in this dish and think you should be, too! I use 6 cloves of garlic to really pack in the flavor.
- Spices: Ground cumin, onion powder, oregano, salt, and a little cayenne or chipotle powder really make this chili tasty. There’s no need for regular chili powder since we will be using green chiles.
- Broth: Chicken, turkey, or veggie broth will all work in this recipe.
- Canned Green Chilies: I love Hatch green chilies in small cans. You can buy mild or hot. Feel free to use either, depending on who you are serving it to. If you have any leftover, use them to make our breakfast quesadillas!
- White Beans: I use canned or cooked white beans. Great northern beans or cannellini beans are perfect.
- Corn: I usually make this chili in the cooler months, so I use frozen corn, but if you have access to fresh corn, use it!
- Masa Harina or Tortillas: I like to thicken the chili with masa harina (what you use to make corn tortillas). It thickens the sauce nicely and adds a hint of corn flavor. You can also chop corn tortillas and stir them in. They will break down in the chili and help thicken just as the masa harina does.
- Cilantro and Lime: I love serving white chili with fresh cilantro and extra lime juice. Sour cream, shredded cheese, and pickled onions are great, too!
How to Make White Chicken Chili
This white chicken chili is easy to make. First, simmer onion, garlic, spices, broth, canned green chilies, and chicken in a large pot. I use chicken thighs since they are more tender, but chicken breasts work, too. Gently simmer the chicken in the broth until cooked, then remove and shred it (the same method we use to make this tender shredded chicken).
Keep the shredded chicken on your counter for a minute, and then stir in white beans. Steal about a cup of chili (beans, broth, and all). Place that cup of chili into a blender and blend until smooth. This puree is the secret to making creamy white chili!
We do not use sour cream or cream to make this chili and don’t think it needs it, as it just muddies the flavor. I leave it for serving and love to add a handful of shredded cheese and sour cream to the bowl, as we did in our photos.
When the puree is back in the pot, stir the chicken and corn into the chili. Finish with fresh lime, cilantro, and some masa harina for an extra kick of corn flavor. Enjoy!
Easy White Chicken Chili
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
White chicken chili is pure comfort food. The base is perfectly spiced and creamy and filled with tender shredded chicken, white beans, green chilies, and corn. We do not use dairy to make this chili and don’t think it needs it, as it just muddies the flavor. It is best left for serving, you can always add a handful of shredded cheese and sour cream to your bowl.
You Will Need
1 ¼ pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breast
2 tablespoons butter or oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 medium garlic cloves, minced, about 2 tablespoons
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cumin
1 ¼ teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or chipotle powder, optional for heat
2 cups low sodium chicken stock, try homemade chicken stock
3 (4-ounce) cans mild chopped green chilies
2 (15-ounce) cans white beans like great northern beans or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
1 tablespoon masa harina or 1 to 2 small corn tortillas torn into small pieces, optional
1/2 small bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1 lime, juiced, plus more to taste
Scallions, sour cream, avocado, shredded cheese for serving
Directions
1Heat the butter or oil in a large pot (like a Dutch oven). Stir in the onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
2Stir in the garlic, ground cumin, onion powder, oregano, salt, and cayenne pepper. After one minute, pour in the chicken stock and diced green chilies with their juices.
3Bring the broth to a simmer, then submerge the chicken into it. Adjust the heat so that the broth is gently simmering around the chicken. Partially cover the pot with its lid and cook until the chicken is cooked through and tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
4Transfer the chicken to a clean work surface and allow it to cool enough so that you can shred it. Use two forks to shred the chicken into smaller pieces.
5Adjust the broth to a low simmer and stir in the beans. Use a measuring cup or jug to steal about one cup of beans and broth from the pot, and then pour it into a blender. Blend into a smooth puree.
6Pour the blended beans back into the pot. Add the shredded chicken and corn, then stir everything together and allow it to reheat.
7Mix the tablespoon of masa with three tablespoons of water into a smooth paste and stir it into the chili. If you are using corn tortillas instead of masa paste, tear the tortillas into small pieces and stir them into the chili. After a minute or so, the tortillas will disintegrate into the chili.
8Taste the chili and then adjust with salt, pepper, or cayenne pepper.
9Remove the chili from the heat and serve with fresh lime, cilantro, and any other chili toppings you love.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Buying canned green chilies: You can buy mild and hot canned green chilies. The one you choose is up to how spicy you enjoy your food. I typically purchase mild and add spice with cayenne pepper or chipotle powder. I love to purchase the Hatch brand.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We used 1/2 teaspoon of salt in our calculations and assumed a generous serving (about 1/4 of the pot).
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This is my absolute favorite website for recipes. You guys are amazing, I’ve never made a recipe of yours that wasn’t delicious. My whole family loves the hummus recipe and we eat it on repeat. When a recipe on this site says ‘best,’ it really is the best. Anyway, I just made this chili for my family and it was so good. I followed the recipe exactly (don’t usually do that because there’s usually an ingredient I can’t find at the store) and it didn’t need anything at the end, not even salt. What?! I have a collection of favorites and your guys’ recipes always make it in there! Thank you!
Singularly delicious white chili. As I don’t like cumin, I added a 1/2t each of turmeric and summer savory. Everyone loved it. Thank you!
Hi! This looks amazing and planning to make it today! Just double checking on the liquid ingredients. Is it only two cups of broth?
Yep!
This looks great but I have some questions before I make it: Any reason not use left-over rotisserie chicken? Could you pls quantify what “half a bunch” of cilantro means? The bunches I buy in the store are huge and I think half of a bunch would be way too much.Thank you.
Hi Edith, Rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken would be fine in this recipe. We add about a cup of chopped cilantro, but you can add/reduce that amount based on your tastes.