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Turn the tables on your regular chili night with this creamy white chicken chili. It’s a welcome twist on a classic that’s brimming with nourishing chicken, beans and corn in a smooth, slightly cheesy sauce with a spicy green jalapeño kick. And all made in one big cooking pot!
Continue to live out your home-on-the-range fantasy with this pulled pork stew, chili verde.
White chicken chili recipe
There are goodies and baddies, ebony and ivory, day and night. Everything has its opposite and here is chili con carne’s: a white chicken chili recipe. Wildly different, but somehow the same!
I love a good, honest, down-to-earth chili con carne, but I can only eat so much beef! Sometimes I crave the heat and comfort of a chili but with a lighter, more digestible meat. That’s where the Pancho to chili con carne’s Cisco Kid comes in.
Both are satisfyingly hearty, abundantly beany, meaty, swimming in sauce and pack a hot peppery punch.
The most obvious difference is colour, which is down to the ingredients. A beef chili is a dark, rusty red due to the ground beef, tomato base and kidney beans.
White chili is well, not quite white, but cream-coloured with bright flecks of green (pepper) and yellow (corn). Containing chicken breast, and white beans in a cream cheese and This is an affiliate link.chicken stock sauce, it’s a welcome break from its mighty meaty cousin.
And then the flavour! One is juicy with tomato and red meat, beefy and smoky. Goes well with tequila! While the other is calmingly creamy, thick and warming, like snuggling under a blanket under the stars.
What are you in the mood for?
Serving suggestions
Chili night bonanza for a posse? Serve with tortilla chips, queso fundido, guacamole, black bean and corn salsa, soft cornbread and/or rice. Don’t forget the smoky blood orange margs!
Or a laidback meal after a day on the trail? Tortilla chips (they are non-negotiable in my house!), rice and my black bean and corn salsa, which I often eat as a salad.
Finish the bowl by garnishing with sliced avocado, cilantro (coriander UK), and a couple of rings of fresh green chili if you like it hot!
Recipe Tips and Notes
- This is a great opportunity to use up that leftover roast bird! Strip the chicken or turkey carcass and throw the shredded meat in at the end of the recipe.
- Give your onions and green pepper a good sautéing for at least 10 minutes over low heat. Watch for the peppers changing colour from a lively green to a paler one, they should be soft and the onions translucent before adding the garlic and spices.
- I’ve got a cheeky kitchen hack for you if you don’t like chopping chilies: use a couple of tablespoons of green jalapeño salsa. It’s as fiery as fresh, but less fiddly.
- Or use ½ to 1 fresh, deseeded green chili. Depending on your spice tolerance!
- I blend one of the cans of beans. This gives a thick and velvety texture and avoids any soupiness.
- If fresh corn is in season, make the most of it. The kernels have more bite, are a more vivid yellow and burst with flavour.
- Cream cheese straight from the fridge is hard to blend into the broth smoothly. Try warming it in the microwave first so it’s slightly runny.
Storage and leftovers
Almost any dish with garlic, chillies, onion and spices is going to pack an even greater punch the next day or the day after. A short stay in the refrigerator allows the flavours to deepen and meld, so it’s worth saving those leftovers.
Store in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container or cover tightly with cling film and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
This isn’t a dish I would freeze. The reheated white chili loses its creaminess and can go a bit grainy. What’s more, if you’ve already used leftover poultry, it’s better to err on the side of caution.
Other chicken recipes to try
- Chicken Fajita Bowl
- Chicken Chilaquiles with Warm Corn Salsa
- Slow Cooker Thai chicken and rice Soup
- Peri Peri Rice and Chicken Wrap
Creamy White Chicken Chili
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Cast iron Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 1 onion
- 1 green bell pepper or poblano pepper
- 1/2 – 1 green chilli, diced or 2 tbsp green jalapeño salsa
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp This is an affiliate link.smoked paprika
- 1 chicken breasts
- 1 litre / 4 cups This is an affiliate link.chicken stock
- 2x 400g / 14 oz canned cannellini beans, divided
- 2 ears of corn, kernels cut off or 1 cup frozen corn
- 150g / 5 oz full fat cream cheese
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Dice the onion and green bell pepper, saute in 1 tbsp of olive oil over low heat for 10 minutes in a soup pot. Then add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds longer. Season with the cumin, chilli powder, oregano and smoked paprika, then stir in 1-2 tbsp of green salsa OR 1/2 or 1 whole seeded and diced green jalapeño if you like a bit of heat. Blend one can of cannellini beans.
- Top the vegetable base with chicken breasts and cover with the chicken stock and a pinch of salt, bring to a boil, then add the drained whole cannellini beans as well as the blended ones and corn, simmer covered for 20 minutes over low medium heat.
- Take chicken out and shred with two forks into bite-sized pieces. Warm the cream cheese in the microwave till a bit runny, then stir into the chili until it is incorporated into the broth. Then add the chicken back to the pan. Heat through and season with more salt if needed.
- Serve topped with chopped fresh cilantro, sliced green and avocado if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
