White Chicken Chili is one of my favorite dishes from childhood! My best friends mom used to make it for us on the regular and I begged for the recipe. Here it is with a Gaby spin!
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What is white chicken chili you ask – it’s one of the most comforting recipes I’ve ever made! It was Emily’s moms go-to every time things got chilly in Tucson and when the phone call came that it was on deck for dinner, I forced my parents to take me over within minutes.
It’s creamy as there’s sour cream. It’s got white beans to make it substantial. Tons of seasonings to really amp up the flavor and obviously shredded chicken and corn! In terms of ingredients – it’s a bit on the longer side of us here at WGC but most of it is pantry staples so don’t let that intimidate you!
White Chicken Chili Ingredients
- The usual suspects: olive oil, yellow onion and garlic – these are the base of pretty much every recipe
- I use Chicken broth or stock to make the soup, but you can do it with vegetable stock if that’s what you have on hand.
- Diced green chilies – the tucson girl in me will break out the green chilies on every occasion possible
- Seasonings – a key part of this recipe and include: ground cumin, ground coriander, dried oregano, chili powder, paprik and cayenne pepper. Nothing out of the ordinary.
- Fresh lime juice is key in this recipe to really brighten things up once it’s ready to eat.
- Canned white beans – this adds some bulk to the dish!
- Sour cream is what I use to make this soup creamy. A lot of times I’ve seen it with cream cheese which (while delish) isn’t my jam for a soup!
- We need some corn (frozen or fresh) works!
- And last but not least, cooked shredded chicken. Buy a rotisserie from the store!!
How to make White Chicken Chili
- Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottom dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the seasonings and saute until fragrant, an additional 30 seconds.
- Add chicken broth, green chilies, lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the 1/2 of the beans and stir to combine.
- Using your immersion blender, blend the mixture for 10-20 seconds to puree. Same technique as the Tortilla Soup on WGC!! This is what makes it creamy.
- Add the remaining whole beans and corn to the dutch oven. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and cooked chicken.
- Serve garnished with cilantro, shredded cheese, avocado slices and tortilla chips if desired.
Tips and Tricks
A things to keep in mind! #1 – make sure you really saute the onions! You want them to develop a little golden color as that is FLAVOR!
#2 – pureeing half of the beans in the stock is what makes this thick and creamy. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can do this in a food processor or regular blender. Just be careful as you’ll be transferring warm liquid into a blender. Make sure the heat can escape from a tiny area before turning on the blender.
#3 – if you want to make your own rotisserie chicken and shred that – be my guest!! That’s a great way to control how my extra flavor is in your chicken!
Can you freeze white chicken chili?
Absolutely! This soup freezes great. Don’t even worry about the sour cream. Just re-heat it in a Dutch Oven or heavy bottom pot over low heat until warmed through.
Is white chicken chili spicy?
Nope!! It has flavor – but it will not be spicy.
How to thicken white chicken chili?
The thickness comes from pureeing the beans!! Don’t skip that step.
How long is white chicken chili good for?
In the fridge, 3-4 days. In the freezer – forever? LOL. It keeps for a few months no problem and I’ve never had it more than 4 months later as we eat it so fast.
What goes well with white chicken chili?
Chips! Salsa! Guacamole! A fun chopped salad on the side!
Tools used to make this
What you’ll need:
White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth or stock
- 2 4-ounce cans diced green chilies
- 1 lime juiced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 15-oz cans white beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup corn (frozen or fresh)
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
Toppings
- Fresh cilantro
- Sliced jalapeños
- Freshly shredded cheese
- Tortilla strips
- Sliced green onion
- Cubed avocado
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottom dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the seasonings and saute until fragrant, an additional 30 seconds.
- Add chicken broth, green chilies, lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the 1/2 of the beans and stir to combine.
- Using your immersion blender, blend the mixture for 10-20 seconds to puree.
- Add the remaining whole beans and corn to the dutch oven. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and cooked chicken.
- Serve garnished with cilantro, shredded cheese, avocado slices and tortilla chips if desired.
OMG! As a huge white chicken chili fan, I’ve made it many times from many different recipes. But THIS recipe is PERFECTION!!!! I will never make it any other way but this way!!! Absolutely delicious, super easy to put together, just yummy!! Just the smell as it was cooking had me salivating!!! Make this immediately!!!! This one is going into the regular rotation!!
This was an excellent balance of spice and texture.
Very good! Made for a great lunch.
My first White Chicken Chili and I’m hooked! The only change I made was using only one can of green chili’s as I had a “hot” can and thought 2 would be too much. The heat was perfect and the dish came together quickly. This dish was a week after the chicken tortilla soup and I loved having 2 ways to use rotisserie chicken. A keeper for sure!
This will go into rotation. Great.
This was fantastic and easy. I will definitely make this again. Thank you!