White Chicken Chili is a flavorful variation from a traditional chili. This creamy chili is made with tender chicken, white beans, corn, sour cream, vegetables, and just the right spices to flavor the dish perfectly. It’s a wonderful dish for cooler weather and you can easily double the recipe and freeze some for later.
WHITE CHICKEN CHILI
Many people think of chili as a perfect dish for cold weather. I think of chili as a perfect dish any time of the year and I actually make it about once a week. My kids love traditional beef chili and I love making it because it’s so healthy for them, loaded with protein and fiber. Sometimes, I mix it up and make chicken chili for them.
White chicken chili is a creamy, chicken alternative that’s made with many of the same ingredients that are in the traditional chili. It’s loaded with meat, beans, vegetables, and the same spice pallet. It’s an extremely flavorful dish and just as healthy.
Another great thing about this chili is that it’s gluten free. There are no glutenous ingredients in it and there are many gluten free options for toppings, including tortilla strips.
To make this chili creamy, I use sour cream because it is the best compliment for the vegetables. I also have some exciting news for my lactose intolerant readers. I found lactose free sour cream made by the Green Valley Creamery brand. It was a vary exciting discovery because in addition to being gluten free, this white chicken chili can also be lactose free.
WHAT GOES INTO WHITE CHICKEN CHILI
Vegetables – onion, garlic, tomatillos, jalapeno, and corn. All these vegetables will add great aroma and taste. It’s a great combination of spice, sweetness, and acidity.
Chopped green chilies – depending on how much heat you want to add to the chili, get mild or hot. I typically opt for mild because there is also jalapeno and spices that add more heat to the chili.
Chicken – I prefer to use raw chicken that way the chicken gets infused with all the flavors it’s cooked in. You can use chicken breast meat or a combination of breast and thigh meat.
Beans – use navy beans, cannellini beans, or great northern beans.
Chicken stock – if you have homemade chicken stock available, that would be the perfect one to use. Otherwise, use store-bought low sodium chicken stock.
Spices – it’s not a chili without the aroma and flavor of chili powder, cumin, oregano, and garlic powder.
Sour cream – sour cream is the best compliment for this combination of vegetables.
Toppings – this chili is wonderful on its own but even better with toppings like Monterrey Jack cheese, avocado, cilantro, lime juice, crunchy tortilla strips, or some fresh jalapeno if you like it spicy.
HOW TO MAKE WHITE CHICKEN CHILI
First, saute diced onions, tomatillos, garlic, and jalapenos together until vegetables are softened. Stir in the entire can of chopped green chiles and nestle chicken halves into the vegetables. Cover the pot with a lid and let chicken cook for about 15 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook for a few more minutes.
Next, add beans, corn, chicken stock, and spices to the pot. Stir everything together and cook, covered, over low heat for about an hour.
Take the chicken out of the pot and into a bowl. Use two forks to shred the chicken. If you want smaller pieces of chicken, you can also chop shredded chicken before adding it back into the pot.
Finally, add chicken back into chili and stir in sour cream until completely incorporated.
CAN I FREEZE WHITE CHICKEN CHILI?
Absolutely! I often make a double batch and freeze half of it for later.
Make sure to freeze the chili before adding the sour cream. Prepare chili as directed in the recipe, up to the step of adding sour cream.
It’s best to cool the chili as quickly as you can before freezing it. After it’s cooked, place the pot into a larger container filled with ice and make sure to stir it from time to time as it cools.
Once it cools, portion it into smaller freezer bags or larger bags, let all the air out, and close it well. Remember to label and date.
Lay the bags flat on the cutting board and freeze. You can stack the bags once frozen.
Chili can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Make sure to slow-thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Bring thawed chicken chili to simmer over medium heat and stir in sour cream until completely incorporated. Serve it with your favorite toppings.
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White Chicken Chili
This creamy chili is made with tender chicken, white beans, corn, sour cream, vegetables, and just the right spices to flavor the dish perfectly.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 4 medium tomatillos
- 2 jalapenos seeds removed for less spice (leave in for more spice)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 4.5 oz can chopped green chiles
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 16 oz can navy beans drained
- 8 oz frozen corn thawed
- 2 cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp chipotle chili powder
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
Dice onion, tomatillos, and jalapenos. You can leave seeds in or take seeds out of the jalapeno, depending on how spicy you want the chili. Smash and mince garlic cloves.
Preheat a large pot over medium heat and add oil. Add diced vegetables and saute until it's softened.
Add canned chopped green chiles and mix well.
Cut chicken breasts in half and nestle chicken halves into the vegetables. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for about 15 minutes. Flip chicken breasts and cook for a few more minutes.
Add beans, corn, chicken stock, and spices to the pot and mix well. Lower the heat to low and cover the pot with a lid.
Cook for about an hour.
Take chicken out of the pot and shred it using two forks. (If you want smaller pieces of chicken, you can also chop shredded chicken.)
Add chicken back to the pot and add sour cream. Mix well until sour cream is completely incorporated.
Serve with toppings like Monterrey Jack cheese, avocado, cilantro, squeeze of lime juice, crunchy tortilla strips, or some fresh jalapeno if you like it spicy.
Recipe Notes
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have a slight variation.
Caroline
this looks wonderful. I love white chili. one question – I have chili powder but it is not chipolte chili. is there a difference and will it be ok to substitute? thanks for all your recipes.
LyubaB
Hi, Caroline! You can use chili powder as a substitute for the chipotle chili powder, it will just have a slightly different flavor.