I have a lot of favorite soups, but most people who know me know that this White Chicken Chili is at the top of my list, partly due to the fact that I make it from things my pantry very rarely runs out of, so I end up making it a lot when other meal plans get tossed out the window. It’s really fast, and really easy, and it’s major comfort food for me. I often make a pot at lunch time and just keep it warm until dinner, grabbing a bowl or two in between! Kids love it because they can put chips and cheese on it. Heck, I love it because you put chips and cheese on it.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken – This recipe calls for raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts. If you want to speed dinner up or use up leftovers, rotisserie or previously cooked chicken works great, simply add it to the pot during the last 5-10 minutes of simmering to heat up.
- Great Northern Beans – Any white bean will do! Look for great northern, large white, or canellini.
- Chicken Broth – This makes up the main body of the soup so make sure to use one you love. Canned or boxed broth is great, or Better Than Bouillon. Avoid bouillon cubes or powder.
- Condiments – The possibilities are endless here. Don’t feel like you have to have every one of them available, just pick your favorites: sour cream or Greek yogurt, cilantro, green onions, shredded pepper Jack or Jack cheese, cojita or queso fresco, diced avocado, tortilla chips or tortilla strips. I also LOVE this soup with a loaf of warm, crusty bread smothered with this Creamy Jalapeno-Lime Butter. When you dip the bread into the hot soup, the butter melts and it is seriously the most amazing thing.
- Spice – This is not a spicy dish. If you want to add some heat, add some diced jalapeños in while cooking your onions, or add some Tabasco sauce near the end of cooking or as a condiment.
- Lime Juice and Cilantro – These flavors add so much to the soup, but they also mellow quickly. If making ahead to refrigerate or freeze, omit the lime juice and cilantro. Add them after the soup has been reheated, just prior to serving.
Instructions
- To start, you’ll cook up some chicken, onion, and garlic really quickly. You would do this in a large soup pot or Dutch Oven. The only reason I’m using a large skillet here is because it’s easier to shoot the photos!
- When that’s mostly done cooking, you’ll add in some white beans (great northern or canellini work) and some diced green chilis. These are mild, so they don’t add heat, just tons of flavor. Don’t drain them, you’ll want all those good juices, too. Add a handful of seasonings, and then let it simmer away.
- After a quick simmer, add in some fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro. Then serve it in bowls with allllll the toppings. Seriously, guys. Don’t forget the toppings.
Serving Suggestions
I love serving White Chicken Chili with warm, crusty bread like this Easy No Knead Overnight Artisan Bread and Creamy Jalapeno-Lime Butter. Brazilian Lemonade would be a fun accompaniment to the Latin spices as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this as a freezer meal or freeze leftovers? I LOVE soups as freezer meals. Most of them freeze and reheat beautifully. Simply prepare the White Chicken Chili but omit the lime juice and cilantro. Cool completely and transfer to your preferred freezer container. I love freezing individual servings in my Souper Cubes molds to pull out for an easy lunch. Once reheated, add lime juice, cilantro, and toppings.
Did You Make This?
I’d love to hear from you! Snap a picture and tag me on Instagram, then come back and give this recipe a rating!
White Chicken Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
Chili
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin, or non-stick spray
- 1 pound chicken, boneless cubed (about 3-4 boneless, skinless breasts)
- 1 onion, medium diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cans Great Northern Beans
- 1 3.5-ounce can green chilies
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- 1 lime
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 32 ounces chicken broth
Toppings
- in addition to measurements above
- sour cream or non-fat Greek yogurt
- cilantro chopped
- pepperjack or Jack cheese shredded
- avocado
- tortilla chips
- Also great served with crusty bread and Creamy Jalapeno-Lime Butter
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add chopped onion and cook for about 2 minutes- just until it starts to become translucent. While onions are cooking, drain beans, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
- Sprinkle chopped chicken with a little salt and pepper and add to pot. Add garlic as well. Cook until there’s no more visible pink on the chicken, probably 3-4 minutes. Then add green chills – along with all of the juices in the can.
- Add beans, cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, and a few turns of fresh cracked pepper. Stir to combine and then add chicken broth. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add the juice from one lime and the ½ cup chopped cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and top with toppings.
Notes
- I call this a chili, but it’s really a soup consistency. If you want it thicker, just reduce the amount of broth. Or, alternatively, take an additional can of beans (drained and rinsed) and place them in a blender. Ladle in a cup or 2 of the finished broth (avoid the chicken pieces, etc.) and puree until smooth. Add this mixture to the soup.
- Nutritional information was calculated without the use of toppings.
Questions & Reviews
My whole family really liked this! It’s rare to find a recipe everyone likes. I wanted it to be thicker, so I added the puréed beans as mentioned in the notes. Thank you for a great recipe!
I know this recipe has been on here for 8 years at this point, but I have to say that this is one of my go-to recipes for an easy and delicious dinner. The whole family loves it!
I made this for dinner tonight. Everyone loved it. Thank you!
Hi! Would I be able to throw this in the crock pot? Or do you suggest to cook the onion and chicken, etc beforehand?
Thanks!
I love this recipe! A friend made this for me after I had my baby last October and it has become one of our family favorites! The only two changes that make are: 1-Omit the Coriander seeds and 2-Add a couple of tomatillos to the soup while it is simmering and then blend them and add them back after they are pureed. It gives it just a little bit more Mexican yumminess!
This is one of my favorite recipes. I don’t know how many times I’ve made it.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was a hit! Instead of chicken, I used ground turkey. I forgot to buy cilantro this morning, bummer. I love cilantro!:(
It was delicious anyway! My 3 year old loved it because he could eat it with avocado and chips(his favorite foods of the moment). Hubby had seconds, he is also a tortilla chips lover. Another great healthy and nutritious dish for my family. Thanks Sarah!
A friend of mine was eating this at work and it looked and smelled mouth watering. I want to make it for dinner sometime soon, but I am wondering if it works in the crockpot? Is there anything you would do to modify it? I work a lot of graveyards so I like to throw things in the crockpot when I get home so I can wake up and still have a good dinner ready for my family.
Thanks!
You could put it in a crock pot, but it’s so quick and easy to make on the stove top that it’s probably better to just make it and pop the finished soup in a freezer container. If you put it in a crock pot, the chicken will be over-cooked and the onions won’t be sauteed, but it would probably still be good 🙂
I absolutely loved this recipe but wanted to thicken it up a bit. I pureed some of the bean mixture (before adding the chicken) and put it back in. That did it for me, and it is now one of my favorite soups. Thanks for the delicious inspiration! I’ve just posted it on my blog: http://www.fransfavs.com/2011/11/green-chile-chicken-soup/
Delicious! Kids ate it right up.
So I made this tonight and was all excited to try it… I chopped my cilantro and for some reason I thought it smelled a little funny; almost like cilantro but just a little off.. So what do I do? I add it in anyways.. I start eating the soup and I have to say, I wasn’t wow’ed by it at this point. I went back to my fridge to look at the label on the cilantro and come to find out, it was parsley.. Yeah, just in case anyone was thinking of trying out that flavor combo, I’m here to tell you it doesn’t work. When I eat the chili without a bit of parsley, its really good. Thanks for the recipe and next time I try this recipe, I’ll pay a little more attention. 🙂
Do you suppose we could add one more can of beans and purree it before adding to thicken it – not sure why I’m asking – because I’ll probably just try it either way 😉 Just want to tell you all AGAIN – I’m starting to think you save my marriage – my husband LOVES everything from the blog and cookbook and its so nice to not have to worry!!
sure; go for it!
Can this be made in the crock pot so it cooks during the day and ready when we get home?
Yes Danielle, that works fine. You’ll just want to add the lime and cilantro before serving. I personally don’t like boneless skinless chicken in the crock pot because it gets kind of stringy, but a lot of people don’t mind 🙂 It doesn’t need very much cooking time, so do it for a shorter time if possible, and on low.
Made this last night and it was delish! I couldn’t find the white northern beans in our store so I used white kidney beans. I don’t know if that makes a huge difference in the soup but it was still great. Thanks for another great recipe! OBB is the only cookbook I’m using these days and its become my standard gift to friends.
Oh. My. Goodness. That was delicious! And the kids were BEGGING for seconds and thirds! One tried to pick out the onions and peppers and I asked him to close his eyes and take one bite and see how it takes. Upon his seconds he said “OH YAY! More onions!”
Ya…I’m a happy mommy.
Oops – I didn’t say this….
THANK YOU!!!
I have your cookbook home from the library and needed a chicken recipe for dinner tonight. I saw the picture of this chili and new it would be perfect. Thank you so much for yet another fantastic recipe! I love a dinner that everyone from the one-year-old to the three-year-old to the husband will eat. Again, I’m so sorry I’m missing your book signings in Seattle. Next time….
This is soo yummy! I’ve never had white chicken chili before but I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while now and I’m so glad I finally did! My 2 year old even liked it, and at our house that’s kind of a big deal! Thank you thank you!
This is the first recipe of yours that I have tried and it was a hit in my family!! I just made it again tonight (second time) and my daughter’s friend came over to play and smelled the food. She thought it was absolutely fabulous so I invited her to dinner. She must have raved about it to her mom because she texted me asking for the recipe! 🙂 I told her where to find it. I also just made your Peanut Butter White Chocolate Chip Chocolate Cookies on Sunday and my family LOVED it! They didn’t flatten when I took it out of the oven either! My other cookies tend to do that so I stay away from making cookies. I’ll be making this more often! I can’t wait to try other recipes! Thanks ladies!! You’re cooking geniuses!
This recipe looks fantastic and I can’t wait to try it!
I have seen in other recipes a way to thicken soups, especially those with beans. After the soup is done cooking a bit, you can use the back of a wooden spoon to mash up some of the beans against the side of the pot. You can do it until you reach the consistency you desire. This really works. I also tried using a hand-held immersion blender once, but that tends to destroy the chicken!
Thanks for all of your great recipes. I also have found every one a “keeper”!
I just made this for dinner tonight! It’s DELICIOUS! Thanks! 🙂 It’s definitely going to go in my rotation of foods! 🙂
I just made this today, and I loved it! The only thing different that I did was not put in green chiles because I forgot to buy them, but the soup was still fantastic, and probably better for kids who may not like things spicy. Thanks for a great recipe!
I cooked this for another apartment for Valentine's Day, and they were super impressed. This is definitely a keeper. So far, all recipes from this site have been keepers.
I made this for dinner tonight! It was a huge success! I love how simple your directions are and they worked perfect for me, I'm not the greatest cook!(: Thanks so much!