White Bean Chicken Chili is a comforting, hearty chicken stew with white beans for an outstanding balance of creaminess and spice. Enjoy a super quick and easy dinner you can whip up in just 30 minutes!
Whether you want to head off winter’s chill, spice up game day, or serve up healthy comfort food fast, chili is your star. Your neighbors will start drooling when the delicious aroma of this chicken and white bean chili wafts through the air.
And you barely have to lift a finger because it almost cooks itself. Sauté and simmer for about 30 minutes while you prepare the rest of the meal. Its simplicity will hook you, and you won’t mind making this deliciousness every single day, no matter the weather.
Content…Make it Your Way |
White Beans and Chicken Chili Your Way
The best thing about chilis, stews, and soups is they’re super versatile to customize with whatever you have on hand. Then, add or take away ingredients and make it your own. Roast a few more poblanos or jalapeños for more heat (or not). Puree more beans for a creamier chili, and add more spices.
Recipe Ingredients
- Chicken – Boneless, skinless chicken thighs form the base of this dish. Chicken breasts will also work well.
- Flavor – Onion, garlic, poblanos, jalapeños, cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, and ancho chili powder deliver the classic chili spiciness.
- Vegetables – Ramp up nutritional value with healthy white beans (navy, cannellini, and Northern beans all work) and hearty sweet corn.
- Chicken Broth brings it all together and turns this spicy goodness into chili.
How to Make White Bean Chicken Chili
- Chicken – Heat oil in a skillet, then add the chicken and cook for 3-5 minutes. (Photo 1)
- Sauté – Add minced garlic, onions, poblano and jalapeño peppers, cumin, and oregano. Sauté for 3-5 minutes until onions wilt. (Photo 2)
- Combine – Stir in chicken broth, white beans, chili, paprika, and sweet corn. (Photos 3-4)
- Simmer – Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for about 30 minutes or until thickened. (Photos 5-6)
- Serve – Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with cornbread or homemade crusty bread.
Recipe Variations
- Veggie add-ins. Feel free to toss in additional vegetables when you sauté the onion and garlic. Some tasty options include carrots, celery, zucchini, and bell peppers.
- Meat variations. Leftover chicken, turkey, pork roast, etc., all work great in this versatile stew. Just add it at the end with the beans and the corn and heat it through.
- White chicken chili. Add cream for an extra rich and creamy version.
- Toppings. Personalize toppings with fresh avocado slices, tortilla chips, shredded cheddar, sour cream, and a wedge of lime.
- Vegan white bean chili. Trade the chicken broth with vegetable broth and chicken with extra beans.
- Slow cooker chili – Simmer all the ingredients in a slow cooker for 4-6 hours on low.
Tips and Tricks
- Leave the seeds in your hot peppers if you want more kick in this dish.
- Canned white beans are the easiest choice, but you certainly can save even more money by making them from scratch.
- Add more chicken broth or milk for more of a soup.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
White bean chicken chili is one of those great recipes that taste even better the next day. So make it up to 5 days ahead, let it cool, and store it in the fridge in an airtight container. Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low before serving.
It also freezes beautifully. And if stored properly, you can freeze it for 3-6 months. Thaw chili overnight in the fridge and reheat before serving.
What to Serve With White Bean Chicken Chili
Soup and salad provide a quick and healthy lunch. Fluffy Texas Roadhouse rolls, a spinach salad, and homemade tortilla chips are good pairings!
More Hearty Chili and Stew Recipes to Try
By Imma
This blog post was originally published in October 2017 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video
White Bean Chicken Chili
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil
- 2-3 pounds (900-1,400g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1½-inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon (15g) minced garlic
- 1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
- 2 teaspoons (5g) cumin
- 1 teaspoon (3g) oregano
- 1 teaspoon (3g) smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon (3g) ancho chili powder
- 2 14.5-ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 cups (950ml) chicken broth, divided
- salt to taste
- 1 cup (165g) frozen sweet corn
- ¼ cup (15g) fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in a skillet, stir in the chicken, and cook the chicken for 3-5 minutes.
- Add minced garlic, onions, poblano, jalapeno pepper, cumin, and oregano.
- Saute for 3-5 minutes until onions wilt.
- Add chicken broth, white beans, chili, paprika, and sweet corn.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the chili thickens.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with cornbread or crusty bread.
Tips & Notes:
- Leave the seeds in your hot peppers if you want more kick in this dish.
- Canned white beans are the easiest choice, but you certainly can save even more money by making them from scratch.
- Add more chicken broth or milk for more of a soup.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Ceara says
Made this tonight, except I cooked thighs (with bones and skin) in the pot, then added all the ingredients and simmered for 2 hours. I think having the bones in and the long simmering process helped all the flavors meld really well. I doubled the recipe because we have 5 of us to feed. It was delicious! Even my picky 6 yr old ate it. I made your easy dinner rolls with it. Perfect!
Imma Adamu says
Great… simmering does indeed help the ingredients marinate, blend and the flavor can truly be epic. I am so glad you tried it. Let me know which other recipes you try. Thank you
Bea says
You do not say when to add cilantro?
ImmaculateBites says
Add it before serving .
C P says
This was really good. Thanks