Easy White Chicken Chili — Hearty, healthy, loaded with tender chicken, and packed with bold flavor!! Fast and easy comfort food that everyone loves!! It’ll be on rotation all winter!!
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Simple White Chicken Chili Recipe
Chili is the ultimate fall and winter comfort food. Who can say no to a bowl of warm, thick chili that’s loaded with tender chicken and hearty cannellini beans?
This white chicken chili recipe was some of the best chili I’ve ever had and is now in our rotation. It’s robustly flavored from sweet Vidalia onions, jalapeño peppers, and green chilis.
It’s so easy and ready in 30 minutes. No need to stand over a simmering pot for hours. Many ingredients get tossed into the pot all at once and in no time this hearty, healthy, and comforting chili is ready.
My family loved this easy white chicken chili recipe, and I love that it’s ready so quickly and with very minimal effort.
White Chicken Chili Ingredients
For this white bean chicken chili recipe, you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Yellow onion
- Jalapeño
- Canned green chiles
- Garlic
- Chicken broth
- Shredded cooked chicken
- Cannellini beans
- Lime juice
- Dried herbs and spices
- Fresh cilantro
Time Saving Tip: Make White Chicken Chili with Rotisserie Chicken!
To save time, use a store-bought rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken that you have on hand. Of course, you can roast or pan sauté chicken for this easy recipe for white chicken chili if you’re so inclined.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make White Chicken Chili in 30 Minutes
This is a quick and easy white chicken chili recipe that comes together in about half an hour. You’re welcome to simmer the chili longer for added flavor, but I’m always in a rush to get dinner on the table on weeknights so 30 minutes is good enough for me!
- Add the olive oil to a large stockpot or Dutch oven and sauté the onion, chiles, and jalapeño until softened.
- Add the garlic and continue cooking until fragrant.
- Dump the remaining ingredients into the pot and bring to a boil. Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes, then stir in the cilantro.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with tortilla chips, cheese, cilantro, and / or sour cream.
Cooking Tip: Salt to Taste
Make sure to salt your chili to taste. I use low-sodium chicken broth, low-sodium beans, and add a bit of salt to the chili so I can control the overall salt level. The saltiness of low-sodium broth, beans, rotisserie chickens, and personal preferences for salt all vary so salt to taste.
Recipe FAQs
I prefer my white chicken chili to be fairly thick. To achieve this, I blend about 1 cup of the cannellini beans in a food processor to make a bean paste of sorts. This gets added to the white chili to make it even heartier. For a super thick chili, let it simmer uncovered for longer than the recipe calls for.
Absolutely! In fact, that’s what I do most of the time to save myself the effort of cooking raw chicken breasts or ground chicken beforehand.
This white bean chicken chili has mild to medium kick, but you can make it spicier by using the jalapeno seeds or by adding more red chili flakes or cayenne pepper.
I’m sure you ‘could’ but I don’t see the point because it’s ready in 30 minutes. Why lengthen an already rapid cooking time is my question? You’re just lengthening (and complicating) the amount of time it will take from start to finish for you to be enjoying this fabulous chili.
If you want to keep it warm in a slow cooker for an event or something along those lines, go for it. But prepare it on the stove as written is my advice.
Yes! Like all chili, it tastes better the day or two after you make it and the flavors marry, making this a perfect make-ahead meal. Make a batch over the weekend and you can enjoy it during the week.
Or you can stash half of it in the freezer for nights when pulling something out of the freezer for dinner is all you can muster.
This white bean chicken chili will keep airtight in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
What to Serve with White Chicken Chili
Serve this classic stovetop white chicken chili with one or more of the following side dishes:
- Cast Iron Skillet Cornbread or Sweet Potato Cornbread
- Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls
- Parker House Rolls
- No-Knead Dinner Rolls
- Basic House Salad
The chili is also delicious when topped with crushed homemade corn tortilla chips!
Recipe Video Tutorial
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Easy White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cups sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, peeled and diced small (about 2 medium/large onions)
- 1 large jalapeno pepper, about 4 to 5 inches long, diced very small (the seeds are where the heat is concentrated; included or discard them based on preference)
- 7 to 8 ounces canned green chiles, don’t drain (I used mild heat)
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
- 32 ounces 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 cups shredded cooked chicken, use about 1 whole storebought rotisserie chicken to save time; or roast or cook your own chicken in a skillet
- two 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (see step 4 below about blending 1 cup of the beans with a splash of chicken broth or water)
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoons salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional and to taste
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely minced
- tortilla strips, chips, crackers, diced avocado, shredded cheese, and/or sour cream; all are optional for garnishing
Instructions
- To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the olive oil and heat over medium-high heat to warm.
- Add the onion, jalapeno, green chilis, and sauté for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Stir intermittently.
- Add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir intermittently.
- Add the chicken broth, chicken, cannellini beans including whole beans and blended bean mixture (take 1 cup of the beans, add to a food processor or blender, add a splash of chicken broth or water and blend until smooth; mixture should be thick.
- Add the blended bean mixture along with the whole beans to pot), lime juice, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, red chili flakes, optional cayenne pepper, and bring to a boil.
- Allow mixture to boil gently for about 7 to 10 minutes. It’s unlikely, but if at any point the overall liquid level looks low or you prefer your chili to be thinner, add 1 cup of water or as desired; you’ll adjust the salt and seasoning levels at the end. For thicker chili, allow mixture to boil longer and reduce until desired thickness is reached.
- Add the cilantro and boil 1 minute.
- Taste chili and add salt to taste. This will vary based on how salty the chicken broth, beans, and rotisserie chicken are, and personal preference. Make any necessary seasoning adjustments (i.e. more salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne, lime juice, etc.).
- Ladle chili into bowls, and optionally garnish with tortilla strips, chips, crackers, avocado, cheese and/or sour cream; serve immediately.
Notes
- Chili will keep airtight in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Chili Recipes:
All of my chili recipes!
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Easy 30-Minute Smoky Beef and Black Bean Chili – Don’t have all day for chili to simmer? No problem! This EASY, hearty chili with lovely SMOKY heat is ready in 30 minutes! PERFECT for busy weeknights!!
Slow Cooker Beef Chili – Easy, hearty, comfort food! As the chili simmers in your slow cooker it develops so much flavor! A foolproof chili recipe that you’ll want to add into your regular rotation!
Easy 30-Minute Turkey Chili – Don’t have all day for chili to simmer? No problem! This easy, hearty, healthy chili is ready in 30 minutes and it’s full of flavor! Perfect for busy weeknights!
Easy 30-Minute Chicken Enchilada Chili – Don’t have all day for chili to simmer? No problem! This easy, hearty, healthier chili full of Mexican-inspired flavors is ready in 30 minutes! Perfect for busy weeknights!
Triple Pork Chili — Three types of pork including bacon, pork roast, and chorizo plus black beans and more in this comforting, hearty, and filling chili recipe! Easy and perfect for chilly weather, family dinners, or make it for game day or tailgating parties!
Originally published October 19, 2015 and republished February 19, 2020 with updated text.
Wonderful , flavorful Sunday afternoon / evening meal.
We added another can of cannelloni beans (blended 1 can & 2 cans whole) and blended a head of steamed cauliflower with one can of beans and broth which added texture and thickened the chili.
Definalty will make again soon.
The blended steamed cauliflower sounds like a great little trick! I’m glad you loved the chili!
Can I use this in a crock pot? Can’t wait to try it!
I’m sure you can but I haven’t so I can give advice about it.
I made this tonight and it was incredible! The flavor was so balanced and wonderful. I also added white corn just because, and it was a welcome addition. Can’t wait to make this again!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! The corn sounds perfect!
I just wanted to say I made this last night with a roasted turkey breast from Costco and it was delicious! Slight substitutions – I used 3 cans of beans instead of 2, and one of the cans was Bush’s Beast White Chili Beans in Chili Sauce, which is what I blended (1/2 can). I also used a serrano pepper instead because I like them. I avoided the red chili flakes and cayenne as between the spiced beans and the serrano she had plenty of heat. Served it up with sour cream and Mexican cheese blend – divine!
When (definitely when!) I make this again, I plan to blend the whole can of spiced beans as I prefer more of a thick chili, and cut down to maybe 3 cups of broth as well. That was my only complaint on the first batch was it was just a bit too soupy for me. Otherwise I’m not changing a thing!
Sounds like it was a success overall and yes, the thickness of chili is definitely a personal preference and you can always cut back on the broth and/or blend up the beans to your liking.
This was so delicious! I have made it a couple times now and I won’t try another white chicken chili recipe. A rotisserie chicken breast made this so quick and easy that it doesn’t have to be a weekend recipe. Made it after work in only about half an hour. We ate it with a little bit of shredded cheddar cheese and light sour cream. So good!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that you won’t cheat on the recipe :) I love using rotisserie chicken too for this soup because it makes it truly do-able as a weeknight easy meal!
Super duper delicious! This is going to be in the regular rotation! We loved it! Thanks
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad it’s going into rotation!
Made this tonight and the flavor and everything was great! My only suggestion would be to add the shredded chicken maybe in the last 5 mins or so of cooking. I used a is series chicken and shredded it and it got very very shredded and mushy. Maybe I shredded too small? Either way next time I will be adding it later on. Great recipe though, it’s not often to find a recipe that has the spices down perfectly.
Meant to say used a rotisserie chicken lol
I think you shredded it a bit too finely. I keep mine pretty chunky that’s for sure. Glad you enjoyed the recipe overall!
I made this chili last night and we loved it!! It was not only easy to make but also incredibly filling and delicious. I can’t wait to have leftovers this week :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
This is simply amazing. I loved this chili. It was honestly a breeze to throw together, simmer and devour! When I pureed the beans, I added the garlic cloves in too and I think it made it have an overall warm garlic flavor that was really lovely. I also used a rotisserie chicken and, boy, was this chili chock full of beans and chicken! Great, high protein dish. I calculated the calories for this recipe using the brands I used and it was roughly 260 calories (if you’re serving ten) without any added sour cream, cheese, avocado, etc. Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Good call about the garlic, too! And thanks for the cal count. That’s helpful and good to know pretty darn low!
Had this pinned for forever and was waiting for the slightest chill in the air to make it. OMG, so good. I had to run to an appointment so I sauteed the onions and garlic then threw the rest in the crock pot on high for about two hours. I was in between making this & a creamy white chicken chili and I’m so glad I chose this. So light and clean, but hearty and filling at the same time! I threw in a few Laughing Cow Cheese white cheddar wedges to give me a little of that “creaminess” I wanted and it worked perfect! My boyfriend loved this too, he literally had the bowl to his face getting every last bit AND had seconds. We both took to work today for lunch and I think it may even be better as leftovers :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! Love the Laughing Cow idea!
This was absolutely delicious, I accidentally misread and put a full can of the beans in the food processor instead of just one cup but it worked! Very healthy too, we felt good after eating it. Definitely a keeper, thanks so much!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Full fan of beans and all :) It’s a very flexible and forgiving recipe. Glad you felt good and healthy afterwards!
I made this white bean and chicken chili the other night. Easy to make and the whole family loved it! The addition of the lime really set if off.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious!! Subbed salsa verde for the green chilis, slight variations on spices…my husband and I loved it! Thank you for sharing this recipe :)
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad the salsa verde worked great!
Absolutely Fabulous! I’ve been wanting to try a chicken chili recipe for a couple years! Glad I chose this one.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!
Too much pepper. Reduce it to 1/2 teaspoon.
As with any recipe when it comes to salt and pepper, always season to personal taste.
SO good. Made this tonight for myself. Will definitely make this again.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad you’ll make it again!
I made the 30 min white chicken chili last night. It was absolutely delicious! Thanks for this easy and tasty recipe! Will make it again for sure! Though it is more like an enchilada soup, it is nonetheless totally delish!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you!