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You have to give this White Chicken Chili Recipe a try! It is creamy, a little spicy, filling, and packed full of nutrition. Make a big pot and it will seem bottomless and the perfect meal for a crowd. It’s super quick and easy, using items you probably already have in your pantry!
White Chili vs Regular Chili…What’s the Difference?
White Chili is made with chicken instead of beef, and without a tomato base. White beans and lots of delicious spices are used instead of chili beans or pinto beans. Both have amazing flavors!
A few tips for success with this White Bean Chili
To make this white chicken chili the best that it can be, here are a few tips I have found helpful.
- Low Fat Milk – I use low-fat milk to keep this recipe “skinny”, but 1/2 cup of half and half (or heavy cream) is also AMAZING!! If you can find the fat free half and half, get that!
- White Beans – drained and rinsed. Great Northern Beans or Cannellini are a great option. 2 whole cans of this stuff! And if you are vegetarian, skip out on the chicken and just add another can of beans.
- Sweet Corn – drained. You could also use frozen or fresh corn here. Consider grilling fresh corn for a charred flavor. Plus it looks gorgeous.
- Chicken Breasts – cooked and shredded. I had started cooking a bunch of chicken in my pressure cooker, just to have something on hand. Rotisserie chicken or previously cooked/roasted chicken works well too! If you have raw chicken, simply throw whole chicken breasts into the mixture to cook before you add the milk. Simmer for about 15 minutes, then remove, shred, and finish the recipe.
- Watch the Temperature – Just as a side note, you don’t want your pot screaming hot. You want things to cook gently so that they don’t get too brown….unless you want brown chicken chili. We want WHITE chicken chili, so I take it easy on the temperature.
How to Make White Chicken Chili
I love a simple and fast recipe and White Chicken Chili is exactly what that is! You only need about 10 minutes of active work before you have dinner done. For full recipe details, including ingredients needed and measurements, see the printable recipe card down below! Here is step by step what you can expect when making this Chili:
1. Sauté Onions and Garlic
In a large pot, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat until soft and translucent.
2. Sprinkle in Flour
Sprinkle flour over veggies and stir. Cook 2 minutes. Raise temperature to medium-medium high. Slowly stream chicken broth into the pot, whisking as you go. Continue stirring until the sauce has boiled and thickened. Reduce heat to low.
3. Add in Remaining Ingredients
Stir in salt, black pepper, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and cinnamon. Then add in milk, beans, corn, and chicken. Warm through.
Serve warm with any desired toppings.
White Chicken Chili Toppings
Just like any chili recipe, what makes it to die for are all the tasty toppings! These are some of our favorites for white chicken chili.
- grated white cheddar or pepper jack cheese
- fresh cilantro
- crushed tortilla chips (or doritos…yum!)
- diced tomatoes
- fresh or pickled jalapenos
- sour cream
- avocado/guacamole
- diced red onion
What to Serve with White Chili
Serving White Chicken Chili with rice is optional, but definitely stretches the meal if you’re trying to feed a big family or stretch a dollar. If you’re not really feeling the whole side dish thing, that’s fine too because this white chili recipe is great on its own…but if you are, here are some ideas.
- Cornbread
- Corn Casserole
- Baked Potatoes
- Chips and Salsa
- See my list of 30+ ideas for What to Serve with Chili, plus 20 bonus chili topping suggetions!
Storing Leftovers
Any leftover white chili can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Simply reheat in the microwave in intervals until heated through. White Chicken Chili makes a warm and comforting meal for the next day. However, I do not recommend freezing this recipe. This is just because all of the dairy products have a hard time freezing then thawing.
More Chili Recipes to Love!
It’s a really good one! The printable recipe card is below. Enjoy, friends! 🙂
If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.
White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup low fat milk*
- 2 cans white beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can sweet corn drained
- 2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
- Any desired toppings avocado, diced tomato, cheddar cheese, sour cream, cilantro, lime wedges, tortilla chips
Instructions
- In a large pot, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until softened and translucent, about 7 minutes on medium-low heat.
- Sprinkle flour over veggies and stir. Cook 2 minutes. Raise temperature to medium-medium high. Slowly stream chicken broth into the pot, whisking as you go. Continue stirring until the sauce has boiled and thickened. Reduce heat to low.
- Add in spices, milk, beans, corn, and chicken.
- At this point, the chili is done once everything is warmed through! Do not boil it once the milk has been added.
- Serve with any desired toppings.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
I LOVE WHITE CHILI.
I can’t wait to try this recipe soon!
One of my favorite recipes!!!
Delicious! Was a bit skeptical about the cinnamon but it worked out perfectly!
[…] [Read more] […]
Made this for dinner last night and if I could give this 10 stars I absolutely would! It was super easy and delicious — even my finicky eater gobbled his up. This is officially on our favorite meals list! Your recipes never disappoint, Lauren!
I saw a few others ask about WW points. Does anyone know?
So good!!! I’m making it for the second week in a row and doubling it! Only thing I did different is I used seasond white beans, just to add a little flavor since I’m typically not a fan of beans, although I did still rinse them. I also didn’t feel like I needed to add the milk because I liked the consistency. Excellent recipe!
Great flavor! I tallied up the calories for the different ingredients and came up with 240 calories per cup including the mushrooms and only using 1 Tbsp oil and 8 oz. chicken .
I made a few adjustments. 1 yellow pepper, 1 Serrano pepper and 2 celery stalks. It was delicious!!! Oh and I double the spices! ☺️
[…] https://laurenslatest.com/skinny-white-chicken-chili/ […]
I made this last night as it is nearing soup weather season! My husband LOVED it! I also appreciated that someone already took the time to utilize almond milk in the recipe instead since that is what we drink/use in our family as well!
I made this for my husband who loves to order this at the CF, and he really liked it! I did too!
Is this recipe easy to freeze? Should I leave out the milk?
[…] -Read More – […]
We love this recipe! Just a question, I have been draining the corn, but not the beans, is that correct?
I drain all of the beans and the corn 🙂
Thank you! Please tell me you updated the recipe because I see now that it says to drain! I swear I read through recipe several times to find the answer! I can try to blame it on my exhausted mom brain…..
Delish! My 3 year old decided it was too spicy but the 1 year old gobbled it up!
Oh my goodness, so good! My kids are tough critics, but they seemed to nibble at it. I call that a win in my book! I did add some carrots that I chopped up small and cooked until soft to add a little bit of color. This will definitely stay on my soup list!
I want to try this, it looks delicious! 😃
I have been dying to try a white chili recipe and this looks to die for! Will be trying soon!!
Yum! I am adding this to my menu!
This was delicious and didn’t taste skinny at all!
Mmmmm…..I’ve been wanting to try white chili! ❤️
This looks so good! I’m going to have to try it out.
Yum! Need to try this! 🙂
Trying it tonight!
This looks so good. Can’t wait to try!
I made this for my family and everyone LOVED it. Soooooo good
Made this and it was a hit with the whole family! It came together quickly and was so yummy! I added hot sauce to mine but the kids thought it was perfect. I loved the idea of a white Chili as sometimes you just don’t feel like a tomato base.
This was so yummy. Thank you for easy and fun cookings for my family! I love following you and your life!
We love white chicken chili so will be trying this for sure!
LOVED this!!! Made for a get together with adults and kiddos and it was a hit for ALL!!!
This looks so good! I’m going to have to make it soon 🙂
Hi Lauren,
I love white Chicken Chili and am looking forward to try this :skinny” version. Love your blog reading about your family and your awesome recipes.
Planning to make this soon. Love chicken chili!
I made this a couple weeks ago, and it was a hit. Thanks for this! I had tried others, but was less than pleased with them.
This sounds delicious, can’t wait to try it!
My husband loves the white chicken chili from the Cheesecake Factory, so I will have to try this!
This irecipe is so good. My whole family loved it.
I made your chili for dinner last night. It was a hit!!!! Was hoping for leftovers but not any. Going to make it again on Sunday.
Hi. Wondering about points or nutrition info also
Such a great recipe. I love white chicken chili but I’ve been disappointed with all the recipes I’ve tried at home… maybe it’s that this one uses milk.insted of sour cream.. it cream cheese. It just tastes lighter and more creamy! I actually used some fat free half and half, per Lauren’s suggestion and it was perfection!
This was delicious! I made some changes to make this vegan, as our family is trying to switch to a mostly vegan diet. I substituted unsweetened almond milk for the low-fat milk, and left out the chicken. Absolutely delicious! This recipe is certainly a keeper!
I was just about to ask if anyone has tried it with almond milk! One of my kids has a dairy allergy. Yay! Can’t wait to make this later this week!
This s a new thing to me, I confess, but it makes me try it for week dinner ! Thank you for refreshing my menue and see you soon 🙂 for more !
Calorie count? Weight watcher points anyone?
I am also curious as Im on ww. But you can put the recipe into the app and it will tell you how many points.
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it, but I am on weight watchers. Can you post the nutritional breakdown please??
Just out of curiosity, what does CF add to their white chili to make it spicier? We love white chili but I’ve made it and sometimes it verges on bland, but we’re also not wanting it TOO spicy.
Never had white chilli! this looks amazing Lauren. Cant wait to try this.
[…] to keep it nice and juicy. I served this over some plain rice pilaf {recipe at the bottom of this post}, but feel free to make some mashed potatoes, couscous or pasta to go along side this. Really tasty […]
AHH-MAZING! So glad I stumbled onto your blog!! This stuff I crazy good! I have to admit I was skeptical when I added the cinnamon and wasn’t sure about the rice but I listened to you and boy oh boy so glad I did! This is a keeper!!
Rice? I don’t see that mentioned anywhere. ??
Pretty yum!!! 🙂