This creamy white chicken chili recipe is thick and full of mellow green chile flavor, with tender chicken in every spoonful. The trick is mashing one can of beans into the broth, so it’s hearty instead of watery, and all you need is a potato masher. A rotisserie chicken does the rest, and it all comes together in one pot!
White Chicken Chili At A Glance
Prep
15 min
COOK
35 min
Total
50 min
Serves
8
Pan
Large pot or Dutch oven
Heat Level: You control the heat. My version is mild, but easy to amp up if you prefer.
The Secret to White Chicken Chili That Isn’t Watery
I see a lot of comments from others who attempt this dish say that it is just too thin and brothy. If you know me, I don’t like “brothy,” as it doesn’t fit my definition of comfort food. So my version fixes this, and it’s so simple. We cleverly use the beans to thicken it and make it creamy without any flour.
I also like my soups creamy, so I added some cream cheese, but no heavy cream. That way it’s rich, but the green chiles still get to be the star.
Most white chicken chili recipes use poblanos and a jalapeño (and you can, too!), but I don’t keep either on hand, so I used light-colored sweet peppers from our garden and a can of mild green chiles. Don’t let the green chiles worry you if you also like things mild, as they are not spicy.
This is the perfect chili to warm up on a cool night … not too heavy, not too spicy, and really just right.
Let’s dig in!
P.S. If you love chili, also check out my favorite turkey chili and my coffee chili!
Tips and Notes Before You Start
- Mash one can of beans. This is what makes the chili thick and creamy. A potato masher is all you need, no blender.
- Rotisserie chicken is the shortcut. One store-bought chicken gives you about 4 cups of shredded chicken, and it only needs to heat through.
- Sweet peppers or poblanos both work. I used sweet peppers for a mild chili. Poblanos give it a little more earthy chile flavor.
- Soften the cream cheese first. Cold cream cheese tends to melt into little white lumps. Let it sit on the counter while the chili simmers.
- Add the cream cheese off the heat. Boiling dairy can turn grainy, so turn off the burner before you stir it in.
- Taste before you salt. Rotisserie chicken, canned beans, and green chiles all bring salt. Mine didn’t need any more than the 1/2 teaspoon that goes in with the beans.
- It thickens as it sits. Leftovers are thicker, so just add a splash of broth when you reheat.
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What You’ll Need
Great northern beans. Three 15-ounce cans, drained and rinsed. Great northern beans are soft and creamy, so they mash up smooth. Cannellini beans work too. They’re a little bigger and hold their shape a bit more. Rinsing gets rid of the starchy canning liquid, which can make the chili taste tinny and salty.
Rotisserie chicken. One whole bird, skin removed and shredded, which gives you about 4 cups. The chicken is already cooked and seasoned, so it only goes in for the last few minutes. Shred it into bite-size pieces, so every spoonful gets some. Leftover roasted chicken or turkey works the same way.
Peppers. You can use poblanos or light-colored sweet peppers, but any mild bell pepper works. If you’d like a little more chile flavor, use 2 poblanos. They look like big, dark green bell peppers, and they have an earthy flavor with very little heat. For a little warmth, you can add a seeded, minced jalapeño too. Be careful not to rub your eyes after you seed it, and wash your hands well (or wear gloves).
Chopped green chiles. One 4-ounce can of mild green chiles, juice and all. The mild ones are not spicy. They give white chicken chili its classic flavor, and the juice adds a little tang, so don’t skip them.
Corn. I used fresh corn cut off the cob, about 1 1/2 cups, which is usually 2 ears. It gives you little sweet pops in a creamy, savory bowl. Frozen corn is a perfectly good swap: use it straight from the freezer, no need to thaw.
Spices. Cumin, dried oregano, and chili powder. Cumin is the warm, earthy backbone of any chili. Toasting the spices in the pot for a minute wakes them up.
Low-sodium chicken broth. 4 cups, which is one 32-ounce carton. Low-sodium lets you control the salt, since the chicken, beans, and chiles are all salted already.
Cream cheese. 4 ounces, which is half of a regular brick, softened. It melts into the broth and makes the chili rich and creamy.
Lime and fresh cilantro. The juice of one lime and 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro go in at the very end, so they stay fresh and bright. Dried cilantro doesn’t really taste like fresh, so if you don’t have fresh, just leave it out and add a little extra lime.
Can I Make White Chicken Chili Lactose Free?
Yes. Philadelphia now makes a lactose-free cream cheese, and you can use it just like the regular kind. The beans, chicken, broth, and spices are all naturally lactose free, so that’s the only swap. If you’d rather skip dairy completely, leave out the cream cheese and mash half of a second can of beans with the first. You’ll get a thick chili that’s a little less rich. For toppings, there’s lactose-free sour cream and shredded cheese too.
How Spicy Is White Chicken Chili?
Made with sweet peppers and mild green chiles, like mine, it’s very mild, with no real heat at all. For a gentle warmth, add one seeded jalapeño with the onion. For more kick, leave some of the jalapeño seeds in, use a can of hot green chiles, or add a pinch of cayenne with the other spices.
How to Make White Chicken Chili
Step 1: Mash one can of beans
Put one can of the drained beans in a bowl with 1 cup of the broth, and mash them with a potato masher until they’re as smooth as you can get them. Set it aside. The other two cans of beans stay whole.
This mashed bean mixture is what makes the chili thick and creamy. Don’t worry if it looks thin and pale right now… it thickens up as it simmers. If you’d rather use a blender or food processor, that works too.
Step 2: Soften the vegetables and toast the spices
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and peppers (and the jalapeño, if you’re using one), and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent.
Stir in the garlic, cumin, oregano, and chili powder, and cook for 1 minute, until it smells fragrant. Be careful not to let the garlic or spices burn. If they start to stick or darken too fast, add a splash of the broth.
Step 3: Add the broth, beans, and green chiles and simmer
Add the remaining 3 cups of broth, the mashed beans, the two cans of whole beans, the green chiles with their juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes.
This is when the flavors come together and the chili starts to thicken. One common mistake is walking away for too long. The mashed beans are heavy and like to settle and stick to the bottom of the pot, so give it a good stir, scraping the bottom every so often.
Step 4: Stir in the chicken and corn
Add the shredded chicken and the corn and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the chicken is heated through and the corn is tender. The chicken is already cooked, so it only needs to warm up. Simmered much longer, it gets dry and stringy.
Step 5: Finish with cream cheese, lime, and cilantro
Turn off the heat. Add the softened cream cheese and stir until it melts into the chili, about 1 to 2 minutes. If you see a few small white specks, don’t worry… just keep stirring, and they’ll melt in.
Stir in the lime juice and cilantro, then taste. Add more salt only if it needs it, a little at a time. Mine didn’t need any. If the chili is thicker than you like, stir in a splash of broth.
Can I Make White Chicken Chili in the Crock Pot?
Yes. Soften the onion and peppers and toast the spices on the stove first, since that gives you a lot more flavor than raw onion. Then scrape everything into the slow cooker with the broth, mashed beans, whole beans, green chiles, and salt. Cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours or HIGH for 2 to 3 hours. Stir in the chicken and corn for the last 30 minutes, then switch the slow cooker off and stir in the cream cheese, lime, and cilantro. I haven’t tested it this way yet, so treat the timing as a starting point.
How to Store, Reheat, and Freeze White Chicken Chili
Let the chili cool, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. It thickens as it sits, because the beans keep soaking up the broth.
To reheat, warm it on the stove over medium-low or in the microwave, stirring often and adding broth a little at a time until it’s the consistency you like. Be careful not to let it boil, since that can make the cream cheese grainy.
It freezes for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and reheat it gently. Dairy can separate a little after freezing, so if the texture looks a bit grainy, a good stir usually brings it back together. If you’re making a batch just for the freezer, you can freeze it before adding the cream cheese, then stir the cream cheese in when you reheat it.
White Chicken Chili FAQs
Can I use raw chicken instead of rotisserie?
Yes. Add 1 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, left whole, with the broth in Step 3. Simmer covered until the chicken reaches 165°F, about 20 to 25 minutes, then pull it out, shred it, and stir it back in with the corn. Thighs stay juicier. I haven’t tested this version, so check the temperature early.
Can I make white chicken chili in the Instant Pot?
Soften the vegetables and toast the spices on Sauté, then add the broth, mashed beans, whole beans, green chiles, and salt. Pressure cook for 5 minutes with a 10-minute natural release, then stir in the chicken and corn on Sauté until hot. Turn it off before stirring in the cream cheese, lime, and cilantro. I haven’t tested this either, so treat it as a starting point.
Why is my white chicken chili watery?
Usually because none of the beans were mashed. Mash a cup or so of the beans against the side of the pot and simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes, and it’ll thicken right up.
Is white chicken chili gluten free?
This recipe has no flour, so it’s naturally gluten free as long as your broth, rotisserie chicken, and spices are. Most are, but check the labels, since some rotisserie seasonings and broths include wheat.
What toppings go on white chicken chili?
I topped mine with shredded cheddar, a spoonful of sour cream, sliced green onion, cilantro, and crushed tortilla chips. Monterey Jack, pepper jack, and sliced avocado are all good too.
Creamy White Chicken Chili (with Rotisserie Chicken)
Equipment
- 5 1/2-quart or larger Dutch oven or heavy soup pot
- potato masher
Ingredients
- 45 ounces great northern beans , drained and rinsed
- 4 cups chicken broth , low-sodium
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion , diced
- 2 medium sweet bell peppers or poblano peppers , seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeño , seeded and minced (optional, for a little heat)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 4 oz. can mild green chiles chopped and with juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste if needed
- 4 cups cooked chicken , skin removed and shredded
- 1 1/2 cups corn , use fresh from about 2 ears or frozen corn
- 4 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- Optional toppings: shredded cheddar, sour cream, sliced green onion, cilantro, crushed tortilla chips
Instructions
- In a bowl, mash 1/3 of the beans with 1/4 of the broth using a potato masher until mostly smooth. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers, and jalapeño (if using) and cook 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft.
- Stir in the garlic, cumin, oregano, and chili powder and cook 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add the remaining broth, the mashed beans, the remaining whole beans, the green chiles with their juice, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered about 20 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom often.
- Stir in the chicken and corn and simmer about 5 minutes, until heated through.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the cream cheese until melted, then stir in the lime juice and cilantro.
- Taste and add more salt only if needed. Thin with a splash of broth if desired. Serve with your favorite toppings.
Nutrition
Notes
- Peppers and heat: Made with sweet bell peppers and no jalapeño, the chili is very mild. Poblanos add an earthier chile flavor. For more heat, add the jalapeño with some seeds, use hot green chiles, or add a pinch of cayenne with the spices.
- Salt: The rotisserie chicken, beans, and green chiles all add salt. When tested, it needed no salt beyond what was added in step 4.
- Blender option: Instead of mashing, you can blend some of the beans with the broth until smooth.
- Raw chicken: Add 1 1/2 pounds whole boneless, skinless thighs or breasts with the broth in step 4. Simmer covered until they reach 165°F, about 20 to 25 minutes, then shred and return to the pot with the corn.
- Slow cooker: Do steps 1 through 3 on the stove, then transfer to a slow cooker with the ingredients in step 4. Cook on LOW 4 to 6 hours or HIGH 2 to 3 hours. Add the chicken and corn for the last 30 minutes, then turn off and finish with step 6.
- Gluten free: Naturally gluten free if your broth, rotisserie chicken, and spices are. Check the labels.
- Storage: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. It thickens as it sits.
- Reheating: Warm on the stove over medium-low or in the microwave, stirring often and adding broth until it reaches the consistency you like. Don’t let it boil. Taste and adjust the salt.
How to Trust This Recipe
To help you trust that this is real food made by regular people in a real home kitchen, I take a special unedited and unglamorous photo so you can see how this food appears in the everyday. Here is my bowl of chili from last night after I’d added my preferred toppings.
The above photo was taken with ProofMode, which attaches Content Credentials (the C2PA standard) to the image, so anyone can check that it’s a real photo taken by my iPhone on my farm on a particular date and place. You can download the proof files here and learn how to verify them.
If your white chicken chili has always come out a little thin, give the mashed beans a try. I’d love to hear how yours turns out.
Happy cooking!
Love,
Jennifer
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Meet Jennifer
Jennifer cooks and experiments in the kitchen at Maker Farm, where she focuses on simple pantry cooking, homemade staples, and practical recipes that make everyday meals easier. Over the years she has tested many ways to make cooking simpler and more dependable, and shares the methods that work best in her own kitchen, occasionally showing them on her Heart to Home at Maker Farm vlog.