White bean chicken chili is so hearty and perfect for cool nights! My easy white chicken chili is made from scratch, too!
Let’s talk about this white chicken chili, shall we?
I, for one, have always stuck my nose up at this stuff. Chili? That is white? How dare you?
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE ANYWAY?
Then I ate a bowl of it and I was like, yep, we’re friends now.
I’m fairly obsessed with this white chicken chili recipe and I think it’s time I shared it with you. You’re going to flip for this hearty chili recipe.
I’ve been working with Hurst’s Beans this year to bring you recipes featuring their dried beans and this white chicken chili fits the bill perfectly. I know a lot of people start with canned beans, but I’m telling you, dried beans are the way to go. They’re so flavorful and yummy and you just feel really accomplished when you whip up a perfectly cooked pot o’ beans. Plus, they’re a lot cheaper than canned. Trust me on that.
If you love white beans, you’ll love this white bean soup too!
I started with Hurst’s Beans Great Northern Beans with Ham Seasoning for this recipe. The little packet of ham seasoning adds this great smoky flavor to the chili that you’re going to love. You can find Hurst’s Beans with your other dried beans in most grocery stores. Wal-Mart generally has the most variety available in my area, so be sure to check there if you’re struggling to find them.
I like to keep this somewhat mild for the kiddos and wimps in my family (real talk: the wimp in this family is my husband), but I do add in tons of the canned diced green chiles. They’re pretty mild, but since I add quite a few it gives the chili a great flavor with just a bit of kick. You can certainly decrease the chiles if you’re suuuuuuper wimpy opposed to spice.
I also like this white chicken chili nice and thick! Depending on how hard you boil the beans, you’ll have a decent amount of liquid in the pot when you add the milk. That’s totally okay – you’ll just continue cooking the soup, uncovered, until the liquid has evaporated and your soup is as soupy as you’d like it. You can also add additional milk to make it even thinner, if that’s your jam.
For more recipes to use up those bags of super economical dried beans, check out my Instant Pot Tex-Mex Beans and my pulled pork and pinto bean recipe. A traditional red slow cooker chili is always good too!
White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 12 ounces canned green chiles diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 package Hurst's Beans Great Northern Beans with Ham Seasoning
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- cilantro for serving
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and continue cooking until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add the chiles and garlic to the onions and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring often.
- Rinse and sort through the beans and discard any debris. Add beans to the pot of onions along with the chicken broth.
- Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover the pan and let cook for 2 hours, checking occasionally to be sure there is still enough liquid in the pot to cook the beans. Add additional broth as needed.
- After two hours, check beans for tenderness. Continue cooking until beans are as tender as you'd like. Once tender, add the shredded chicken, milk, cumin, salt, pepper, and packet of ham seasoning from the package of beans to the pot and stir well.
- Return to a simmer and continue cooking, without the lid, until some liquid has evaporated and the chili has thickened up to your liking.
- Serve topped with fresh cilantro.
Jan Ludwigs says
Can this be frozen?
Karly says
I haven’t frozen this one, but I think it would freeze great.
Karly says
testing
Karly says
test test
Joy Polevoy says
Hi! I can’t wait to try this…but living in Canada and I’m not sure if I can buy that brand of beans? Can you let me know the size of the bag so I can substitute? Thank you!
Karly says
Hi Joy! You’ll need a 20 ounce package of beans. 🙂
Agness of Run Agness Run says
Yummy! This is a truly delightful dish! Should I use fresh or dried cilantro, Karly!
Karly says
I’m the queen of dried herbs, but I almost always go for fresh when it comes to cilantro. 🙂
Vernette Sanchez says
Everyone please try Bush’e Can Beans the variety is any type you will need I live in New Mexico so we make alot of Mexican diahes No soaking just open can and heat and The best
Karly says
I’m sure they’re great, but making them from scratch is so much tastier if you have the time. 🙂
mikaela | wyldflour says
Despite my husband being from New Mexico, he is also the whimp! I LOVE the look of this white chicken chili. Chili has always been a staple for me but the hubbs doesn’t like it… UNLESS it is a white chili. I’ve been meaning to look for a good recipe – thanks for sharing!
Sabrina says
couldn’t agree more about dry beans vs canned and non-soupy or thicker chili, it’s just that mine have always been beef and “red” chilis, so in searching for a change, found this and it looks like a very nice change to my wintery chili recipes, so thank you very much!
Rebecca Blackwell says
Yum! I was just wondering what to do with some leftover roast chicken in my refrigerator. Now I know. This will be on our dinner table tonight. Thank you for the recipe!
Caileigh_elise says
How do you cook your chicken?
Karly says
I detail my process for cooked, shredded chicken here: http://www.bunsinmyoven.com/2013/04/07/crockpot-shredded-chicken-a-favorite-for-freezer-meals/ I always keep a few bags in the freezer for meals like this. 🙂
Wanda says
Is it a big deal if I use 2% milk versus whole milk?
Karly says
Nope, not a big. It won’t be quite as creamy, but it’ll be just fine. 🙂
Marsha | Marsha's Baking Addiction says
This white chicken chili sounds and looks amazing, and is the perfect easy dinner on these cold days!
Fran @ G'day Souffle' says
I like my food spicy so I would go full throttle with the chilies. This recipe looks nice and easy, but full of flavor- my kind of food! Happy New Year to you!
Valentina | The Baking Fairy says
This white chicken chili looks absolutely scrumptious! What could be better than a big bowl of this on a chilly night?
Jessy @ The Life Jolie says
I’m almost ashamed to admit I’ve never had white chicken chili! I was actually just thinking about how I need to find a recipe the other day. Yours looks pretty awesome! This is definitely getting added to my meal plan 🙂
Denise Wright says
I have never had white chili before but your pics are so gorgeous and tasty looking I’m going to have to try. I need to try more dry beans. Cans seem so easy but I heard over and over again the dry taste better. Well I’m off to look at your Instant pot Tex Mex beans because I’ve been really trying to use my instant pot more and dry beans would be a great thing to try in it.
Karly says
Yes, beans are perfect for the Instant Pot! Hope you enjoy!