White Chicken Chili
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This chicken chili is the kind of cozy, one-pot meal that works just as well for game day as it does on a weeknight. And the leftovers? Even better the next day.
If you’re looking for a change from traditional chili, white chicken chili is a great option. It’s made with pulled chicken and white beans in a savory, spiced broth instead of the usual ground meat, kidney beans, and tomato base. It’s a bit more soup-like than my classic beef chili recipe, turkey chili, or chili con carne, but it still delivers big flavor.
I’ve tried countless white chicken chili recipes over the years—from slow-cooker shortcuts to more authentic, from-scratch takes, and this one is the clear winner. It strikes the perfect balance between ease and depth of flavor—and it’s my family’s favorite by far. Using a store-bought rotisserie chicken keeps the prep simple without sacrificing taste. Serve it with homemade cornbread for a cozy, comforting dinner in under an hour.
“This was amazing! So easy and pleased the whole family.”
What You’ll Need To Make White Chicken Chili
- Canned White Beans: Add creaminess and a hearty texture to the dish.
- Chicken Broth: The broth base of the chili. Low-sodium keeps the dish from being overly salty when paired with canned beans.
- Onion, garlic, jalapeño pepper & poblano pepper: Sautéed at the start for a flavorful aromatic foundation.
- Spices (Cumin, Coriander, Ancho Chile Powder): This earthy, smoky spice blend adds depth and warmth to the chili.
- Rotisserie chicken, white beans & corn: the add-ins. Shredded rotisserie chicken is a major time-saver, but feel free to use any leftover chicken. White beans like cannellini, Great Northern, or navy add heartiness and thicken to the broth, and corn brings sweetness and texture (fresh corn is ideal but frozen works too).
- Lime Juice & Fresh Cilantro: Added at the end for brightness and fresh flavor. Feel free to omit the cilantro or substitute parsley if you’re not a fan.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1. Purée half the beans. In a food processor, combine half of the white beans with 1 cup of the chicken broth. Process until smooth—you’ll use this mixture to thicken the chili later.
Step 2. Sauté the aromatics. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions and peppers and cook until softened, about 4 minutes.
Step 3. Add garlic and spices. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the spices and cook a few minutes more to toast them and deepen their flavor.
Step 4. Add broth and thicken. Pour in the remaining chicken broth, salt, and the puréed bean mixture. Stir to combine, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Step 5. Stir in the add-ins. Add the shredded chicken, remaining beans, corn, and lime juice. Simmer until everything is heated through, then finish with the fresh cilantro. The chili will be brothy but thickens as it sits; you can add broth or water to loosen it up if needed.
Step 6. Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream, lime wedges, shredded cheese, and crushed tortilla chips. Leftovers keep for up to 3 days in the fridge. The chili keeps nicely for up to 3 days in the fridge; freeze for longer storage.
Pro Tip: Short on freezer space? Ladle cooled chili into a resealable zip-top bag, press out the air, and seal it flat. Once frozen, it stacks neatly like a file—perfect for squeezing into a packed freezer.
Video Tutorial
More Tex-Mex Recipes to Spice Up Your Dinners
White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 2 15.5-ounce (439-g) cans white beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 cups (1 L) low-sodium chicken broth, divided
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (see note)
- 2 medium poblano peppers, seeded and diced (see note)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1½ teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
- Salt
- 1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed and shredded (about 4 cups)
- ¾ cup frozen corn
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, from one lime, plus more to taste
- ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro
Optional For Serving
- Sour cream
- Crushed tortilla chips
- Shredded cheddar or Pepper Jack cheese
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- In a food processor, blend half of the beans (1 can) with 1 cup (240 ml) of the chicken broth. Set aside both the puréed beans and the remaining whole beans.
- Add the oil to a large pot or Dutch oven and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the onion, jalapeño pepper, and poblano peppers and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute more. Add the cumin, coriander, and ancho chile powder and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for one minute more to toast the spices. Add the chicken broth, puréed beans, and ½ teaspoon of salt; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
- Stir in the shredded rotisserie chicken, reserved whole beans, corn, and lime juice; bring back to a simmer and cook until everything is heated through, about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt and lime juice, if necessary. Stir in the cilantro. (Note that the broth will be somewhat soupy -- that's how it is supposed to be. It thickens the longer it sits; see note below.) Ladle the chili into bowls and serve with sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, and lime wedges.
Notes
- The seeds and ribs in the peppers hold all of the heat. I don't use them to keep the chili mild and family-friendly, but if you like a spicy chili, save them and stir some in at the end. (If you do touch the seeds, be sure to wash your hands well and avoid touching your eyes.)
- The chili thickens as it sits. If you make it ahead of time, you will probably need to add more broth or water to thin it out.
- Nutrition info does not include optional toppings.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Delicious!! Thank you for sharing! Everyone loved it!
Can you substitute one can of black beans or chick peas..will it change the taste…only have one can of white beans.
Sure, Kerri – that’s fine. 🙂
This recipe was amazing! You can plan on a delicious meal. You won’t be disappointed. My husband served himself two full bowls. Thank you Jenn for a very tasty recipe!
Our family absolutely loves this dish! Don’t skimp on the lime – it makes a huge difference (even more once ladled in my bowl !). Definitely a family fave – will try for sure with the corn muffins next time.
I made this tonight and it was absolutely fantastic and packed full of flavor!!!!! Thank you for your amazing recipes!!!
I loved this recipe! I didn’t have the rotisserie chicken on hand, so cooked chicken breasts that I already had in the freezer. I highly recommend using the rotisserie chicken as stated – the flavor is much better!!!!
Thanks so much for another amazing recipe!!! You have true talent- Thanks so much for sharing it with the world!!
This has been my go to chicken chili recipe for years and it is delicious! It’s worth the extra steps of puréeing ingredients! Great recipe!
A+
I don’t know that I have ever posted a review for a recipe but just had to say that this is excellent! Made exactly as written with one exception – I couldn’t find ancho chili powder so I used the plain old chili powder I had in my kitchen and added a dash of smoked paprika as suggested. My family of 4 loved it. My husband is not a big fan of cilantro and he even enjoyed it.
Thank you!
OMG, this is so fabulous! Doubled the recipe for a chili cook off tomorrow.
Spatchcocked (fancy name for butterflying) a whole 5.25 lb chicken and threw it on the smoker. Smashed 2 cans of Cannelini beans with a potato masher. Sautéed 3 poblano peppers and 4 jalapeno peppers along with all the seeds and two onions processed in the food processor in a bit of olive oil along with the spices. (I went a little lighter on the dried spices). Proceeded to almost a purée. Scraped into an 8 quart stock pot. Added smashed cannelini beans with canned liquid to pot. Added 9 cloves of garlic to food processor. Scraped garlic into pot. Ran low sodium chicken stock to food processor to gather up snipples of peppers, onions and garlic. of onions and make cleanup easier. Used all the liquid in the bean broth, cut back on spices and broth a bit. After chicken had rested a bit cut into pieces and shredded alternately with fingers and forks. BIG chicken made plenty for double recipe. Added chicken, all the drippings, frozen corn and corrected for seasonings (more salt needed). Saving fresh lime juice and lime zest for last just before serving tomorrow at the cook off. WISH ME LUCK. It tastes amazing! Report and pics tomorrow!
Good luck, Sharon!