A lot of white chicken chili comes out thin and tasting mostly of canned beans. Not this one. Think shredded chicken thighs in a creamy green chile broth, with cannellini beans, corn and a squeeze of lime at the end. White Chicken Chili, the way it should have been all along. One pot, under an hour, and it’s thick enough to hold a spoon up.
Creamy White Chicken Chili with Beans and Corn
This is the chili I make when I want chili but it’s only Tuesday. Regular beef chili wants a long afternoon. This one’s done in 55 minutes and the pot does most of it without me. You brown some chicken, let it simmer in broth with green chiles and spices, shred it, and finish with cream cheese and sour cream.
I use chicken thighs, not breasts. They sit in that broth for 20 minutes and come out tender. Breasts in the same pot come out dry and stringy, every time, no matter how carefully you watch them.
And the lime at the end isn’t optional in my kitchen. It’s 2 tablespoons and it wakes the whole pot up.
How to Thicken White Chicken Chili Without Flour
Mash some of the beans.
That’s it. Before the cannellini beans go into the pot, press some of them against the side with the back of a spoon until they break down. Maybe a third of them, maybe half if you like it really thick.
Beans are full of starch. Broken open, that starch goes into the broth and thickens it. Left whole, it stays locked inside the bean and your chili stays watery.
No flour, no cornstarch, no slurry, nothing that makes it taste like gravy.
The cream cheese and sour cream go in at the end, over low heat, and they do the creamy part. Low heat is important here. If the pot is bubbling hard when the dairy goes in, it can split and go grainy on you. Turn it down, stir it in slowly, and give it a minute to melt smooth.
If your cream cheese is straight out of the fridge, it’ll fight you. Let it sit on the counter while the chili simmers, or cut it into cubes so it melts faster.
Ingredients in White Chicken Chili
- Olive oil (2 tablespoons): For browning the chicken. Any neutral oil works.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs (1½ pounds): Thighs. They stay tender through a 20 minute simmer and shred beautifully. You can use breasts if that’s what you have, just pull them at 15 minutes and check them, they overcook fast.
- Onion (1 large, diced) and garlic (4 cloves, minced): The onion softens in the chicken drippings, which is where a lot of the flavor comes from. Garlic goes in later with the spices so it doesn’t burn.
- Diced green chiles (2 cans, 4 ounces each): Mild canned green chiles, the kind in the Mexican aisle. They’re where the green chile flavor comes from and they’re not hot. If you want heat, that’s what the cayenne is for.
- Ground cumin (2 teaspoons), dried oregano (1 teaspoon), ground coriander (1 teaspoon): Cumin is the backbone. Coriander is the one people can’t place but notice when it’s gone. Mexican oregano if you have it, regular if you don’t.
- Salt (½ teaspoon) and black pepper (½ teaspoon): Light on the salt up front. There’s a lot of sodium coming in the broth and the canned beans. Taste at the end and adjust.
- Cayenne pepper (¼ teaspoon): This is the only heat in the pot. A quarter teaspoon is gentle. Go to ½ if you want it to bite back.
- Chicken broth (4 cups, low sodium): Low sodium, for the reason above. Between the broth, the beans, and the chiles, regular broth pushes it over.
- Cannellini beans (3 cans, 15 ounces each, drained and rinsed): Rinse them, it gets rid of the starchy canning liquid that tastes like the can. Great Northern or navy beans work the same way.
- Frozen corn (1 cup): Straight from the freezer, no thawing. It goes in with the beans and warms through in the simmer.
- Cream cheese (4 ounces, softened) and sour cream (½ cup): The creamy part. Full fat for both. Light versions can split when they hit the heat.
- Lime juice (2 tablespoons): At the very end, off the heat if you like. All that cream and cumin needs something sharp cutting through it. Fresh squeezed, please.
- Fresh cilantro (¼ cup, chopped): On top. If you’re one of the people who tastes soap, skip it and use chopped green onion instead. I won’t be offended.
How to Make White Chicken Chili
Brown the chicken: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Lay the chicken thighs in and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, until they’re browned. They don’t need to be cooked through yet, they’re going back in later. Move them to a plate.
Cook the onion and spices: Add the diced onion to the same pot, right into those browned bits, and cook 4 to 5 minutes until it’s softened and see through. Stir in the garlic, green chiles, cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, pepper, and cayenne and cook 1 minute, until you can smell the spices.
Simmer the chicken: Pour in the chicken broth and put the chicken back in the pot along with any juices on the plate. Bring it to a simmer and cook 20 minutes, until the chicken is tender.
Shred the chicken: Lift the thighs out onto a cutting board and shred them with 2 forks. It should pull apart easily. Return it all to the pot.
Add the beans and corn: Add the cannellini beans and corn. If you want it thicker, mash some of the beans against the side of the pot first. Simmer 10 minutes.
Stir in the dairy: Turn the heat down to low. This part matters, the dairy can split if the pot is still bubbling hard. Stir in the cream cheese and sour cream until everything is melted and smooth, then stir in the lime juice.
Taste and serve: Taste it and adjust the salt. It’ll probably want a little. Serve topped with the cilantro and whatever else you like on it.
Tips
- Use thighs. I know breasts feel like the leaner choice, but thighs are juicier.
- Rinse the canned beans. The liquid they come in tastes like the can.
- Soften the cream cheese first. Cold cream cheese takes forever to melt and you’ll be tempted to crank the heat, which is what splits it.
- Mash some beans if you want it thick. More mashed, thicker chili.
- Hold back on the salt until the end. Broth and canned beans bring plenty.
Substitutions and Variations
- Great Northern or navy beans instead of cannellini.
- Rotisserie chicken if you’re short on time. Shred about 4 cups, skip the browning step, and add it with the beans.
- Green onion instead of cilantro, for the soap tasters.
- Skip the cayenne entirely if you’re feeding kids, or double it if you’re not.
- I haven’t tested these myself so treat them as suggestions rather than part of the recipe, but a diced jalapeño cooked with the onion would give it fresher heat than cayenne, and swapping half the chicken broth for a can of coconut milk would make it richer still.
What to Serve With White Chicken Chili
- Tortilla chips, crushed over the top. This is what I do most nights.
- Shredded Monterey Jack or pepper jack, avocado slices, pickled jalapeños, extra lime wedges. Set them out and let people build their own bowl.
- Cornbread on the side if you want to turn it into a bigger meal.
Storage and Reheating
Fridge: Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days. It thickens overnight, so loosen it with a splash of broth when you reheat.
Reheating: Reheat gently over medium low on the stove. Don’t let it boil hard, the dairy can separate. The microwave is fine for a bowl, about 2 minutes, stirring halfway.
Freezing: I don’t love it frozen. Cream cheese and sour cream get grainy after thawing. If you want to freeze it, stop before the dairy goes in, freeze it like that, then thaw and stir in the cream cheese and sour cream when you reheat.
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White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cans diced green chiles, 4 ounces each
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 cups chicken broth, low sodium
- 3 cans cannellini beans, 15 ounces each, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the 1½ pounds chicken thighs and cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until browned. They do not need to be cooked through yet. Transfer to a plate.
- Add the diced onion to the same pot and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until softened. Stir in the 4 cloves minced garlic, the 2 cans green chiles, 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon coriander, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne, and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Pour in the 4 cups chicken broth and return the chicken to the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, until the chicken is tender.
- Lift the chicken out, shred it with two forks, and return it to the pot.
- Add the 3 cans cannellini beans and 1 cup corn. For a thicker chili, mash some of the beans against the side of the pot before adding, which releases their starch and thickens the broth naturally. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the 4 ounces cream cheese and ½ cup sour cream until melted and smooth, then stir in the 2 tablespoons lime juice.
- Taste and adjust the salt, then serve topped with the ¼ cup cilantro and whatever else you like.
Recipe Notes
- Use thighs. They stay tender through the simmer and shred easily. If you use breasts, check them at 15 minutes instead of 20.
- Rinse the beans. Drain and rinse to get rid of the starchy canning liquid.
- Mash for a thicker chili. Press some of the beans against the side of the pot before adding. The starch thickens the broth without flour.
- Soften the cream cheese. Let it sit out while the chili simmers, or cube it so it melts faster.
- Low heat for the dairy. Turn the heat down before the cream cheese and sour cream go in. A hard boil can make them split.
- Salt at the end. Broth, canned beans, and chiles all bring sodium. Taste before adding more.
- Storage. Airtight in the fridge up to 4 days. Reheat gently with a splash of broth. Freezing is better done before the dairy goes in.
Nutrition Information
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, but check them at 15 minutes instead of 20. Breasts go from done to dry very fast in a simmering pot.
Mash some of the beans against the side of the pot before adding them. The starch they release thickens the broth without flour or cornstarch.
The dairy went in while the pot was too hot. Drop the heat to low before the cream cheese and sour cream, and stir slowly.
Not very. The canned green chiles are mild. The ¼ teaspoon of cayenne is all the heat in the pot, so adjust it up or down.
Yes. Shred about 4 cups, skip the browning step, and stir it in with the beans. You’ll lose some depth from not browning, so taste carefully at the end.
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