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This award-winning white chicken chili recipe is a hearty, creamy favorite!! Best of all, it’s ready in 30 minutes or less!
All-time favorite!
Our white chicken chili is an award-winning favorite! No joke – we’ve brought this to our annual Trunk or Treat a dozen or so times and always win for best white chili recipe.
Along with our classic chili recipe, this is our go-to for chili cook-offs and potlucks and ALWAYS gets rave reviews. We know everyone loves it because we never have leftovers! That’s one reason we have it on repeat all soup season long.
We also love that it’s prepped in 5 minutes and on the table in 30! We keep shredded chicken on hand (in the freezer) so we’re always ready to make a batch. Just add some cornbread and enjoy a cool fall night with these recipes.
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- Ready in minutes. This easy dinner idea is prepped in 5 minutes and finished in under 30 minutes.
- Stovetop or crockpot. It can be made both ways, which is great if you’re in a rush or want to dump and go in the slow cooker.
- Award winning! It’s so good that it’s constantly winning chili cook-offs. With so much flavor and so many ways to customize, it’s sure to be a hit!
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
- 4 cups chicken broth – If using a lower sodium, you may need to add a little more salt.
- 3-4 (15.5-ounce) cans great northern beans – Substitute with a smaller navy bean or larger white kidney beans (cannellini beans).
- 2 cups shredded chicken – We like to use the crock pot to make Shredded Chicken, but you can also make Oven Baked Chicken or shredded Rotisserie chicken.
- 1-2 (4-ounce) cans diced green chilies – (mild or hot) For more heat add cayenne pepper, red chili flakes, or a white chili powder.
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- dash of black pepper – You can also add onion powder to taste.
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack – or Mexican blend cheese
- 1 cup sour cream – or plain or Greek yogurt
- optional toppings – Monterey Jack Cheese, cheddar cheese, sour cream, cilantro, sliced avocado, lime wedges (or fresh lime juice), or Tortilla strips
How to Make White Chicken Chili
- COMBINE. In a large pot, combine 4 cups broth, 3-4 (15.5-ounce) cans great northern beans, 2 cups shredded chicken, 1-2 (4-ounce) green chiles, 1 teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon oregano, and a dash of black pepper. Cook over medium-low heat.
- SIMMER. Simmer on low-medium heat for 20-30 minutes or until completely heated through.
- For an extra creamy texture, blend a portion of the cooked white beans with some of the broth before adding them back to the pot. See How to Thicken Soup for more ideas.
- SERVE. Right before serving, stir in the sour cream and cheese until it’s melted. Garnish with fresh cilantro, sliced jalapeno peppers, or crushed tortilla chips.
Make In the crockpot
- Add all the ingredients (minus the sour cream and cheese) into the crockpot and cook on low for 1-2 hours and you’re set!
- Add cheese and sour cream and cook for an additional 30–60 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Stir together and serve warm.
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White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3-4 (15.5-ounce) cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
- 1-2 (4-ounce) cans diced green chiles
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- dash of pepper
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack, or Mexican blend cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
- In a large pot, combine broth, beans, chicken, green chiles, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, and pepper over medium-low heat.
- Simmer for 20–30 minutes, or until soup is heated through.
- Before serving, add cheese and sour cream and stir until cheese is melted and ingredients are mixed.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Store in an airtight container(s) and refrigerate for 2-3 days or freeze for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container(s). See How to Freeze Soup for tips.
This is my favorite soup. My picky sons too. I buy an all white meat rotisserie chicken and pull its meat off then store it in baggies for things like this that need chicken. Not only does it make it faster but the chicken already has a nice flavor. Instead of oregano i add italian seasoning. I didn’t have any oregano the first time so i had to improvise. We liked it that way so i haven’t changed it. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
It’s a good one for sure! Thank you for making it and for letting me know. Thanks also for sharing your tips 🙂
dumb question — did you cook the chicken prior to putting everything into the pot?
Yes, since it’s shredded…you’ll want to cook up some chicken and shred it or you can always buy a rotisserie chicken. Whatever is easiest for you! Hope that helps!! Hope you like it!
Made this tonight and everything was good except the beans were so hard! I can’t figure out why? I let them cook in the crockpot for hours thinking they’d soften up but they never did.
I’m sorry they were hard! Not sure why either. They wouldn’t be super soft, but shouldn’t be too hard. Hope you’ll give it another try!
I use canned. They have great flavor and theyre never hard 🙂
My husband and I love this soup and have made it several times!!!
Yay! Thank you for letting me know and trying this recipe! We love it too!
I made this for supper tonight and my husband and I absolutely LOVED it! Hubby just ran a bowl over to his Mom. He loved it so much, he wanted her to try it.
Thank you for this easy and delicious recipe. Will definitely cook it again!
Does anyone know how many servings this makes and how big of a serving? Can’t wait to try it!
This looks delicious, can’t wait to make it. Just wondering how many servings makes? Family of 3, just seems like would be alot for us. Could I just half the recipe if needed?
This looks delicious! Making it right now! Do you bring to a boil before simmering?
How did this go?? I hope you figure it out and that it was a hit. 😉
Hello! I am wanting to make this for the in laws who arrive tomorrow night! One poster commented that their sour cream didn’t melt in nicely, have you ever found that or is there a trick in adding it in? Just don’t have to time to test batch this and want to avoid any failures;) Thank you in advance!!
This chicken chili soup is amazing! I found your recipe 2 years ago on Pinterest and it is now a Winter family favorite!
I LOVE to hear that, Alexis!! Reminds me that I should make it this week. It’s one of our favorites too. 🙂 I hope you can find more recipes you enjoy here!!