White Chicken Chili is rich, cheesy, thick and flavor packed! You can make this easy, creamy chicken chili in your slow cooker or instant pot for a fast, cozy dinner!
White Chicken Chili:
Creamy White Chicken Chili is a total classic! Everyone loves, and I mean, raves about my version and there's a good reason why! We have all of the staples here, juicy chicken, lots of amazing seasonings, green chili, white beans, and of course cheese! What makes this the chicken chili everyone raves about? It's the secret ingredient, salsa verde! The flavor of a tasty green salsa is amazing in this chili, and the best part is, it adds so much flavor without making it overly spicy. It's lick-the-bowl-clean good. Also, you can make this one in your slow cooker or instant pot and it is a true "dump and go" recipe either way, so you're completely hands off and on your way to an amazing comfort food dinner. If you're looking for more soups while you're here, check out a few of our reader faves. We love this herby White Bean Soup with bacon, and our Instant Pot Stuffed Pepper Soup, and the good old stand-by is our Crockpot Potato Soup!
Thickening White Chicken Chili:
Let's talk about thickening up your creamy white chicken chili! I like to use a mixture of cornstarch and water to thicken most of my chili and soup recipes. I find that if I use flour, it tends to really dull the flavor, and we don't want that. Whether you use the slow cooker or instant pot method, you'll use equal parts of cold liquid (milk or water works here) with the cornstarch and whisk or stir until smooth. The trick is making sure that your soup is really HOT! It needs to be boiling when you add in your cornstarch mixture. So, for the instant pot, you'll want to turn it up to the saute OR soup setting, either works. Or, for the crockpot, you want to make sure it's on HIGH heat (if you had been cooking on low all day that's fine, just turn it up) for a good 20-30 minutes. Then, WHISK don't stir the mixture into your soup to make sure it dissolves. You will have a nice, hearty, thick, chili within a few minutes.
What to serve with creamy white chicken chili?
These are a few of our personal favorites!
- Any tortilla chips! Pick what you love best for dips. Or, you can fry your own tortillas if you wish.
- Soft tortillas. This soup is thick so it's great with soft flour or corn tortillas for scooping up all of the goodness.
- Limes! This one is not optional for me anyway. I love a good squeeze of fresh lime over this chili, it takes it to a great level!
- Avocado is always a great, creamy addition, just don't slice until ready to serve or they might turn brown.
- I love serving this with extra dairy! Cheeses like sharp cheddar, monterrey jack, pepper jack, or queso fresco are great. You can also top with a big dollop of sour cream, greek yogurt, or even extra softened cream cheese.
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Creamy White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Pounds Chicken Breasts
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper, Optional
- 1 Small White or Yellow Onion, Diced
- 3 Cloves Garlic, Minced
- 2 15 Ounce Cans White Beans, Drained and Rinsed
- 2 4 Ounce Cans Diced Green Chilis
- 1 15 Ounce Can Corn, Drained
- 1 Cup Salsa Verde
- 4 Cups Chicken Broth
- 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons Cold Milk or Water
- ⅓ Cup Sour Cream
- 4 Ounces Cream Cheese, Softened
Instructions
SLOW COOKER METHOD:
- Season the chicken breasts evenly on both sides with the chili powder, cumin, salt, smoked paprika, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
- Place the chicken in the bottom of a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Top with the diced onion, minced garlic, white beans, green chilis, corn, salsa verde, and broth. Stir to combine.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours, or high heat for 3-4 hours.
- Turn the slow cooker to HIGH (if you had been cooking on low). Remove the chicken and shred, while keeping the slow cooker covered.
- In a small bowl whisk together the cornstarch with the cold milk or water until smooth.
- Remove the lid from the slow cooker and return the chicken, then, whisk in the cornstarch mixture.
- Continue cooking on high for 15-20 minutes until thickened.
- Add the sour cream to a medium bowl and stir in one ladle full of the liquid from the soup, then stir the sour cream mixture back into the soup.
- Stir in the cream cheese until melted.
INSTANT POT METHOD:
- Season the chicken as directed above. Place the chicken breasts into the bottom of a 6 quart or larger instant pot.
- To the pot add the onion, garlic, beans, green chilis, corn, salsa and broth. Stir briefly to combine.
- Place the lid on the pot and set the valve to sealing. Cook on manual (pressure cook) for 10 minutes. Allow the pot to natural release for 10 minutes, the release any remaining pressure.
- Once the pressure is released, open the lid and turn the pot off. Then, turn the pot to the saute or soup setting.
- In a small bowl whisk together the cornstarch and water. Whisk into the boiling soup constantly for about 1 minute, until thickened.
- Turn off the pot and stir in the sour cream and cream cheese until smooth.
- Serve immediately. Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
How do you make salsa verde? Or is there a brand that I can buy?
Hi! I have a recipe for homemade Salsa Verde here https://thesaltymarshmallow.com/salsa-verde-recipe/ or, of course you can buy a jar of it. It's easy to find with the rest of the jarred salsa at the grocery store, I often buy Herdez brand when I don't have homemade 🙂
I've been making white chicken chili for as long as I can remember, but never really followed a recipe. I would just dump and go.... And, of course, it was always decent, but never great.
I decided to follow your recipe and half of the campground has been begging me to teach them my secret powers after showing up to the potluck with this thing of beauty. SO delicious. No need to tweak it folks. It's a winner.
This was outstanding!! A keeper for sure. Thank you so much!!!
Does this freeze well?
I’ve made this, and had extra in my freezer. Recently thawed, reheated- it was delicious.
As weird as this sounds, I never had white chicken chili until I made this recipe a few weeks ago. Since then, I had to make it again, because it was SO GOOD!
One of the best recipes I have tried in a very long time. I have made it several times now for my family and they love it.
Nichole, thank you for this wonderful recipe!! Made it today, followed all your instructions to a 'tee'. Turned out beautifully! What could go wrong with all the perfect ingredients?! This is the best white chili that I have ever made!
I was very late to the game getting an Instant pot, but I love it. I am trying to eat more chicken instead of red meat too, so this recipe is perfect!
What about cooking this on the stovetop or in the oven?
Absolutely!
I also used dry white beans instead of canned, creme fraiche instead of sour cream, and substituted white masa flour for the cornstarch. Which thickens far better than cornstarch, and also gives the chili a more authentic flavor. Just be sure to stir constantly and vigorously while adding the masa to avoid lumps!!!
The best kind of comfort food! Love how you gave the instant pot cooking directions as well! Perfect!
This is my kind of comfort food! Perfect for a cold evening like tonight; looking forward to making this for dinner, indeed!
Such a warm and hearty chili! I can't wait to try this recipes!
We often make chicken recipes so I am always looking for new recipes!
This was the perfect comforting chili - thanks for the easy recipe!!!
This Creamy White Chicken Chili is seriously making me hungry!
This is a family favorite. I have never tried adding the salsa verde. I can't wait to make a batch of this!
Fantastic and simple recipe!