Creamy White Chicken Chili is warm, comforting, and ready to serve in just 30 minutes. Made with cream cheese and tender chicken, this chili hits the spot on a cool night and is great for game day.
I love a good chili recipe! Whether it’s my Award-Winning Southern Soul Chili or Bloody Mary Chili, I’m all in. Both of those recipes are totally delicious but lately, I’ve felt something has been missing from my homemade chili line up.
Now, I’ve remedied that issue! Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve experimented with making chicken chili and finally pulled together the perfect Creamy White Chicken Chili recipe.
It’s loaded with tender white meat chicken, green chilies, corn, white beans, and has all the warm, earthy flavors you love in a good chili.
This White Chicken Chili Is:
- ready to serve in 30 minutes
- uses store-bought rotisserie chicken or your own shredded chicken
- creamy and light
- has amazing flavor and color from chili powder and cumin
- can be customized to the heat level you like
- excellent served with sour cream, tortilla strips, hot sauce, and a squeeze of fresh lime
This “one-pot wonder” recipe is uncomplimented and super simple. It uses traditional chili ingredients and pantry ingredients that you probably already have on hand.
Ingredients For This Recipe
- Shredded Chicken
- Onion
- Butter
- Garlic
- Chicken Stock
- Great Northern Beans
- Canned Chopped Green Chilies
- Corn
- Chili Powder
- Cumin
- Oregano
- Cream Cheese
- Half and Half
- Salt and Pepper
What Kind Of Chicken Is Best For This Recipe?
This recipe uses shredded, white meat chicken. I’ve used store-bought rotisserie chicken that I shredded and I’ve cooked the chicken myself. Both methods work great. Here are 2 easy ways to make shredded chicken at home:
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare a baking pan with parchment paper or foil and set aside. Mix together salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a small bowl.
Place chicken on prepared pan. Drizzle with olive oil then rub olive oil on both sides of chicken. Sprinkle both sides with seasoning mix.
Roast chicken in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until done. To check that chicken is done, use a meat thermometer that registers 160-170 degrees when inserted.
Place metal trivet in the bottom of the instant pot. Arrange 4 chicken breasts on the trivet and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Pour 1 cup of chicken stock or water over chicken.
Place lid on pot and seal. Set to HIGH pressure for 10 minutes. For fresh chicken, it will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure. Expect frozen chicken to take 12 to 15 minutes to come up to pressure. When the 10-minute cook time is up, do a quick release of the pressure.
Can This Chili Recipe Be Made Ahead Of Time?
Absolutely! This recipe is great to make ahead of time especially if you’re serving it on game day or for a party. It reheats beautifully on the stove top or in a crock pot.
How To Store Creamy White Chicken Chili
Place the chili in an airtight container and store it in the fridge. It will keep for up to 4 days.
Is This Recipe Freezer Friendly?
Yep, it sure is with one small adjustment. Make the recipe up to adding the cream cheese and Half and Half. Freeze the chili. When you are ready to enjoy it, thaw, reheat and add the last 2 ingredients.
Don’t Forget The Toppings!
Creamy White Chicken Chili is big on flavor and can stand up to all kinds of yummy toppings. Don’t shy away from piling on some of these favorites:
- shredded cheddar or jack cheese
- sour cream
- tortilla strips
- chopped fresh or pickled jalapeños
- hot sauce
- chopped cilantro or parsley
- lime wedges
More Comfort Foods You’ll Love
- Crock Pot Hawaiian Meatballs
- Three Cheese Stuffed Shells
- Instant Pot Pepper Jack Macaroni and Cheese
- Out Of This World Rotel Chicken Spaghetti
Let me know if you make this recipe! You can rate it below, leave me a comment, or snap a picture. Just tag me on Instagram at #asouthernsoul
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups cooked, shredded chicken breasts
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 32 ounces chicken stock
- 2 15 ounce cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 ounce can corn, drained
- 2 4 ounce cans chopped green chilies
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup Half and Half
Instructions
- To a large pot over medium heat, add butter and onion. Cook onion until translucent. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, and chili powder. Stir all ingredients together.
- Add-in chicken, chicken stock, beans, corn, and green chilies. Stir. Increase heat to medium-high and bring chili to a boil. Reduce heat and let the chili simmer for 15 minutes. Add-in cream cheese and half and half, and continue to simmer until cream cheese has melted.
- Stir and serve hot with your favorite toppings.
- ** Will keep stored in the refrigerator, covered for up to 4 days
Want more?
Then grab my Ebook!
1 Week of Family Favorite Menus
7 menus, 29 recipes, 41 pages, tons of tips!
Ideas, recipes, and strategies to make easy meals loaded with flavor. Each of these recipes is affordable and simple to prepare using common ingredients.
Subscribe So You Never Miss A Menu
FREE Email Bonus: Get ready for your tastiest fall ever
Made this chili tonite….my husband declared it one his favourite meals and he would eat it any day! It could use a little more spice and less broth, otherwise a great meal!
Hey there Judy!
I am glad to hear that you and your husband enjoyed this recipe! If you’re looking for a chili with a little more spice, I would recommend checking out my Award Winning Southern Soul Chili recipe, it’ll come up on my site when you search ‘chili,’ it’s a little more hearty and has some fantastic flavors, I hope you’ll give it a try. Thank you for your kind words and for your support, if you ever have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask!
~Donya
I keep making this again and again. We love it! Thank you!
Hey there Michelle!
I am so happy to hear that your family has been enjoying this recipe, it’s a perfect weeknight meal, plus the leftovers keep really well. If you like this recipe, you should check out my Award Winning Southern Soul Chili Recipe, it’s a family favorite as well. Thank you so much for your kind words of support and your phenomenal rating, let me know if you ever have any questions about a recipe!
~Donya
Thanks for this great recipe!