White Chicken Chili
Chicken, white beans, and green chiles simmered in a creamy broth with no cream cheese in it. One can of beans gets mashed and stirred back in, and that's what thickens the pot. One Dutch oven, about an hour, and it's even better the next day.
Servings: 8
Calories: 329kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1½ pound chicken breasts boneless and skinless, cubed
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons cumin ground
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 32 ounces chicken broth low sodium or no sodium added, 2 containers
- 42 ounces cannellini beans or Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed, 3 cans
- 4 ounces chopped green chiles 1 can
- ½ cup half and half
Toppings
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese shredded
- 1 jalapeno pepper sliced
- 1 lime cut in wedges
- fresh cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Drain and rinse all 3 cans of beans. Using a potato masher or a fork, mash 1 can of the beans until mostly smooth. Set the mashed beans and the 2 cans of whole beans aside.
- Heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 6 quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the cubed chicken, chopped onion, 1 teaspoon of the salt, the 2 teaspoons of cumin, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, ¼ teaspoon of cayenne, and 1 teaspoon of oregano. Stir and cook until the chicken is no longer pink. Stir in the 4 chopped garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the 32 ounces of chicken broth and the can of green chiles. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low. Stir in the mashed beans and both cans of whole beans. Simmer for 30 minutes.
- Stir in the ½ cup of half and half and cook for 5 minutes more. Taste and add the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt if needed.
- Serve topped with the shredded Monterey Jack, sliced jalapeño, chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
Video
Notes
- Mash 1 can of beans. This is what thickens the chili. Without it you've made a bean soup, which is also fine, but it isn't this.
- Beans: Cannellini or great northern, whichever you have. Navy beans work and make it thicker. Always drain and rinse.
- Salt: One teaspoon early with the spices, ½ teaspoon at the end after tasting. You're rinsing 3 cans of beans, so it needs more than you'd think.
- Thicker: Mash 2 cans instead of 1, or simmer uncovered for the last 10 minutes.
- Cooked chicken: Use 3 cups of shredded rotisserie or leftover chicken instead. Cook the onion and spices in the oil on their own, then stir the chicken in during the last 10 minutes.
- Leftovers: Four days in the fridge and better on day 2. Freezes up to 3 months. For the freezer, leave the half and half out and stir it in after thawing.
- Don't skip the lime. One squeeze per bowl.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 329kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 1045mg | Potassium: 524mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 340IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 245mg | Iron: 5mg
