White Chicken Chili
Updated Mar 29, 2026
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This white chicken chili recipe is loaded with an almost 3-dimensional flavor.
It’s simple enough for weeknight meals and weekend gatherings, and popular with kids and grown-ups.
This is one of my signature recipes and has won more than one chili cook-off. Do yourself a favor and try this white chicken recipe while it’s still on your mind!
White Chicken Chili Recipe – Quick Look
⏱ Prep Time: 15 minutes🔥 Cook Time: 2–3 hours
🍽 Servings: 12
🍗 Protein: Chicken thighs (juicy and flavorful)
🫘 Base: Great Northern beans
🧀 Creaminess: Pepper jack cheese + heavy cream
🌶 Flavor Profile: Creamy, savory, lightly spicy with a zesty kick from salsa verde
🌡 Heat Level: Mild to medium (adjust with jalapeños and green chiles)
🥄 Texture: Thick, creamy, and hearty with tender chicken
⚙️ Difficulty: Easy
🍲 Cooking Method: Slow cooker / crock pot
❄️ Make Ahead: Yes
🧊 Freezer Friendly: Yes (up to 3 months)
🥑 Top It With: Sour cream, cilantro, tortilla strips, lime wedges, or crusty bread
🔥 Best For: Game day, busy weeknights, meal prep, or feeding a crowd
📊 Approx. Nutrition (per serving):
371 calories • 28g protein • 12g carbs
Why You’ll Love This White Chicken Chili
🔥 Lots of flavor, little work
You only need to do a little work before the slow cooker takes over. Salsa verde, green chiles, and spices come together to make a strong flavor without any trouble.
🍲 Creamy and Comforting
The cream and pepper jack cheese make this chili rich and filling, and the chicken is tender in every bite.
👨👩👧👦Perfect for Feeding a Crowd
It makes a lot of food, reheats well, and is always a hit for game day, parties, or easy meal prep.
Like our chili cornbread casserole and lazy golumpki, and our family recipe for beefaroni, this slow-cooker white chicken chili is comfort food for the ages. One of my many favorite chicken recipes, it’s also an easy and comforting slow cooker recipe that makes a big batch and will easily feed a crowd of 12 people or more.
Table of Contents
- White Chicken Chili Recipe – Quick Look
- Ingredients
- How to Make White Chicken Chili
- Substitutions and Variations
- How to make this a Healthy White Chicken Chili Recipe
- What to Serve with White Chicken Chili
- Recipe Questions
- Expert Recipe Tips
- White Chicken Chili Recipe
- Troubleshooting this Recipe
- Similar Recipes
I don’t use cream cheese in this comfort food classic, nor will you need an immersion blender or food processor like many other recipes for this.
This recipe has won multiple chili cookoffs. Even our kids have made it in high school and college cook-offs, and they also took first place. I seriously think you’ll find this to be one of the best white chicken chili recipes you’ve ever tasted.
Ingredients
White chicken chili is a light, creamy chili made with chicken, white beans, green chiles, and a creamy base.
Some of the most important ingredients are shredded chicken (breasts or thighs), white beans (cannellini or Great Northern), chicken broth, diced green chilies, and cream cheese or sour cream to thicken it.
I’ve learned to appreciate the extra flavor chicken thighs offer, so this is my preferred cut for this recipe.
Also, don’t skimp on the cream. Although the recipe calls for 8 oz of cream, I’ve been known to use up to a quart of it when making this.
If I want added flavor, sometimes I’ll toss in a can (or jar) of green enchilada sauce. And, I usually go heavy on the cumin.
How to Make White Chicken Chili
(Complete printable recipe is in the recipe card below)
- Prepare the Base: Add the great northern beans, shredded pepper jack cheese, salsa verde, chopped green chilies, jalapenos, cumin, and heavy cream into your slow cooker. Set the temperature to high.
Like a classic chili recipe, you can make this delicious white chicken chili together on the stovetop using a Dutch oven or large pot. You can even use an electric pressure cooker. But my preferred cooking method for this easy white chicken chili recipe is to use our trusted crockpot.
- Sauté the Vegetables: Heat a 10-inch skillet with olive oil. Dice the white onion, red bell pepper, and garlic; sauté until tender and translucent, then transfer to the slow cooker.
- Cook the Chicken: Dice the chicken thighs into ½-inch pieces and sauté in the same skillet. Sprinkle with oregano while cooking.
- Combine: Add the cooked chicken to the slow cooker and mix in the freshly grated ginger root, salt, and pepper.
- Slow Cook: Stir the mixture well, cover, and cook on low or medium heat for 2-3 hours, until the flavors meld.
- Adjust Consistency: As the white chicken chili heats up, it will thin out. If the chili is too thin, stir in a tablespoon of flour. Used a fine mesh strainer to do this, which will avoid clumps of flour in the chili.
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Optional Finish: Just before serving, chop and add fresh cilantro. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a slice of crusty bread.
Substitutions and Variations
Sour Cream: This, along with some tortilla strips and fresh cilantro, is among my favorite toppings. A splash of fresh lime juice gives a bright flavor to the recipe. Go with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream if you prefer. It’s a great substitution!
Chicken Breasts: Swap the chicken thighs for breasts for a leaner version.
If you’re using leftover chicken, add it to the mixture about 30 minutes before serving. This will give you tender chicken without overcooking it. Like our Lipton noodle soup recipe and our crispy leftover chicken and shells, this is a great way to use rotisserie chicken.
Cheese: Use Monterey Jack or a milder cheese if you prefer less spice.
Cream Substitute: Replace heavy cream with half & half for a lighter dish.
Beans: Cannellini or navy beans work well as alternatives.
Spice Level: For less heat, omit the jalapenos or use fewer green chilies.
EXPLORE MORE WAYS TO MAKE THIS
How to make this a Healthy White Chicken Chili Recipe
Chicken broth can be used instead of heavy cream for a healthier version of this white bean chili. This is also a good option if you can’t consume dairy products.
Another way to make this a healthy white chicken chili is to use low-fat chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs, which have higher fat content.
If you’re vegan and can’t eat this, give our easy vegan chili a try. It’s delicious!
What to Serve with White Chicken Chili
White chicken chili pairs beautifully with warm, crusty bread and crunchy tortilla chips with homemade guacamole. I can’t think of a better meal!
A tasty green salad will also give you a nice, rounded meal
Recipe Questions
When making white chicken chili, people often make mistakes like overcooking the chicken, adding dairy (such as cream cheese or sour cream) too soon, which can cause it to curdle, using too much liquid, and not seasoning it enough. Blend some beans together, cook the aromatics first, and then add dairy to make it creamy.
The main differences between different kinds of white chicken chili are how they thicken (with cream cheese, sour cream, flour, or roux), how spicy they are (with jalapeños, cayenne, or green chiles), and what kind of chicken they use (shredded breast, thighs, or ground chicken). Some popular changes include adding beans like pinto or black beans, using salsa verde for a tangy touch, or making it dairy-free with coconut milk.
Swap out the cheese and heavy cream for a dairy-free alternative.
Absolutely! Store in an airtight container and freeze for up to three months. This white chicken chili is an excellent freezer meal.
Expert Recipe Tips
- Use chicken thighs for more flavor and tenderness.
- Don’t skip sautéing the vegetables – it enhances the overall depth of the chili.
- Adjust the spice level by modifying the amount of jalapenos and chili peppers.
- Add the cilantro last for a fresh pop of flavor.
- Let the chili rest for 10 minutes before serving to let the flavors fully develop.
White chicken chili is a great way to bring people together. It’s such an interesting and delicious recipe. It’s sure to spark conversation and make for a great time for family and friends.
I’ll always remember meals like this one when I made a batch of my white chicken chili.
Besides the native population of our own country, we had representatives of Italy and Argentina join in, and throughout the night, conversations were parlayed in English, Italian, Spanish, and, of course, the unspoken exchanges that always occur when good friends are together.
Enjoy this easy and flavorful white chicken chili recipe that warms the heart and satisfies the taste buds!
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White Chicken Chili
Save This Recipe for Later (You’ll Want It Again)
Get this recipe sent to your inbox, plus a few of our best easy meals
⭐ Most readers end up making this in a few days.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Boneless chicken, thigh will give you a deeper and richer flavor.
- 48 oz jar great northern beans, drained
- 16 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup white onion
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 3 garlic cloves, +/- depending on affinity or aversion to vampires
- 1 cup heavy cream or half & half
- 6 to 8 oz. salsa verde
- 2 to 4 oz can chopped green chili peppers
- 2 to 4 oz. can chopped jalapenos
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
- fresh ginger root
- fresh crushed black peppercorn to taste
- 1 tablespoon flour
Instructions
- Add beans, cream, pepper jack cheese, salsa verde, chili peppers, jalapenos, and cumin to slow cooker, or crock pot, with initial temperature set to high.
- Warm 10 inch skillet on medium heat and add olive oil.
- Cube white onion in small pieces, slice and dice red pepper and garlic, saute all three until tender and translucent. Transfer this combination to crock pot.
- Dice chicken breasts or thighs into 1/2 inch pieces, then saute chicken in skillet
- Add oregano.
- Add cooked sauteed chicken to crock pot.
- Peel and shred about 1.5 sq. inch of fresh ginger, add to crock pot.
- Add salt, and pepper, to taste.
- Stir well and cook covered, from one to several hours, reducing temperature to low or medium, once the mixture is hot.
- If chili is thin, stir in flour to desired consistency.
- Finely chop cilantro and add to crockpot just before serving.
- This is complimented nicely by a dollop of sour cream, and hearty Italian or French bread.
Notes
- Sauté the Aromatics First
- Use Chicken Thighs for Extra Flavor
- Add Fresh Cilantro at the End
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Troubleshooting this Recipe
Something not turning out right? Tell us what went wrong and we’ll help you fix it.
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Made it for dinner tonight. Prep time is lot longer than it starts but it is so worth it!!
Awesome feedback, Leslie! We’re happy you enjoyed this white chicken chili and appreciate you taking the time to drop us a note.
White and spicy! Nice. Cheers
Thanks so much!
This chili sounds absolutely amazing! I cannot wait to try this!