When your family is hungry and time is short, make this hearty white chicken chili. Done in 30 minutes, use pantry staples like canned white beans, canned chilies, chicken broth, onions, herbs and spices. Add leftover or rotisserie chicken to keep it easy and get your family fed.
Easy White Chicken Chili
Getting home a bit later than planned I was greeted with "I'm hungry". Not hello. Not hi. Nope. Sad faces and I'm hungry. I had to do something quick and reached for leftover chicken as my lifeline.
I'd been testing this white chicken chili recipe and knew I had all the ingredients. It came together in about 25-30 minutes. Healthy and hearty, it can help you face the "what's for dinner" dilemma.
What You Need
- Leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken from the store
- Chopped onion and garlic
- Chicken broth
- White beans - Cannellini or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
- Canned diced green chilies (mild or hot, your call), 4 ounces
- Herbs and spices
- Cheese to garnish (optional if you don't do dairy)
- 1 avocado, pitted and diced (another optional garnish)
Prep Ahead Tips
Shave a few minutes off the cooking time if you chop your chicken ahead, rinse and drain the beans, even measure out your spices and chop the cilantro. Prep the night ahead or in the morning if you have time.
You can make this white chicken chili a few days ahead of time, then heat it back up when you are ready to eat. It holds for 3 days in the fridge.
How to Cook
- Chop the onion and cook in oil until softened
- Add garlic and chilies for a minute
- Add spices, cook another minute or two
- Stir in beans
- Pour in chicken and broth, stir
- Sprinkle in cilantro and heat through
Great garnishes include diced avocado, chopped scallions, or grate a little cheese over the top. Our current favorite is raw sharp white cheddar from Organic Valley.
Options
If you need to stretch the quantity, add more broth and turn it into a soup. If you have fresh poblano chilies available, chop one into small dice and sauté with the chopped onion. Another nice add is a couple of fresh chopped tomatillos. Make it simple or add a few options to make it your own.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil olive, coconut, avocado
- 1 small onion 1 ¼ cups or an 8 ounce onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 small can chopped green chilies 4 ounces
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 15- ounce cans cannellini beans rinsed and drained
- 2 cups cooked chopped chicken leftover or rotisserie
- 2 cup chicken broth preferably homemade
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro or Italian parsley
- 4 ounces grated white cheddar or Jack cheese optional
Instructions
- In a medium pot (4-5 quarts) over medium low heat, heat the oil. Add chopped onion. Cook onion until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the chilies, cumin, ancho, oregano and coriander and cook another minute.
- Add the beans, broth and chicken and heat through, stirring occasionally. Adjust the thickness with more broth if desired. Stir in the cilantro and serve topped with garnishes as desired,
la Torontoise says
Sally, thank you! Love it. Do you use a cast iron casserolle to cook the beans?
Thank you and have a good weekend!
Sally Cameron says
If I cook dried beans from scratch then yes, I use a Le Creuset pot to cook my beans. This last time I just used canned beans. I prefer Eden organics brand in a BPA-free can. Good quality. And I also use the same pot, a 5 1/2 at Dutch Oven to make the chili no matter how I cook the beans. The smaller one is fine too, the 3 1/2 qt. the #26 for the larger and #22 the smaller, respectively.