White Chicken Chili

This White Chicken Chili is chicken, white beans, and green chiles in a creamy broth with no cream cheese anywhere 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, most of it hands off.

White chicken chili doesn’t look like chili. Nothing in it is red, there’s no tomato, and the first time you put a bowl in front of someone who grew up on the beef and kidney bean kind, you’re going to get a look.

Most white chicken chili recipes get their creaminess from a block of cream cheese. Mine doesn’t. There are 3 cans of beans in this pot and I mash 1 of them before anything else happens. The bean starch thickens the broth as it simmers, and you end up with something that coats the spoon without a single ounce of cream cheese in it.

There’s ½ cup of half and half at the end to smooth it out. That’s it for dairy.

One pot, about an hour, and most of that hour is the pot on low while you’re doing something else.

Cannellini is what I use. They’re the biggest of the white beans, they hold their shape through a long simmer, and they’re creamy inside. Sometimes labeled white kidney beans.

Great northern is the other one you’ll see in white chili all the time, and it works exactly the same way. A little smaller, a little softer. If that’s what’s in your cupboard, use it and don’t think about it again.

Navy beans are the smallest and they break down the most, which actually makes the chili thicker. Good if you like it almost stew like.

Dried beans work too. Soak and cook them first, and 1 pound of dried beans gives you roughly what 3 cans give you.

Whichever you pick, drain and rinse them. Canned bean liquid is cloudy and salty and it muddies the broth.

And mash 1 can. That’s the part that matters more than which bean you chose.

• Olive oil (1 tablespoon): Just enough to get the chicken and onion going.
• Chicken breasts (1½ pounds, boneless, skinless, cubed): Cut them into bite sized cubes. They go in raw and cook in the pot.
• Onion (1 large, chopped): Goes in with the chicken so it softens while everything else is happening.
• Salt (1½ teaspoons, divided): Most of it goes in early with the spices, a little at the end after you’ve tasted it. You’re rinsing 3 cans of beans, which washes away their salt, so this matters.
• Ground cumin (2 teaspoons): The backbone of the whole thing. Two teaspoons sounds like a lot. It is a lot. Leave it.
• Chili powder (1 teaspoon) and cayenne (¼ teaspoon): Warmth, not heat. A quarter teaspoon of cayenne is barely noticeable. Double it if you want to feel something.
• Dried oregano (1 teaspoon): Mexican oregano if you have it, regular if you don’t.
• Garlic (4 cloves, finely chopped): In after the chicken, so it doesn’t burn in the hot pan.
• Chicken broth (32 ounces, 2 containers): The whole base. Use low sodium so you’re in charge of the salt.
• White beans (42 ounces, 3 cans, drained and rinsed): Cannellini or great northern. One can gets mashed.
• Green chiles (4 ounces, 1 can, chopped): Mild, canned, in the Mexican aisle. They bring a gentle warmth and a lot of flavor for 1 small can.
• Half and half (½ cup): Stirred in at the end. That’s the only cream in here.
• Toppings: Shredded Monterey Jack, sliced jalapeño, lime wedges, chopped cilantro. The lime isn’t decoration. Squeeze it.

Mash a can of beans first: Drain and rinse all 3 cans. Take 1 of them and mash it with a potato masher or a fork until it’s mostly smooth. Set the mashed beans and the 2 cans of whole beans aside. Doing this first means you’re not scrambling for a masher later with a pot already simmering.

Cook the chicken and onion: Heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a 6 quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the cubed chicken, the 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. The spices toast in the oil while this happens, which is exactly what you want.

Add the garlic: Stir in the 4 chopped garlic cloves and cook 1 minute more, just until you can smell it.

Build the broth: Pour in the 32 ounces of chicken broth and the can of green chiles. Bring it up to a boil.

Add the beans and simmer: Turn the heat to low. Stir in the mashed beans and both cans of whole beans. Simmer for 30 minutes. This is where the chili thickens, so give it the full half hour.

Finish with cream: Stir in the ½ cup of half and half and cook 5 minutes more.

Taste it: Add the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt if it needs it. It usually does.

Serve: Ladle into bowls and top with shredded Monterey Jack, sliced jalapeño, chopped cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

• Mash a can of beans. Say it with me. It’s the difference between chili and soup.
• Rinse the beans properly. Until the water runs clear. That liquid in the can is cloudy and salty.
• Give it the full 30 minutes. Ten minutes in it’ll look thin and you’ll panic. Wait.
• Taste before the final salt. Broths vary, bean brands vary, and you’re the one eating it.
• Don’t skip the lime. One squeeze does more than another pinch of any spice in this recipe.
• It’s better the next day. Noticeably. If you can make it ahead, make it ahead.

This version genuinely is, and it’s not because I set out to make a diet recipe.

A serving comes in around 329 calories with 33 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber. That protein and fiber number is why a bowl actually holds you until the next meal.

The reason it lands there is the mashed beans. Recipes that thicken with cream cheese or heavy cream are getting their body from fat. This one gets it from beans, so you get fiber instead. The only dairy is ½ cup of half and half spread across 8 servings.

To lighten it further, use evaporated milk in place of the half and half, or leave it out entirely. It’ll be a little less rounded and still very good.

• Corn. A cup of frozen corn in with the beans. Sweetness against the cumin.
• More heat. Swap the mild green chiles for hot, or add a chopped jalapeño with the onion.
• Cream cheese. If you want the thicker, richer version, 4 ounces stirred in at the end will do it. I don’t make it that way, but plenty of people do.
• Different cheese. Pepper jack instead of Monterey Jack. Cotija if you want something salty and crumbly.
• Avocado and sour cream. Both excellent, both cool it down.
• Tortilla strips or crushed chips. For crunch on top.

Cornbread, and it isn’t close. Easy Cornbread is the one I make most, or Pumpkin Maple Cornbread if it’s that time of year.

Tortilla chips on the side for scooping. Rice underneath if you want to stretch it further. A simple green salad with lime dressing if you want something sharp alongside.

And if you’ve got a crowd, Chile Con Queso on the table next to this is a very good afternoon.

More chili while you’re here: World’s Best Chili and Cincinnati Chili for the red versions, Slow Cooker Chicken Chili for the dump and go one, and Manly Bean Chili over on All My Cravings. Chicken Rice Soup on Craving Home Cooked if you want something gentler.

It keeps 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container, and it’s better on day 2 than day 1. The beans keep absorbing broth so it thickens overnight. Loosen it with a splash of broth when you reheat.

It freezes well, which not every creamy soup does. Up to 3 months. The bean starch holds things together better than dairy would, so it comes back close to how it went in. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat gently on the stove.

If you’re making a batch specifically for the freezer, leave the half and half out and stir it in after you thaw it. The texture comes back a little smoother that way.