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It took a lot of testing to perfect this White Bean Chicken Chili—but good thing because it’s unlike any other recipe out there. It has a short ingredients list but tons of flavor thanks to a few simple flavor-building techniques. The base is a bright green broth that holds juicy shredded chicken, two types of chiles, tons of garlic, and creamy white beans.
I’ve been developing soup recipes for years. While working as an assistant editor at Cuisine at Home Magazine, I worked on at least 4 soup cookbooks—each with at least 100 soup recipes. Everything from chicken noodle soup and cream of mushroom to beef and barley and everything in between.
And chilis are one of my favorite types of soup to develop. There are so many types of chilis, and depending on the region you’re in, there are many variations on each type.
This is my best version of a white bean chicken chili, and I hope you enjoy it!
Why You’ll Love this Chili
Short ingredient list: this recipe is apart of my SOUPer Simple Series, which means it require ten ingredients or less (not counting salt, butter or oil). This recipe comes in at exactly 10 ingredients—many of which are pantry staples.
Quick cook time for a chili: most chili recipes take hours to simmer. Not this one—it’s done and on the table in less than an hour.
Fresh and flavorful: it’s rare for a chili to have fresh herbs blended into it. But this chili, with its vibrant green broth, is loaded with fresh flavor from cilantro, lime juice and poblanos.
Ingredients in White Chicken Chili
- Bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts: I’ve had good luck finding these sold in packs of two, or as a larger family pack with chicken drumsticks. If you can’t find them in the meat case, as the meat counter if they have any in the back of they can break down a chicken for you. The skin is important for rendering fat and making flavorful drippings for the vegetables to cook in. And bone-in breasts stay moist during cooking way more than boneless do.
- Poblanos: ideally, use two large poblanos. If your grocery store has small poblanos (like the ones in my photo) use 3–4.
- Onion: yellow or white will work here.
- Garlic: this soup uses two tablespoons of minced fresh garlic. That’s a lot! But it adds tons of flavor and doesn’t over-power the soup at all. Make sure you use fresh garlic for the best flavor.
- Coriander: adds an aromatic, earthy, slightly floral flavor that enhances the cilantro.
- Cumin: adds depth of flavor and warm savoriness.
- Canned green chiles: a couple cans of diced green chiles enhances the overall flavor and adds a bit of spice since poblanos are very mild. The combo of canned chiles and fresh chiles create a more robust-flavored chile.
- Cannellini beans: the beans work double time here. The first can gets pureed and added to the soup to thicken the broth. The second is simply drained and added as-is.
- Cilantro: a whole cup (packed) is blended into the soup to create a vibrant green, fresh-flavored broth.
- Lime juice: a couple tablespoons adds some acidity that brightens and balances the savory soup.
How to Make This White Chicken Chili Recipe
- Start by browning the chicken breasts until deeply gold. The goal here is not to cook the chicken through, but brown the skin and render some fat. those flavorful drippings will then be responsible for building the base of the soup.
- Cook the poblanos and onion in the drippings until softened.
- Add in the garlic, coriander and cumin and cook just a minute or so.
- Stir in the canned green chiles, water and browned chicken.
TIP: make sure you add any drippings from the chicken.
- Simmer the soup until the chicken is cooked through—this will take anywhere from 15 to 18 minutes. Partially covering the pot will help speed this along. Check for doneness using an instant-read thermometer.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool, before removing the skin and bones and shredding.
- Blend up a can of beans with a cup of the broth mixture and the cilantro.
- Add the pureed mixture back to the pot with the chicken and remaining can of beans.
Tips for Making Chicken Chili
- Small poblanos tend to be a bit bitter compared to larger poblanos. So seek out large poblanos if possible.
- This soup is apart of the SOUPer Simple Series—so water is used here to keep the ingredient list short. If you’ve got chicken broth on hand—by all means use that. It’ll add more flavor. Better than Bouillon is one of my favorite pantry staples, so if you have that on hand, that would work great here as well.
What to Serve with White Chicken Chili
More from Zestful Kitchen
White Chicken Chili Recipe
Description
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts (~2½ pounds)
- Kosher salt
- 2 large (or 4 small) poblanos, seeded and diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 (4-ounce) cans green chiles
- 2 (14-ounce) cans cannellini beans,` drained and rinsed
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Pat 2 chicken breasts dry then season all over with 2 teaspoons kosher salt.
- Place chicken in pot, skin-side-down and cook, without moving, until deeply browned, 5–6 minutes. Using tongs, transfer chicken to a plate.
- Add 2 diced poblanos and 1 diced onion to drippings, season with ½ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and starting to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in 2 tablespoons garlic, 1 tablespoon coriander, and 1 tablespoon cumin; cook 1 minute. Stir in 2 cans green chiles and 5 cups water. Add browned chicken, and any juices, back to pot; bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until chicken is coked through (165ºF) 15–18 minutes.
- Using tongs, remove chicken breasts and transfer to a plate or sheet pan; let cool.
- Meanwhile, combine 1 can of drained beans, 1 cup cilantro and 1 cup broth/vegetable soup mixture (from pot) in a blender; purée until completely smooth.
- Once chicken is cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin. Remove meat from bones and shred meat into bite-sized pieces using two forks. Discard bones.
- Add chicken, remaining can of beans and puréed mixture back to pot. Bring back to a low simmer; stir in 2 tablespoons lime juice and season to taste with additional salt.
Straight forward and delicious!
Yay! Happy to hear it was easy to make and tasty! Thanks for giving it a try!
Would you have a suggestion for those who don’t like cilantro?
Yes! I would instead use 1/2 cup fresh parsley and a tablespoon of fresh or dried oregano (Mexican oregano would be great!)
Thanks! I do love oregano!