Creamy White Chicken Chili {Stovetop or Slow Cooker}
Easy and so delicious, this best-ever white chicken chili has been a family favorite for years (with no signs of stopping!). With directions for stovetop or slow cooker, it’s versatile, simple, and tasty!
Let’s talk about chili.
Creamy white chicken chili to be exact.
I like classic red chili. Here are a few of my favorite red chilis:
My Mom’s Classic Red Chili
Slow Cooker Red Chili
Hearty Turkey and Bean Chili
Sweet Heat Louisiana Chili
But if I’m being honest, I LOVE (double heart, love, love, love) white chili.
And I hate to throw out exclamations like this: but this creamy white chicken chili is the best of the best of the best.
I mean, just read through the comments and you’ll see why so many people rave about this white chicken chili.
Not only is it a cinch to throw together, but the flavor is amazing.
Over the years, I’ve kept the basic recipe the same, but you can see below that I’ve added some notes to make this recipe even more delicious.
It also works beautifully in the slow cooker.
And since I know people will ask (can’t blame you), I actually have tried this in the Instant Pot as well.
But it definitely falls into the category of: it’s just as fast to make it on the stovetop. By the time the IP comes up to pressure, cooks the chicken, and the pressure releases, this white chicken chili can be ready to go via a saucepan on the stove.
However, I’m not one to talk you out of using that Instant Pot every single day of your life. So, feel free to give it a go.
I didn’t include directions for the IP below because I don’t make it that way, but you can try tossing everything but the dairy ingredients in the IP (use whole chicken breasts) and cook for 8 minutes on high pressure (probably 3 minutes for cubed chicken, but the other ingredients, like the onion, may not soften fully).
Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, quick release the rest of the way, stir in the sour cream and cream/milk, select Saute and heat through.
See How To Make It Here:
And also, if you are interested, here are a few of my other beloved white chili recipes:
White Bean Chicken Chili (with a little extra flair that makes it different than today’s recipe)
Roasted Garlic and White Bean Chili
Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Chili (not creamy, more brothy)
Slow Cooker Jalapeño Popper White Bean Chili
What To Serve With This:
Chili toppings, like shredded cheese, tortilla chips, etc.
My Favorite Cornbread
FAQs for Creamy White Chicken Chili
No, cooking time stays the same.
Yes!
Yes I freeze it all once it is made- the texture can be a little grainy, but we don’t mind.
Creamy White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (leave whole for slow cooker method)
- 1 medium chopped onion, (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder or 2 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
- 2 cans (15.5-ounces each) Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (14.5) ounce can chicken broth, (about 1 3/4 cups)
- 2 cans (4-ounces each) chopped green chiles (see note)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup whipping cream (see note)
- Fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)
- Shredded cheese, tortilla chips, other toppings (optional)
Instructions
- Stovetop Directions: In a 4- or 5-quart pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chicken, onion, and garlic powder (or fresh garlic, if using). Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes, until the onion starts to soften (it’s ok if the chicken isn’t cooked all the way; it will cook more in the next step).
- Add the beans, broth, chiles, salt, cumin, oregano, pepper and cayenne.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Remove from the heat; stir in the sour cream and cream.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired. Serve immediately with other toppings of choice, if desired.
- Slow Cooker Directions: In a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker, place 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts whole (without cutting into pieces).
- Add the chopped onion, garlic powder, beans, green chiles and all of the spices. Do not add the sour cream or whipping cream yet!
- Reduce the chicken broth to 12 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) and pour in over the other ingredients. Stir the mixture around a bit to incorporate the dry spices. Cook on low for 5-7 hours.
- Remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred in bite-size pieces (or use a couple forks and shred right in the slow cooker). Add the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker.
- In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the sour cream and whipping cream until smooth. Whisk the cream mixture into the crockpot with the other ingredients. Let the chili cook warm through on low temperature. Serve.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe originally posted September 2008; updated with new pictures, recipe notes, commentary.
The video in this post was made in partnership with Inspo
407 Comments on “Creamy White Chicken Chili {Stovetop or Slow Cooker}”
Lisa – thanks for letting me know this was a hit!
Hi, I found your blog recently and have enjoyed checking it out. I made the White Chili for dinner tonight and everyone loved it.
Lisa
Kara – wow, first place!! Great job on your husband’s part. How fun! Thanks for letting me know.
My husband’s work had a chili cookoff, so I told him he really should make this white chicken chili so it would stand out. I had a feeling everyone would show up with variations of a red chili (which they did). Well, thanks for the great recipe…he won first place!
Kara
Anonymous – I’m glad you liked this recipe! It is such a good one and my family loves it, too. Thanks for letting me know!
I made the creamy white chicken chili last night. It was absolutely wonderful!
Anonymous – thank you! I’m glad you liked the recipe.
I made this tonight! I loved it, thanks for the receipe.
Steph – I love the comments, so keep them coming! I’m glad this soup was finger licking (or I guess bowl licking) good! Thanks for letting me know…I’m especially glad the picky husband liked it!
Haha, I think I am becoming a very regular commenter! I made this tonight for a friend and we seriously licked the bowls clean. Then when my husband came home and saw it he heated it up and licked his clean. He said he was skeptical at first because he doesn’t like beans much but it was one of his favorites! He wouldn’t even let me freeze the leftovers because he wanted to take them for lunch the next day! Once again you are AWESOME!
Nate and Kim – wow, thanks for your comment! I’m glad that you have tried and liked so many recipes. It makes my day to know that. I hope this chili did not disappoint!
Thanks for the great recipe. I probably make a few of your recipes every week. I am making this tonight. Looks perfect for a chilly fall day.
Kara – whenever I hear that a picky eater ate a particular recipe well, it makes me so happy! I’m glad your 6 year old came through for you on this one. Thanks for letting me know. I hope you like the cornbread, too!
This soup was awesome. My 6 yr old, who is such a picky eater devoured it. Thanks for another fabulous recipe. The cornbread (with honey butter) is next on my list!
Kara
Sophie – I feel kind of bad (but not terribly bad) that I’ve converted one of your favorite soups to be loaded with cream and sour cream, but I agree, it definitely makes it wonderful. I’m glad you liked it. Thanks so much for letting me know!
I have this exact recipe, except without the cream and sour cream. I must say, those two things make it wonderful. I loved it before, but love it more now! It’s great served with cheese quesadella’s. Thanks so much!
I have this EXACT recipe and have been using it for MONTHS. I have an allergy to spice though, so I cut out the red pepper… Oh, and you really ought to try boiling and shredding the chicken sometime. Oh. My. GOODNESS! I LOVE it with shredded chicken! (BTW- I just found your site today and I am LOVING it! Those Cinnamon Rolls look heavenly!)
Anonymous – I’m glad I’m not the only one who fights my husband for leftovers! Glad you liked this, thanks for letting me know.
Bentley Family – just having you comment on this recipe makes me think I should make it tonight. I think I will since I didn’t have anything else planned! I’m glad you snuck a taste and liked it!!
Ash – thanks for making me laugh – you seem like the type I WOULD be best friends with…especially if you can give me tips on helping a picky 3-year old eat. Thanks for checking in!
Melanie–Almost a year ago Amanda told me about your awesome food blog. We have tried so many of your recipes and loved them all! Thank you so much–we owe many a delicious meal to YOU:-) I hope you don’t mind…but I’ve also told so many family and friends about this blog. You are a great lady Mel–I can tell you’re an amazing mom, wife, person, and baker!
This soup looks great – I know what I’m making for dinner tomorrow! And I think we’ll be having sugar gems for dessert – great website, I’m glad a friend passed this along to us.
That’s awesome, Pam, that it is the exact same recipe!! I bet the shredded chicken is awesome. I’ll try it like that next time, I think. Thanks for commenting!!
Bunny Wilson – thanks for commenting back and letting me know you made this. I’m glad you liked it – I think it is a keeper, too, and am glad my friend shared the recipe with me!
Ive never had white chili before. Im bookmarking this one
We had this for dinner and loved it, Nate ate like 5 servings and he kept saying “this is so good, this is so good” so you won your brother’s approval!
Mmm, Ilove white chili too. I”ll definitely be trying this recipe this Fall!
I made this for dinner last night. With a few changes and it still turned out great! I didn’t have great northern beans so I used pintos (which were really yummy!) and I only had one can of green chilies and we like a lot of heat, so I used that one can and then some salsa verde. I didn’t have whipping cream so I left it out and added more sour cream. And then I added a can of white hominey. It was soooo good! My 3 year old had seconds and my husband ate every last bit! He loved it! Thanks for a great base recipe!
MyCozyCreations – wow – those sound like great additions to the recipe. Way to improvise!! I’m so glad your family liked it and I may have to incorporate some of those same changes next time I make it. Thanks for letting me know how it went over!
Tried it, loved it. I blogged about it today. Thanks again for another great recipe.
thumbbook – glad you liked this creamy chili! I’ll have to check out foodista.com and I’ll let you know what I think. Thanks for the invitation!
Well you dont know me and I dont know you, but after i ate this chili and a church function tonight (and got my very picky 3 yr old to eat alot) I am sold! The lady who made it gave me this link to your site, and i already have it copies down to make tomorrow! You are my new best friend!
Camille – thanks for commenting!! And I am really glad you liked the soup. It is a real winner in our family, too. Thanks for your kind words!>>Sarah – I’ve heard from several people they have similar recipes to this one. It looks like it is a hit with lots of people. My friend who gave me the recipe will love to hear that!
i love spicy beef chili with plenty of kidney beans, but sometimes a white chili hits the spot, too. this looks like a terrific recipe, and since it’s on your blog, i’m sure it is. 🙂
I made this today and it was AWESOME!>>I didn’t have cumin or cayenne pepper, so I omitted those, and it still turned out absolutely delicious! Thanks for the wonderful recipe. 🙂
Melanie- I made this for the first time last night. It is actually for dinner tonight but I had to make it in advance in the interest of time. I had a small bowl when I was done and I LOVED it. It was sooo good. Thanks yet again for another wonderful recipe! I think I’ll make your Blitz Bread to go with it.
Melanie, I followed the link to your post here from Ali-Divine Domesticity and I just wanted to thank you! I also tried it at home and we love it! I would like to invite you to < HREF="http://www.foodista.com/" REL="nofollow">Foodista.com<> – the cooking encyclopedia everyone can edit. We have lots of easy recipes you can try, so do check us out. Would also love a link to this post from our site.(This will direct Foodista readers to your blog)Here’s a sample on how you can create inbound links from our site < HREF="http://www.foodista.com/recipe/VFB3Q4SC/race-car-pancakes/embed" REL="nofollow">Check it out here.<> This is a great way for you to build blog traffic and connect with other food lovers! Also feel free to share your recipes and tips with us!Thanks!
Wendy! It’s fun to hear from you. I have to confess that I check out your family blog via Amanda’s now and then for an update. What a cute family! Anyway, thanks for letting me know you like the recipes here – that is sweet and I don’t mind at all if you pass the word along. It is just a fun hobby for me!
Hi Ali – way to improvise with what you had on hand – I’m glad it still turned out delicious! Thanks for letting me know.
Mmmmmmm..I make pretty much this same recipe as well..but I add sharp cheddar cheese to it!!!YUMMO!>Yours looks nice and comforting!!
I love this kind of chili! This version sounds and looks great!
Just made this recipe tonight and blogged on it – thanks for a “keeper” meal!
Wow, this sounds absolutely delicious! I have actually never tried white chili but it is on my list to try very soon. This will be the recipe I try for sure, you haven’t let me down yet!
New poster here. Just made this for dinner tonight. This..was…DELICIOUS!!!! Love your blog! Will be making many more of your recipes!!! Thank you!!!
This is a fantastic recipe! My friend shared this same recipe with me 2 years ago and I have been using it ever since. I took this white chicken chili to a chili cook-off and won “Most Kid Friendly!” (LOL) I guess because it wasn’t as spicy as some other chilis there. It was gone in about 10 minutes! My kids love it!
I’ve made this twice in the past couple months…when I made it this week, my husband and I fought over the leftovers. Next time I am going to double the recipe, so we have more leftover! Thanks for sharing the recipe :o)
I think I love you! I have been bookmarking your recipes all day. I am so thrilled to find your blog with not only tasty recipes , but not overly high fat too! Thank you thank you thank you! Feel like I found a burried treasure here!
I have a similar recipe to this, but instead of whipping cream, I add about a cup of shredded Monterey Jack Cheese. My whole family LOVES this!
Thanks for your blog!
Anne – great idea to add the shredded monterey jack cheese (oooh, and I bet pepper jack would be delicious, as well). Thanks for your nice comment – I hope you enjoy looking around and bookmarking recipes!
A friend made this for a church chili cook-off last fall and won 1st place. Since then it has become one of our family’s favorites. It doesn’t surprise me at all to find it here. So far I have loved all your recipes that I have tried. Keep ’em coming!
Danielle – I’m glad to know this is such a popular (and prize-winning!) recipe. Thanks for the comment!