Creamy White Chicken Chili {Stovetop or Slow Cooker}

This easy white chicken chili has been winning chili cook-offs for years. It is delicious! Bonus directions for slow cooker or stovetop!

Get ready for the best white chicken chili of your life! The flavors are so tasty, and it is exceptionally easy to make.

White Chicken Chili Variations

The reason this white chicken chili is so appealing is because it can be adapted in many ways.

1. Make it on the stovetop or in the slow cooker.
2. Use fresh or already cooked chicken.
3. Sub out the cream for extra sour cream or milk + flour (for a deliciously thicker version).
4. Use salsa verde in place of the green chiles.

Over the last two decades, I’ve made this white chicken chili more times than I can count, and I can attest, as well as the hundreds of comments below, that all of the above variations work brilliantly well.

I almost always use cooked chicken, because it makes the chili even quicker and easier to make, and I prefer subbing in milk + flour for the heavy cream.

Make-Ahead Options

The flavors in this white chicken chili are simple but so delicious.

And the chili gets better with time. So for an even more flavorful chili, make it a day (or two) ahead of time and then reheat on the stovetop or in the slow cooker!

It’s hard to overstate how delicious this chili is – it has won chili cook offs the world ever (no kidding, just scroll through the comments below), and continues to be a huge family favorite for us year after year.

Creamy White Chicken Chili

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 45 minutes mins

4.78 stars (314 ratings)

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (leave whole for slow cooker method) – see note for cooked chicken
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder or 2 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
• 2 cans (15.5-ounces each) Great Northern Beans or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 ¾ cups chicken broth (14.5-ounce can)
• 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 heavy cream (see note)
• Fresh cilantro, for garnish (optional)
• Shredded cheese, tortilla chips, other toppings (optional)

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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 with chili toppings of choice, like shredded cheese, tortilla chips, etc. The chili will thicken slightly as it cools.
• 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 1 1/2 cups and add to the slow cooker. 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. Stir this mixture into the crockpot with the other ingredients. Cover and heat through on low or high temperature.
• Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired. Serve with chili toppings of choice, like shredded cheese, tortilla chips, etc. The chili will thicken slightly as it cools.

Notes

Green Chiles: you can sub out the green chiles completely for a jar (12 ounces) of green salsa (salsa verde or tomatillo salsa). 

Heavy Cream: to sub out the heavy cream, add add extra sour cream or milk. For a thicker chili, blend 1/2 cup milk with 1 tablespoon flour and use in place of the cream. 

Chicken: to use already cooked chicken (i.e. a rotisserie chicken or this simple stovetop shredded chicken), omit the chicken from cooking in the first step, and instead stir the cooked, cubed or shredded chicken in at the end with the sour cream and heat through. 

Author: Mel

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Method: Slow Cooker, Stovetop

Serving: 1 Serving, Calories: 357kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 89mg, Sodium: 915mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 1g

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Cookware

8-Quart Slow Cooker

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Recipe originally posted September 2008; updated October 2024 with new pictures, recipe notes, etc

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