Nothing screams Fall like a big bowl of chili, and this Smokey White Chicken Chili is no exception. This healthy chili recipe is super smokey, packed with flavor (other than beans), and is prepared very quickly. No super slow cook for hours or chopping multiple ingredients. Ready to eat in 30 minutes, this is one of the favorite chili recipes in our house and one of the comfort foods from my childhood. Enjoy!
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Ingredients & Equipment
Ingredients for this Smokey White Chicken Chili
- Chicken: Two chicken breasts, 3 thighs, or two cans of chicken, your preference. The canned chicken works just fine if you’re in a pinch, but I opted for roasting 2 chicken breasts in the oven with some bread I was baking. Leftover chicken would also work wonderfully if you have a bunch on hand.
- White Beans: Cooking beans is a major undertaking, so I opt for canned beans. No doubt the results aren’t as good as cooking them yourself, but I usually don’t have the forethought to plan that far ahead. Choose your favorite of great northern beans, cannellini beans, or go the complete opposite and try black beans for black chicken chili.
- Yellow Onion: I put onions in almost any recipe I make, and absolutely every soup recipe. Yellow onions add an excellent sweetness to this chili and add another layer of vegetables which is hard to argue with.
- Chilies: I used a small can of green chilies and I KNOW they would taste better fresh. If I knew what kind of peppers they were, I would sub it in. I may try jalapeno peppers, poblano peppers, or maybe a salsa verde when I’m cooking for anyone but my kids.
- Spices: A bunch of spices go into this dish and really kick up the flavor and make it amazing. The one absolute must for me is using smoked cumin. It adds a lovely smokiness to the dish and it is far and away a step above.
- Spinach (Optional): If you would like to add spinach at the end of the simmer, right before serving, it adds a nice layer of nutrition to the meal.
Equipment needed to make Smokey White Chicken Chili
As with most of the recipes made in my 10×12 kitchen, no special equipment is needed to make this dish. I only have two recommendations:
- Can Opener: A nice can opener is a must if you open even one can per week. Save your fingers and frustration and upgrade.
- Saute Pan: Where most of my magic happens. Our sautee pan is used almost nightly and is my go-to. Having a good sautee pan on hand is a must for me.
Preparation
Preparing the Smokey White Chicken Chili
For this recipe, this section is reserved for those of us with a little more free time to cook better food. If you’re going with short and simple, just open the cans and dice your onion.
Get the chicken breasts cooking. rub with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 30 minutes and remove. Cut into your preferred shape when finished. I like cubed. Add to the pan. The oil and the salt make a downright wonderful combo for super simple chicken breast.
If you are using fresh peppers; wash, halve, and remove seeds. For some added umami, you can blacken the peppers over a gas burner. Place them on the burner on medium-high and watch carefully. Make sure nothing ends up too much in the flame, and it should blacken and bubble within 30-60s. Cool and dice, add to the pan.
IF you are cooking dried beans, add 2 cups of cooked beans and some of that bean juice from cooking them.
Cooking the Smokey White Chicken Chili
Add the onion and oil into the fan over medium-low heat. Cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Hit it with some soy sauce for an added layer of umami.
Dice and Sauté your onion Ready to eat without spinach, or toss some in now. Toss in spinach to wilt at the end, do not over cook.
Chop all the ingredients that need chopping, toss in the pan. If you’re using canned beans, pour off the excess liquid, and toss them in. Stir. Add all of the spices and breath deep the lovely aroma of this chili is almost ready to eat. Stir together and reduce heat to a simmer.
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. In the final 5 minutes, toss in the spinach to wilt if you want. Wilt for 5 minutes and stir to combine.
Smokey White Chicken Chili
Equipment
- Can Opener
- Saute Pan
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cans White Beans 15 oz, drained (or 4c cooked white beans)
- 2 cans Chicken 10 oz, drained. (or 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast)
- 1 can Green Chilis or 3 diced and seeded Jalapeños
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder or 4 minced garlic cloves
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp Smoked Cumin
- 2 tsp Oregano
- 2 tsp Coriander
- ½ tsp Cayenne pepper
- 2 c Spinach Fresh, uncooked
Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion. Over medium-low heat, cook the onion until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the beans (2 cans), chopped chicken, and chilis. Stir and add the remaining spices.
- Simmer 10-15 minutes. Add the spinach to wilt for the last 5 minutes, stiring occasionally.
What ingredients go into white chicken chili?
The ingredients needed for white chicken chili is usually chicken breast, great northern beans or another type of white bean, green chilis, and maybe an onion. Other
Can I scale this up to feed more people?
You can easily double or triple this recipe and make it in the same amount of time. You will however quickly run out of room in the saute pan, so you may need to switch to an instant pot or a big soup pot to accommodate the increased volume of chili.
Does this white bean chili reheat well?
This chili reheats amazingly well by two different methods. First, microwave individual servings in microwave safe bowls in 45 second increments, stirring in between. This avoids splattering your microwave. Alternatively, you could reheat the whole batch in a sauté pan or instant pot, stirring occasionally until heated through.
Can I freeze this white chicken chili for later?
Absolutely. I am always leary of using a ziplock for soups, so I opt for a leftover container and reheat it as mentioned above.
Can white chicken chili be made with dried beans?
White bean chili can be made with dried beans, and it will probably taste better. Going through the process of rinsing, soaking, and cooking beans always pays off big in flavor and texture. However, this process takes a fair amount of planning as even the quick soak method takes a couple hours. Check out this article from Dont Waste the Crumbs for an in-depth look at the process.
Can I make white chicken chili in the crock pot?
Is this chili spicy?
This recipe does not turn out spicy, which makes it perfect for feeding children. You can adjust it to taste with crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne powder, or by adding different peppers instead of green chilis
How do I thicken white chicken chili?
To avoid watery chili, drain all canned ingredients of excess liquid before adding it to the pot. If you need to thicken it, you can use flour, cornstarch, or rice flour if your gluten free. Mix 1 teaspoon at a time with cool water and add it to the chili until thickened to your liking.
Alternatively, you could try stirring in a pureed avocado or a 1/2 cup of sour cream to thicken the consistency of the chili.
Can I make white chicken chili in a dutch oven?
A dutch oven would work wonders to maintain a nice medium heat needed to heat the chili through. As a bonus, the added space of the dutch oven will make wilting in spinache a breeze.
Does this smokey white chicken chili recipe work with Whole30 or Keto diets?
Except for a lot of the ingredients being from a can, you could absolutely use this recipe for both Whole30 and Keto dieting and it would make a spectacularly flavorful meal option.
Pairings
I like to serve this dish with a bread of some sort. Maybe a nice cornbread for soaking up the juices, or an Irish soda bread for dipping. Maybe some biscuits! I really like bread…
As always, please comment below if you end up making this dish and let me know what you think. Hearing that we are helping people eat tastier meals is fuel to keep writing things down and trying new things.
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