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This simple one pot Creamy White Chicken Chili is the perfect bowl to warm up to on a cold fall/winter day. Made with poblano peppers, jalapeños (for just the right amount of heat), and shredded chicken. It’s spicy, creamy and so delicious. Top each bowl of chili with plenty of cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro, and avocado too. Great on its own, but even better with a side of homemade beer bread.
If there’s one recipe my cousin Abby asks me to make every fall it’s a white chicken chili. Well, white chicken chili and a classic chicken noodle soup. I took care of the chicken noodle soup back in October so I figured it was time to cross the white chicken chili off the list too.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, Abby loves soup!
For the longest time I wasn’t on the “white chicken chili” train, but I’ve changed my tune. I can’t say that I really think of this as chili though. Chili to me is always red and tomato-based. This is more like a creamy chicken soup with yummy spices and lots of poblano peppers.
However you look at it, it’s delicious. And such a nice bowl to warm up to on cold fall/winter nights.
This chili is pretty simple, here are the steps
What’s great about this chili is how quick and easy it is. You can choose to make it in one pot in less than an hour on the stove. Or cook it low and slow in the crockpot.
Start by cooking up the onion and vegetables until they smell fragrant. Then toss the chicken in spices for added flavor, then add it to the pot.
Pour in the broth and simply let the chicken simmer until it’s cooked through and shreds easily.
While the chicken is cooking, take the cream cheese and melt it in the microwave. The cream cheese is what makes this a creamy chili. You only need a little, but it really makes the chili just that much more delicious.
Once the chicken is cooked, pull it out and shred it.
Next stir the cream cheese into the chili and finish it up with that shredded chicken and some white beans. Oh, and a small handful of cheddar cheese too!
One more thing…the toppings.
Guys, the toppings are the real secret here. Most chili is delicious, but what makes a chili recipe over the top good are really yummy toppings. So you have to do them all!
I layer as follows: a thick layer of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, a dollop of yogurt, sliced avocados, then sprinkle on lots of fresh cilantro and green onions too.
And lastly, I love beer bread on the side for dipping, it’s a chili must. For a second I contemplated using tortilla chips instead. But this just needs a good simple slice of warm homemade beer bread. It’s delish.
And guys, that’s pretty much it for this one. Simple as can be, but every spoonful is so delicious. Think a little spicy, a touch creamy, filled with chicken, peppers, cheese, and all those toppings. I love a simple November dinner when the days are busy and the nights are cold!
Looking for other fall dinners with a little kick? Here are a few ideas:
Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey and White Bean Chili
Healthy Slow Cooker Chipotle Bean Chili
One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake
Healthy Chipotle Chicken Sweet Potato Skins
Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup with Salty Lime Chips
Lastly, if you make this Creamy White Chicken Chili be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Check out the how-to video:
Creamy White Chicken Chili
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 547 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
- 1 jalapeño, seeded, if desired and chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken breasts or thighs
- 4-6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 can white beans, drained
- 1/2 cup salsa verde
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- avocado, cheddar cheese, and yogurt, for serving
- lime zest and juice, for serving
Instructions
Stove
- 1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, poblano peppers, cumin, paprika, chili powder, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook 5-10 minutes, until very fragrant. Add the chicken, then stir in 4 cups broth. Season with more salt and pepper. Partially cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.2. Melt the cream cheese in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. 3. Pull the chicken out and shred using 2 forks. Stir in the cream cheese until smooth, then stir in the shredded chicken, white beans, salsa verde, and cheddar cheese. Cook 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. If needed, thin with additional broth. 4. Ladle the chili into bowls. Top, as desired, with yogurt/sour cream, cheese, avocado, cilantro, and green onions. Zest lime over each bowl. Eat and enjoy!
Slow Cooker
- 1. In the bowl of your crockpot, combine the onion, garlic, poblano peppers, cumin, paprika, and chili powder. Add the chicken, then stir in 4 cups broth and cream cheese. Season with salt and pepper. 2. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4-5 hours.3. Shred the chicken using two forks. Stir in the white beans, salsa verde, cheddar, and cilantro.4. Ladle the chili into bowls. Top, as desired, with yogurt/sour cream, cheese, avocado, cilantro, and green onions. Zest lime over each bowl. Eat and enjoy!
This post was originally published on November 11, 2021
This was phenomenal, got raves from the whole family! Made in the InstantPot – Followed directions for Step 1 of Stove method above, but instead sauteed onions, garlic, peppers, and spices in IP for 5 min. Then added chicken, broth, salt & pepper. Sealed IP and cooked 15 min, manual release. Removed chicken and shredded. Then picked up the recipe starting with Step 2 Stove method above, with IP on Sautee mode while adding all final ingredients. This will be on regular rotation in our house! xo
Hi Margee,
Wonderful! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xTieghan
We made this using our leftover turkey and turkey broth from Thanksgiving. We also used fresno peppers because the jalapeños at City Market weren’t the best, and we added in a can of roasted corn. Best White Chili I’ve ever had. Thank you!
Hey Conner,
Wonderful! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xTieghan
This was good, but we needed to add like double the seasoning. It just came out very bland at first so I doubled the amount of salsa verde and added additional seasonings.
Hey Ninia,
So sorry to hear this, thanks for giving the recipe a try! xTieghan
Made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS!
Hey Kerita,
I love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan
Made this tonight in my Instant Pot, and it turned out great! Since there weren’t Instant Pot instructions, I decided to kind of combine it with some other recipes I found online.
I added black beans and pinto beans in addition to great northern white beans. I did fire roasted corn instead of tomatoes because I don’t love tomatoes, and I also added a small can of mild hatch chilis. I only did 3 cups of broth both based on comments about the consistency and because I had 3 cups leftover from a previous recipe and didn’t want to open a new container just for one cup. 4 cups probably would have been better with all of the things I added, but I still liked it a lot and it had a very chili-like consistency this way! And finally I added a ranch seasoning packet just because one of the online recipes I combined with had that and it sounded like a good idea!
I cooked on high pressure for 15 minutes to get the chicken super tender and used my KitchenAid mixer to shred the chicken! It turned out fantastic! I’ll definitely be making this again. I also made the beer bread to go with it and loved that too!
Hey Katie,
I love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you. xTieghan
I just made this tonight and it got the full stamp of approval! So delicious. I made it exactly as posted and wouldn’t change a thing. Not too spicy, even though I added a seeded jalapeno. Thank you so much for this!
Hi Jane,
I love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan
Wow. I had to leave out the peppers and salsa verde since me and my three toddlers are whimps, I added some corn for crunch and wow it was a hit for everyone!
Hey Treva,
I love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan
This was delicious! So easy and great for a weeknight meal
Hi Elizabeth,
I love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan
Made this today, had to sub regular salsa for the verde but it was insanely good! Typical Tiegan, never disappoints!!
Hi Lena,
I love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan
It had a nice flavor. The chicken was tough and the broth seemed too loose for a chili.
Hi Angela,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, white chicken chili is not meant to be as thick as a classic chili:) xTieghan
This was fantastic! I used 4c of broth and a 19oz can of white kidney beans I had on hand. My grocery store had no poblano peppers so I used a yellow pepper and added a bit of heat with some cayenne pepper instead of the jalapeno. The flavours were incredible!! I’d like to try it using poblano peppers next time. I had no trouble melting the cream cheese. This is going to become a regular thing in our house!
Hi Cheri,
I love to hear that you liked this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan, my store doesn’t have salsa verde, what do you recommend as a sub?
Hey Danielle,
I would try making your own (I have a recipe in the HBH Cookbook) or checking another grocery store, salsa verde is a pretty common grocery store product. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Thank you!! I couldn’t find it at aldi but was able to find it at target. So glad I did because this recipe was so freaking good!! I didn’t have poblanos so I used one yellow and one green bell pepper. Will definitely be making this one again.
Hey Danielle,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Made this tonight and it was delicious and so comforting! Didn’t have pablano peppers so I just used one jalapeño, though I could’ve used 2 but I was afraid of it being too spicy. I also had a tricky time getting the cream cheese to melt, so I just used my immersion blender before adding the chicken etc… Love this, will definitely be making it again. It was so easy and quick too!
Hey Judy,
Fantastic! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Have the best week:) xTieghan
Another winner. So flavourful yet so simple. The peppers and spices make this dish, along with the creamy cheeses and avocados. Chicken chili on a rainy cold November night, nothing better.
Hey Kealy,
Fantastic! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Have the best week:) xTieghan
This turned out really well! So easy to put together! We served with jalapeño cornbread.
Hi! What should I use if I don’t have cream cheese? Can I omit?
Thanks!
Hi Anastasia,
The cream cheese adds a creaminess to the chili, I would use something in it’s place like more cream or sour cream. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try! xTieghan
Hey Amanda,
Fantastic! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Have the best week:) xTieghan