White Bean Chicken Chili Recipe
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This white bean chicken chili recipe is hearty, full of flavor, and a nice change from the regular tomato-based chilis. It’s a delicious soup made with white beans, chicken, and a tasty blend of seasonings that is sure to please.
The past two weeks I’ve shared recipes using black beans: Black Bean Dip and Black Bean Hummus. I’m switching over to the great northern bean, for use in this White Bean Chicken Chili recipe. You could certainly substitute cannellini or navy beans. This chili has become a family favorite over the past year. It was inspired by Paula Dean’s White Bean Chili recipe, but since first making it, I’ve deviated a bit and have come up with my own plan of attack.
That’s the beauty with chilis, soups or stews – you can use what you have, add to or take away, to make it your own. So don’t get hung up on exacts. If you only have three cans of beans, go for it. Is a half a pound of chicken the only thing you can scrounge up? Make it work! It’s not an exact science like baking.
As I see it, it’s similar to that old saying “as long as you have gas in the tank you’re not lost.” So as far as cooking goes, as long as the pot’s hot, keep going until you get what you like. You can always find a way to rescue it or head in another direction if it’s not to your liking. Who knows, you may invent a new favorite recipe along the way.
How To Make This White Bean Chicken Chili Recipe
- Add the chicken broth and beans to a large pot and bring them to a boil.
- Add all the seasonings, lower the heat to medium and let everything simmer.
- In a separate saute pan heat olive oil and add the chicken. Sauté chicken for 3-5 minutes then transfer the chicken to the pot.
- In the same saute pan, add the onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Sauté until everything has softened, about 5 minutes. Add fresh chopped cilantro and saute for a few seconds. Add everything to the large pot.
- Simmer the chili for at least 30 more minutes or until ready to serve. To thicken the mixture mash some of the beans using a potato masher.
A few White Bean Chicken Chili Recipe Notes
- Other than starting with the chicken stock and beans, all other ingredients can be added in whatever order.
- If your chicken isn’t thawed, proceed with the onion, garlic and so on. When chicken is thawed, saute it and add to the pot of chili to finish simmering.
- Also, I’ve made this chili with and without the cilantro. My daughter isn’t a big cilantro fan… yet! It’s yummy both ways. To me the cilantro gives it more umph, but I do like cilantro. If you’re not a fan of cilantro, leave it out.
Looking for more delicious soup and chili recipes? Be sure to check these out:
- Coconut Chicken Soup Recipe
- Poblano White Bean Chili Recipe
- Instant Pot Award Winning Chili Recipe from Sweet Basil
- Buffalo Chicken Chili
White Bean Chicken Chili Recipe
White Bean Chicken Chili
A delicious soup made with white beans, chicken and a tasty blend of seasonings.
Ingredients
- 7 cups chicken broth
- 4 – 15.8 ounce cans of Bush's Beans great northern beans (cannellini or navy beans could be substituted)
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (or ground cayenne pepper)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 1 1/4 pound chicken breast, cubed
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon jalapeno, chopped (about one jalapeno)
- 1 cup cilantro leaves, packed
Instructions
In a large stock pot bring chicken broth and beans to a boil.
Add all seasonings (parsley, cumin, oregano, paprika, red pepper, black pepper, salt). Reduce heat to medium and let simmer.
In a saute pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and saute about 3-5 minutes then add chicken to the large pot.
In saute pan heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and jalapeno and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.
Rough chop 1/2 cup of cilantro and add to pan with the onion, garlic and jalapeno mixture. Saute for a few seconds then add all to pot.
Let chili simmer at least another 30 minutes, but the longer, the better. To thicken up chili a little use a potato masher to mash some of the beans up. A few mashes should do the trick. You could do this before adding the chicken if the beans are nice and soft.
Before serving, add the rest of cilantro.
(Don’t forget the cornbread!)
Notes
Adapted from Paula Dean’s White Bean Chili.
I found this recipe about 2 months ago, I have made it 5 times since. My family loves it, and I love it because it is so easy to make and it tastes so extravagant. Definitley my favorite recipe.
I am so glad! It is one of our very favorites too. I’m even thinking about making a batch for our next tailgating.
I rarely ‘review’ but I feel compelled to say, this is AMAZING! I made a huge batch for a party while a friend made tomato-based chili. Mine was completely gone while she had leftovers! I used navy beans from a bag and boiled them with the chicken broth for about an hour. Then I added them to the crock pot with the other ingredients and simmered for another 5 hours. I left out the cilantro but stuck to the rest of the ingredients. Thanks for the recipe and the beautiful presentation!
So glad to hear it! It is really one of our most frequently made soups during the colder months. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
This looked so good and easy. I made it but used what I had in the pantry. I also scaled it down for just me. I used 1 can of low-sodium Bushes great northern beans (liquid and all) and boxed chicken stock. I added enough chicken stock to make it brothy. I also used dehydrated onion, garlic, and jalapeno since that was all I had. I didn’t have ground red pepper so I used red pepper flakes. I also had some purdue short cuts chicken in the freezer and used that. I am in the ‘I hate cilantro’ camp, so I left that out. Everything else was exactly as written – including the paprika. I simply put everything into a pot and brought it to simmer. It must have taken about 5 minutes to put it all together and another 15 minutes on simmer. It was wonderful! I enjoyed this for dinner with garlic bread and again for lunch the next day. Believe me, I will be making this many times! Thank you.
I do appreciate how quick this one is to make. We had guest over Saturday night and I made a large batch of this in no time.
Okay I am glad to hear that you left the cilantro out with no problems. I like how you were able to mix and match according to the items on hand in your pantry and freezer. ! I already posted the question about leaving out the cilantro in the recipe and then thought I’d browse more of the comments on the older pages. Thanks. (not a cilantro fan either) heehee!
I made this chili last night and it is delicious! It was a little too soupy so I had some left over mashed potatoes and I added those to thicken it up. so good. I’ll be making this again real soon.
Glad you enjoyed it, Cheryl! You could also add more white beans, then mash them up in the bottom of the pot using a potato masher or flat bottom heavy glass.
I found this recipe today and I made this recipe today. It is delicious and has a flavor unlike anything I have ever tasted. I love the warmth of the chili. I made mine a little “soupier” because I like alot of broth. Best new dish I have made in awhile. Thank you!
Just wanted to say thank you for this recipe! It has become my go-to cold weather weekend meal! Especially love it using some leftover smoked chicken. We’ve even made it in a dutch oven over a campfire as a great warm-the-soul meal to feed our family, friends, and occasional neighbor-camper. Love it…making some now!!!
How many does this recipe serve?
I would say at least four
I made this, this evening, after eating something similar from EarthFare last week. I added a bit more chicken to it, and used my homemade broth; I also used a mixture of coconut and olive oil. I’ve just realized that I forgot to add the cilantro, though. Oops. It’s still really nice. I’ve had two cups so far.
Been making this for years. The last 10 min or so I add shredded monterary jacks cheese,makes it sooo yummy!
Oh my goodness, that sounds delicious, Kelly!
Made this tonight! Delicious! More of a soup than chili. But made Kruteaz honey corn bread. Dipped it in, omg, so delicious! Next time more chicken and beans or less broth. Anyway, flavor was yummy!!!!
26 pages to get a chili recipe is ridiculous, i had to hand wright it thank u……
There is a small print button in the recipe box that allows you to print the recipe only, which should only be 1 or 2 pages.
Is the oregano dried or fresh? Thank you very much – I can’t wait to try this recipe – it looks delicious!
It is dried, but you may use fresh. I would use 3 times as much if using fresh.
Made about a half-recipe with a little added celery and carrots! I used some dried red chilis because my store was out of jalapeños. My husband loves it! Thanks!
This looks really good, I’m going to make it soon.
Just thought I’d let you know, about your daughter and cilantro, it’s actually a DNA thing.
You either like it or hate it. It’s true!
Anyways, I love your website!
Cheers.
This chili is awesome!! I used shredded chicken from a crockpot, and sautéed the onion mix with the spices. So good and the house smelled amazing too. Going into the rotation.
I added some chicken bouillon powder to taste and reduced the amount of broth. Delicious!
I made this with a few substitutions that were a little more to my taste (though the base recipe is very good!). First I added a full teaspoon of cayenne. Secondly instead of the jalapeño I added two small cans of green chiles. Also I used ground turkey instead of whole chicken pieces. Overall this made for a more traditional chili texture with a bit more heat!
You forgot to add some beer.
Great recipe. I used ground turkey instead of chicken, and I added celery and a little coriander. Came out awesome. Thanks for the recipe!
Made this chili LOVE IT. I don’t like corn bread(I know it’s a sin!) I use crushed corn chips, chopped onions and super sharp cheddar shredded on top of all. Cooked chili in crock pot, low for 8 hrs. Put toppings on and broiled til cheese got a little crusty. YUMMY!Jeanne and
I’ve been making this soup for several years and feel I ought to leave a review! It is one of our favorites. I love that it is more broth based and not as much cream based. Thanks for a delicious family favorite!
Thank you for letting me know, Laurel. It’s one of our all-time favorites too.