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.
Delicious! I’ve used your recipe several times. My mate thinks this is the best chili ever! It’s so easy to make. I use rotisserie chicken to make it even easier. Thank you for sharing☺️
I am about to try this. It looks amazing!!! Question.:.do you drain your canned beans before putting them in?
Can you use black beans instead of white beans in this recipe?
You could try it. It will taste different, but we do love black beans. Let me know if you do and how it turns out.
Do you drain the cans of beans?
You do not have to drain the beans.
Hi. I like this recipe. If you had to do without the cilantro…. and still make this stew, what would you use? I have searched for substitutions, but i would not know how to measure or ratio some of the things suggested for a substitution for cilantro. Maybe just skip it altogether? I want something yummy with navy beans and I know I’m on the right track with this white chili recipe. Thank you.
Just leave it out. If you like parsley, try adding some if you’d like.
I made this recipe with some fresh chicken wings I had extra from a case. It was delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Can this be made in the slow cooker
It really needs to be made stove top. Once put together it could be transfered to a slow cooker to be kept warm until ready to serve.
This is a delicious recipe. I love the flavor. i made it twice. Once I used sauteed chicken thighs and last night I used rotisserie chicken. Both ways are wonderful.
The spices and the amounts are perfect. For tonight I will add just a squeeze of lime. Just a bit. Also, I baked some toasted cheesy garlic bread instead of cornbread. Thank you for taking the time to publish this recipe. This will be made often. No matter the season.
I made the broth from scratch as well as the beans. Next time I’ll use the canned as the beans were very mushy, having been cooked in the crockpot way too long. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs and they were very tender. It sounds healthy to make things from scratch, but next time I’ll follow the instructions verbatim. Flavor was amazing, though!