This quick white chicken chili recipe is all about achieving a velvety texture and deep flavor with minimal ingredients. Our trick? Smash a portion of the beans against the soup pot with the back of a spoon, and eke out big flavor from ground chicken, warming spices, and canned green chiles.
You can use any variety of canned white beans for this recipe—or even a combination—but you’ll get the best texture from Great Northern beans or navy beans. Cannellini beans (a.k.a. white kidney beans) have firmer skins and won’t break down as easily into the broth. For the chicken, we prefer using ground dark meat for this recipe, which has more flavor than white meat and is easier to manage (plus, often cheaper) than a rotisserie chicken or otherwise cooked and shredded chicken parts would.
No bowl of chili is complete without a host of garnishes. But for this recipe, we say skip the shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese and tortilla chips and stick with our picks: a dollop of sour cream, a smattering of corn chips (we think Fritos are the GOAT), a squeeze of lime juice, and some chopped fresh cilantro. That said, we wouldn’t deny you if you decided to ladle the chili over a slice of skillet cornbread to really just gild the lily.
What you’ll need
Dutch Oven
$90 At Amazon
Wooden Spoon
$9 At Amazon
Can Opener
$20 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
40 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Heat 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter and 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high until butter is melted. Cook 1 medium onion, finely chopped, and 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 4–6 minutes. Add 1 lb. ground chicken, preferably dark meat, 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, 1 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. ground cumin, and ½ tsp. ground coriander; season with freshly ground pepper. Cook, stirring often and breaking up chicken with a wooden spoon, until combined and chicken is no longer pink, 3–4 minutes. Add two 4-oz. cans diced green chiles and cook, stirring often and continuing to break up chicken, until chicken is cooked through, 2–3 minutes.
Step 2
Add two 15.5-oz. cans white beans, rinsed, and 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally and mashing some of the beans with spoon, until flavors are melded and chili is slightly thickened, 8–10 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Step 3
Divide chili among bowls and top with sliced avocado, sour cream, cilantro leaves, sliced jalapeños, and corn chips. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.
Recipe notes
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