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–+ servings
Whi

White Chicken Chili

This White Chicken Chili is hearty, warming, creamy and perfectly comforting. It's a great alternative to traditional beef chili and makes a simple, yet completely delicious dinner! Makes about 8 cups.
Servings: 6 servings
Prep15 minutes
Cook35 minutes
Ready in: 50 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 small yellow onion , diced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic , finely minced
  • 2 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 (7 oz) can diced green chilies
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
  • 1 (8 oz) pkg Neufchatel cheese (aka light cream cheese), cut into small cubes
  • 1 1/4 cup frozen or fresh corn
  • 2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded cooked rotisserie or left-over chicken*
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
  • Tortilla chips or strips, monterrey jack cheese, sliced avocado for serving (optional)

Instructions

  • Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute 4 minutes minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer.
  • Add chicken broth, green chilies, cumin, paprika, oregano, coriander, cayenne pepper and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture just to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes.
  • Drain and rinse beans in a fine mesh strainer or colander then measure out 1 cup. Set whole beans aside, transfer 1 cup beans to a food processor along with 1/4 cup broth from soup, puree until nearly smooth**.
  • Add Neufchatel cheese to soup along with corn, whole beans and pureed beans and stir well. Simmer 5 - 10 minutes longer.
  • Stir in chicken, fresh lime juice and cilantro. Serve with Monterrey Jack cheese, more cilantro, avocado slices and tortilla chips if desired.

Notes

  • *Recipe updated to use pre-cooked shredded chicken (previously used raw chicken in this recipe and cooked at the beginning). I like the flavor of rotisserie chicken better plus this way you don't end with over-cooked chicken breasts.
  • **If you don't own a food processor you can skip the pureeing step, soup just won't be quite as creamy.