This White Chicken Chili is definitely my new favorite recipe! It’s super delicious and full of flavor made with warm chili spices, hearty beans, sautéed vegetables, corn and lots of tender chicken breast! The best part is it's incredibly easy to make in the Instant Pot or you can make it on the stove top! It’s a simple one-pot meal the entire family is sure to love!
Ingredients You'll Need
Here's everything you need to make this easy and super flavorful White Chicken Chili recipe:
- Chicken Breast: Two boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs.
- White Beans: Beans are definitely a star ingredient in chili. I like using Great Northern or Cannellini beans for this recipe.
- Green Chiles: Green chilies are also a key ingredient in white chicken chili. They give this recipe so much flavor and add just a tiny bit of heat. You can find them in the international grocery aisle by the mexican food.
- Corn: I prefer frozen corn but canned corn would work too. Just make sure to drain and rinse the corn well.
- Veggies: Onion, garlic and chopped green bell pepper adds a great flavor base to the chili.
- Cream Cheese: Gives the chili a creamy consistency while also adding even more flavor. Easily make this dairy-free by using dairy-free cream cheese!
- Chicken Broth: Feel free to use regular or low-sodium chicken broth.
- Chili Spices: A simple mix of chili seasoning and spices.
How To Make Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
The full instructions are included in the recipe card below, but here’s a quick overview:
Step One: Finely chop your onion, bell pepper and garlic cloves. Saute all 3 in the instant pot on the saute setting with a little oil for 2-3 minutes.
Step Two: Once vegetables are fragrant and soft, turn the saute setting off. Add the rest of your ingredients including seasoning, beans (drained and rinsed), frozen corn, green chilies, chicken broth, chicken breast and cream cheese broken into small pieces.
Step Three: Close the instant pot lid, turn the pressure release valve to sealing and pressure cook for 20 minutes. If you have a newer Instant Pot like the one I have, then it may come with an automatic sealing valve. Pressure cook for 20 minutes then allow the instant pot to natural release for 10 minutes. After it has naturally released, press the quick release to release any remaining steam/pressure.
Step Four: Open the lid and remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board or plate and shred. Add shredded chicken back to the instant pot and mix with all of the ingredients.
Step Five: Stir in fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro. Mix to make sure all ingredients are combined and cream cheese is fully melted! Top with your favorite toppings then enjoy!
Can I Make This White Chicken Chili On The Stovetop?
Sure! When making any chicken soup or chili on the stop top I prefer to use slow-boiled chicken to get the perfect tender chicken breasts meat. I have perfected the best way to boil boneless skinless chicken breasts, if I do say so myself, using this method.
You can also use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. I love grabbing one of those when I want to make a quick chicken dish, but don't have time to cook my chicken.
Whichever method you choose, go ahead and shred your chicken using two forks or your hands.
In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Saute chopped onions, bell peppers and garlic until fragrant and soft. Next add spices and the rest of your ingredients including beans (drained and rinsed), frozen or canned corn (drained), green chilies, chicken broth, shredded chicken and cream cheese broken into chunks.
Bring chili to a slow boil, then turn heat to medium low and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.
After chili has simmered, add in fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro. Give the mixture a stir to make sure all ingredients are well combined and cream cheese is completely melted. Add to serving bowls and enjoy with your favorite toppings!
Topping Ideas
Any of these toppings will taste great with your white chicken chili!
- Fresh cilantro
- Shredded cheese
- Sour cream
- Green onions
- Ripe Avocado
- Homemade corn tortilla chips
My Instant Pot
I have the Instant Pot Duo. I've had it for several years and I love it! It's a 7-in-1 appliance and I use the pressure cooker, saute function and rice cooker the most. The best things to cook in it (in my opinion) are soups like this Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup, tough cuts of meat, baked potatoes, white rice or brown rice. It really has been a game changer for me!
More Instant Pot and Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Easy Turkey Chili
- Creamy Tortellini Soup
- Instant Pot Southwest Lentils & Rice
- Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tortilla Soup
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 15 oz. cans great northern beans, drained & rinsed
- 10 oz. bag frozen corn
- 4 oz. can diced green chiles
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
- 4 oz. cream cheese, cut into small chunks
- 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot on the sauté setting. Add the olive oil to the inside of the Pot. Sauté the diced onion and bell pepper for 2 minutes. Add the minced garlic and saute for additional 30 seconds. Then turn the sauté setting off.
- Next add the spices (chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and black pepper) and stir with the vegetables. Then add the beans, corn, green chiles and the chicken broth. Gently stir everything together.
- Lay the chicken breasts directly on top of the beans and veggies. Do not stir the chicken with the rest of the mixture at this point. Just lay them on top.
- Now add the cream cheese chunks to the instant pot around the chicken breasts.
- Close the Instant pot lid, seal the pressure release valve, and pressure cook on high for 20 minutes.Â
- After 20 minutes allow the Instant Pot to naturally release its steam for 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining steam.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the Instant pot and shred with two forks. Add the shredded chicken back to the chili mixture and stir to combine. Keep stirring making sure all of the cream cheese is fully melted.
- Now stir in fresh lime juice and add fresh chopped cilantro. Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Notes
- Don't have an Instant Pot? No worries. Stove top instructions are listed above.
- Easily make this dairy-free by using dairy-free cream cheese.
Bonnie says
This was delicious and so flavorful! I added more spices to season it more. I made this with pinto beans that I had just cooked in the pressure cooker the day before, since we had them on hand.
Thank you, I’ll be making this again!
Marsha says
Hi Bonnie, I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Marissa says
I was searching for recipes for white chicken chili yesterday and found the YouTube video of this recipe. It looked so good so I decided to make it. It was delicious! I am definitely keeping this recipe to make again. I love how the cream cheese cooked into the soup without getting the burn notification on the IP. I was a little worried about that but it turned out great. The only thing I would change is to have more broth. I didn’t weigh my chicken and they were large chicken breasts so maybe I used more chicken than the recipe called for. Either way, it was still delicious and that’s an easy fix. I plan to make this again. My whole family loved it and it made enough for leftovers.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’ll look through the others on your site to find more that we would like.
Marsha says
Hi Marissa! Thanks for trying out my recipe. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!😊
Marie Lowry says
Delicious! So fast and easy! Thank you!!!!
Jameson says
This turned out delicious. I recommend marinating your chicken breasts in whatever you like. I used a pre-made marinade from the grocery store. It just builds layers of flavor into the dish. I always find meat cooked in the pressure cooker needs an extra boost of flavor.
Marsha says
That's a great idea!! Thanks for sharing.
Debbie says
Can I use frozen chicken?
Marsha says
Hi Debbie, I actually haven't tried this recipe with frozen chicken. You may just have to increase the cook time by a few minutes.