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!
WHITE CHICKEN CHILI INGREDIENTS
All you need to make this easy chili recipe! (full measurements and instructions listed in recipe below)
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 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.
Chili Spices: A mix of chili seasoning and spices.
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT WHITE CHICKEN CHILI
Full instructions are included in the recipe 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 CHICKEN CHILI ON THE STOVE TOP?
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!
LET’S TALK TOPPINGS
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 Nova. I've had it for about a year and a half and I love it! It is a 7-in-1 appliance and I use the pressure cooker, saute function and rice cooker the most. It also has the Smart lid which is Instant Pot's newer easy to use seal lid that automatically seals your instant pot when you close the lid. My favorite things to cook in it are of course this dish, sweet potatoes or russet potatoes and rice. It really is a game change for me.
WANT MORE INSTANT POT & SOUP RECIPES
Here are a few more reader favorites!
WATCH ME MAKE IT HERE
INSTANT POT WHITE CHICKEN CHILI
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 small green bell pepper, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 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 diced green chiles
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs (roughly 2 breasts)
- 4 oz cream cheese, regular or dairy-free, broken into small chunks
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- Fresh lime juice
- Fresh chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Finely chop yellow onion, bell pepper and garlic cloves.
- Turn your Instant Pot to saute setting. Add olive oil to the inside of the Instant Pot. Saute onion and bell pepper for 2 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute for additional 30 seconds.
- Turn saute setting off on your Instant Pot.
- Add spices and stir with vegetables. Next add beans, corn, green chiles and chicken broth. Gently stir.
- Lay chicken breast directly on top of beans and veggies. Do not stir chicken with the rest of the mixture. Just lay them on top.
- Add cream cheese chunks to the instant pot last.
- Close the instant pot lid, turn the pressure release valve to sealing and pressure cook for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes is up, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release its steam for 10 minutes then quick release any remaining steam.
- Remove chicken breast from instant pot to a cutting board and shred chicken with two forks. Add chicken back to the chili and stir to combine.
- Stir in fresh lime juice and add fresh chopped cilantro. Add to your serving bowls, top 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.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
Keywords: instant pot, white chicken chili, instant pot chili, chili recipe, instant pot recipe
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.
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.
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Marsha says
That's a great idea!! Thanks for sharing.
Marie Lowry says
Delicious! So fast and easy! Thank you!!!!
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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.
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Marsha says
Hi Marissa! Thanks for trying out my recipe. I'm so glad you enjoyed it!😊