This 5-ingredient white chicken chili recipe is super quick and easy to make, full of great flavor, and always a crowd fave!

After sharing a new recipe for easy (red) chicken chili, I thought I would circle back today to share one of my all-time favorite recipes for easy white chicken chili.
Even better — my favorite easy white chicken chili recipe that is made with just FIVE easy ingredients. ♡
This recipe is as easy as it gets. Simply stir all of the ingredients together, bring the soup to a simmer, ladle it up while it’s nice and hot, then pile on your favorite toppings and enjoy! I’ve probably made this recipe at least a hundred times over the years, and it always has a way of hitting the spot. It also freezes and reheats well if you would like to save the leftovers or make and save a big batch for easy meal prep.
I’m telling you — this recipe is always a winner. Let’s make a batch!

5-Ingredient White Chicken Chili Ingredients:
To make this white chicken chili recipe, you will need the following five ingredients (plus I highly recommend going big on toppings):
- Chicken: Any kind of diced or shredded chicken will do. I typically shred a rotisserie or use leftover frozen chicken from my Instant Pot Shredded Chicken or Baked Chicken Breasts recipe.
- Salsa verde: Either homemade or store-bought, whichever you prefer. I will note that store-bought brands of roasted salsa verde can vary pretty dramatically in terms of heat. So if you prefer a milder soup, I would definitely recommend finding a salsa that is on the milder side.
- Beans: You are welcome to use whatever type of beans you love best for this chicken chili. I typically use white beans (such as Great Northerns), but pinto, garbanzo or black beans would be delicious too.
- Chicken stock: Because this ingredient list is so short, I recommend using a good-quality brand of chicken stock or veggie stock, whichever you prefer.
- Cumin: We will also add in a hint of cumin to the broth to helps round out the seasonings in the salsa verde.
- Toppings: Finally, I recommend using a generous amount of whatever toppings you love best! I almost always add cilantro and fresh avocado to my soup. But a crumble of tortilla chips, diced red or green onions, sour cream, shredded cheese (sharp cheddar, Monterrey Jack or a Mexican-blend), crumbled cotija cheese, and/or sliced jalapeños would also be delicious additions!

How To Make This Soup:
To make this 5-ingredient white chicken chili recipe, simply…
- Combine ingredients. Stir together chicken stock, shredded chicken, beans, salsa and cumin in large stockpot.
- Bring to a simmer. Cook on high heat until the soup reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain the simmer briefly for 5 minutes.
- Serve. Then ladle the soup up into serving bowls, garnished with your favorite toppings.

Possible Variations:
There are so many ways that you could get creative with this soup recipe! For example, feel free to…
- Add extra veggies. If you would like to add some extra veggies to this soup, diced poblano peppers, onions and/or potatoes (feel free to use frozen hash brown potatoes as a shortcut) are some of my other favorite additions.
- Make it in the Crock-Pot or Instant Pot. This soup really just needs to be stirred together and warmed. So feel free to let it simmer on low in the Crock-Pot or use the sauté button on your Instant Pot, if you would prefer to use one of those appliances.
More Favorite Chili Recipes:
Here are a few more of my go-to chili recipes, if you would like to give them a try!
5-Ingredient White Chicken Chili

Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 3 to 4 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 2 (15-ounce) cans beans of your choice, rinsed and drained (I used Great Northern beans)
- 2 cups (16 ounces) salsa verde (store-bought or homemade)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- optional toppings: diced avocado, chopped fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, chopped red or green onions, sour cream, crumbled tortilla chips, fresh jalapeño slices
Instructions
- Combine ingredients. Stir together chicken stock, shredded chicken, beans, salsa and cumin in large stockpot.
- Bring to a simmer. Cook on high heat until the soup reaches a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue simmering for 5 minutes.
- Serve. Serve immediately, garnished with lots of your favorite toppings.
Notes





My fellow volunters and I made this soup for our weekly community (mostly homeless) dinner. We served close to 200 people and everyone LOVED it!!! Our ingredients were whole chickens and dried beans supplied by 2nd Harvest food bank. We also had onions and salsa supplied by Northwest Harvest food bank. We multiplied the ingredients by 10 and had plenty. Success! Will be making the 5 ingredient potato soup soon :). Thank you so much for the great recipes.
That’s amazing Janet, we’re so touched to hear that! Thanks for giving our recipe a try. We’re inspired by this wonderful work you are doing in your community!
Awesome! The salsa verde does the trick! I figure about 200 calories for a generous 1 cup serving!
Awesome, yep!
Could you make this as a freezer meal?
Yes, this will freeze just fine, (just don’t freeze it with the avocado in it)! :) We hope you enjoy!
love this recipe!
It’s healthy , simple, and family and friends love it!
Thanks Nella, we’re happy to hear that! :)
Loved this recipe! I added a can of Rotel, which kicked it up in a great way :)
Awesome Lindsay, we’re so glad you liked it, thanks for letting us know! :)
I was going to snap a photo but the food was devoured too quickly :) This recipe is awesome! I’m vegetarian and so I swapped the broth for vegetable broth and I used soy chicken. So, so delicious!
Haha! We’re so glad you liked it Marisa, thanks for sharing!
This was quick and super yummy! Thank you!
Thanks Ashley, we’re glad to hear you liked it! :)
Just wanted to say I love this recipe! I added a little bit of rice and it soaked up all the chicken broth and it was absolutely excellent. Thank you so much for posting. :)
Thanks Emma, we’re happy to hear that!
Are the beans fir the crockpot recipe supposed to be uncooked ?
Hi Roxy, yes, you use canned beans (so they’re already cooked before you put them in the crockpot). We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Wow! Thank for this recipe! Made it tonight and my husband and I couldn’t stop saying in between bites how good it was! I said I would write this review and thanks!
Thanks Juliane, we’re so glad you and your husband enjoyed this!