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





I love this recipe. I made it once with ground turkey instead of chicken and it was also very tasty. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Awesome Marie, we’re glad you like it!:D
O my….it is so …AMAZING & EASY, and Yes the Secret Ingredient is the :Salsa Verde…
I can’t believe what an Amazing Great Tasting, Chili this is….with a Little Kick…
I absolutely Love It!
We’re so glad you like it Linda! :)
Does someone happen to have the nutritional information for this?
THANK YOU!
Hi Antoinette, unfortunately we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
Made this soup tonight. Fabulous! Easy and quick, full of flavor and healthy! Will make it often in the cold months. Thanks so much for posting this recipe!
Yay, we’re so happy to hear that Heather, thank you for sharing! :)
Is there a brand of salsa verse you recommend?
Oooh yes, I love Herdez!
Salsa verde–you are brilliant! It added so much taste! Thanks for sharing!
You’re very welcome Becca, we’re glad you enjoyed this!
this soup was absolutely delicious!!!!!!
Thanks Melissa, we’re so glad you enjoyed it!
Chicken Chili is one of my new favorite things to eat. I had never tried it until very recently and fell in love. Fortunately you suggest using the Salsa Verde store bought because without that awesome tip I’d not be making this. I just don’t have the time or the patience to make it home made. I will try this very soon, can’t wait!
Awesome Susie, we hope you enjoy this! :)
This was a big hit with my family. It turned out awesome and will be one of our favorite recipes. Thanks so much for sharing it.
You’re so welcome Kathy, we’re really happy to hear that! :D
This was so delicious and easy to make! I made the crockpot version and wasn’t sure how the flavor would turn out with so few ingredients, but it was fabulous! Even my picky 6 year old daughter gobbled it up! My husband and I both had seconds! I’ll definitely be making this again!
That’s wonderful Sandy, we’re glad to hear that!