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
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
My friend highly recommended this recipe but when I made it last night the broth/stock appeared to separate. Instead of putting in whole chicken breast I cubed it so not sure if it’s just the fat? After cooling it overnight though there isn’t anything to skim on top. Any recommendations on how to bring the stock back together? It’s tasty but just doesn’t look right.
Yes, we think that could just be the fat. If there isn’t anything to skim off the top, we’re not really sure what you could try. We’re glad it tastes good though!
Just made this! I roasted a chicken last night so I could continue the meal today. I also made your salsa Verdi receipe, which made exactly the two cups I needed. The salsa was amazing….I regrettably took the seeds out of my jalapeños before I roasted them for the salsa so it was missing that kick I was looking for so I added a lil cayenne to make up for it. Needless to say this chili is a keeper! Thank you!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Karen!
Our neighbors brought over some of your chicken chili, and WOW, was that good! I added even more salsa verde, as that’s one of my favorite tastes. We were referred here to get your recipe, and I just had to leave the comment that we will be building this often in the future! Thanks for sharing with the world this easy-to-make cold-weather warmer-upper. -Pop-
Thank you for sharing, we’re so happy you enjoyed this!
I have a Christmas Progressive Dinner Party coming up this weekend for 50 people. I’m literally multiplying this recipe by 6. I have 2 large soup bowls so I will be doing 3 times each recipe in each pot. Do you for see any issues or added cook time for this? Also, do you think I should put the cilantro and green onions in the whole time, or later?
How fun! :) We don’t foresee any issues with the cook time, and we would recommend putting the cilantro and green onions on top of each soup serving, just before it’s time to eat. We hope you and your guests enjoy!
How many servings does this make?
Hi Melanie — this makes 2-4 servings (it’s written at the top of the recipe). We hope you enjoy! :)
I made this tonight and it came out extremely salty. Almost inedible. Any tips?
Oh no, we’re so sorry to hear that! That’s really strange, as we’ve never had that experience before. You might want to try a chicken stock with less sodium next time, which should help!
How do you double white chicken chili?
You would just double each recipe ingredient. We hope you enjoy!
I made this in my crockpot today using left over turkey from Thanksgiving. It turned out great. I only wish it were a little thicker, like a typical red chili. The flavor is amazing though.
Instead of the chicken broth, can you use bone broth? I’ve noticed they taste slightly different and wasn’t sure if it would affect the taste and if I would have to do anything to compensate for it. Thanks!
Hi Emily! We havne’t made this with bone broth, so we’re not sure what that would taste like, but you’re welcome to experiment. If you do, let us know how it turns out!
salsa verde! great idea!