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!
Would you happen to have the nutritional information for this recipe? It’s absolutely delicious!!
My husband and I love it! We have also made it for family and friends and it has been a hit. The only change we make is that if were using Medium Salsa Verde we cut back a little on the cumin, but that’s our preference.
Simply delicious! This is brilliant! Extremely simple weeknight dinner! We cooked chicken in a large saucepan, chunked it (our preference), and threw everything else in; one skillet meal! We used a very low sodium chicken broth and low sodium beans for an overall lower sodium version, and the salsa verde truly made the meal! We topped ours with avocado, which was also a fantastic addition!
My family loves this recipe!! Thank you for sharing!!
I love this recipe! It’s my go to for weeknight dinner and for when I have last minute guests! So quick and delicious.
Wow! I just made this and I’m very impressed. It’s delicious! I like anything that is easy to make by buying a few simple ingredients.
I used chicken thighs, bc they are cheap and flavorful, and made it in my crockpot. After about four hours I removed the thighs, discarded the skin and bones and shredded the meat, then returned the meat back to the pot and added the beans to cook a bit.
Fantastic!
It had great flavor and even though I saw the picture.. I guess I was expecting a more chili like texture. I’m not real a big fan of a lot of broth in my soup so next time I’ll use less broth & a can or two more of beans. It is a great 15 min meal!
Hi there! I was just wondering how spicy this dish is…i’ll be feeding a 6-year-old and a one-year-old, and i’m wondering if 2 cups of salsa verde might make this a little too much for them. Would it be possible to leave it out? Or is there anything I can substitute with if it’s necessary for texture? I’m so excited to try this!!
Salsa verde is very mild, tangy from tomatillos. Trader Joe’s makes a great one.
Loved it something different and also made 3 cheese quelliaillas with it. Will make it again especially for the winter season. Thank you for the recipe.
I just made this I used a store brought rotisserie added onion and garlic off the hook it’s a must have recipe. Thank you so much.