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!
Great recipe but I definitely recommend using only 4 cups of chicken stock and one extra cup of chicken and two extra can of beans to make it more like a Chili consistency because it will come out very soupy like if you don’t green onions and cilantro was very good as a topping cheese makes it very good if you sprinkle it all over
Love love love this recipe!
For frugality I used dried beans (1 heaping cup) hydrated them for 4 hours, cooked them for 50 minutes in water. Then changed the water out for 4c chicken stock, added the chicken, cooked that for about 10m, shredded it, added it back with the rest of the ingredients. I agree it didn’t need the extra 2c stock, but it was really delicious! Would definitely make again! Next time might add some limes and maybe more chicken and beans! Excellent, and easy.
Love this. I make it often.
Very easy to make and tasty, too! I used the slow cooker but will try it on the stove next time.
A coworker brought me some Mexican limes. I added a squirt to my leftovers. Easy six ingredient chili was good, too!
I would second the suggestions to reduce the stock or add more chicken.
I enjoy your site and recipes. Some beautiful food photography! I like this simplified recipe. I did make a slurry mash of 1/2c of beans (in food processor) to help thicken the soup more to chili texture. I ended up adding a lot more cumin and salt. but I think that’s due to my broth was fairly watered down. This is a good base recipe and allows for more customization (like spicier peppers, etc) as desired.
I have made this in slow cooker and instant pot. It is great. But if you are using already cooked canned beans, decrease the chicken broth to 4 cups or it’s too watery. I add sour cream, cheese, avocados, green onion and tortilla chips when I am ready to eat. Yum!
Delicious & so easy! The whole family loves it!
Very flavorful! Will make again. Especially yummy with added cheese and GF tortilla chips. My 1.5 year old loved it!
Just tried this recipe for dinner and it was delicious and just “off the charts Delicious”!
Thanks so very much.
I’ve been making this soup on a regular basis for awhile now. I’ve made it for my parents and for me and my boyfriend. I usually make it in the slow cooker, with chicken thighs, and with Herdez medium salsa verde. Everyone loves it. Thanks so much for grabbing my attention with these great pics of the soup! Yummm!