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!
Very good chili even the kids liked it I cut back on chicken broth to 4 cups put cheese and tortilla strips on top a Squirt lime in it
Honestly didn’t think this would turn out great but was feeling too lazy to make my regular long recipe(olgas white chicken chili recipe) I COULD NOT BELIEVE HOW EASY, CHEAP AND GOOOOOOOOD THIS WAS!!!! I won’t bother with any others from now on! Thanks so much for sharing this!! Its all about making life easier when you’re pregnant, over 40 and have 5 hungry kids and a hangry hubby already lol. You’re a lifesaver!
Solid recipe. I agree with others that it only needed 4 cups of stock. I am thinking I will add a 4 oz. can of diced chiles next time for a little more heat.
This is chicken tortilla soup. Not white chicken Chile. Very good though.
This was delicious! My picky 12-year-old daughter said she would like me to give her the recipe so she can share with her kids when she’s older. LOL – Super quick and easy. Definitely going into the rotation. Thank you!!
Making this soup for the first time. We are not a spicy family ;-). Any substitute suggestions for the salsa verde? Thanks!
Sometimes recipes claim to be easier than they really are. This is not the case here. The flavor quotient to the amount of effort to make this recipe is off the charts. It’s a great way to repurpose leftover chicken breasts. If you are running tight on time, this is a hearty, satisfying meal that can be prepared in the same amount of time it takes to chop the ingredients. I got lucky and found a very good salsa verde which helped huge on the flavor. Leftover, it was even better!
I used the mild salsa verde. Little to no spice level..
This was sooooo good! Yum!!! I did make a few changes… To start I sautéed finely sliced leek, celery & cubanelle pepper. I served with rice.
Absolutely delicious!!! ?????
Very good but I made some tweaks. Lots of freshly squeezed lime juice. 4 cups chicken broth and 2 cups veggie stock. Chopped baby potatoes. Let it simmer for about an hour.
How long does this last in the fridge?
I added a few more ingredients but this was a good base.