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!
Make this even simpler and buy a rotisserie chicken (probably less than buying chicken breats and you get more protein out of it) take the skin off and get all the meat off and chop, this speeds up the process, I always make it in the crockpot! <3 cilantro and avacado are a must with this!
Omg, Ali!! Your recipe for Easy 5 Ingredient White Chicken Chili is awesome! So simple, so easy, so yummy! I love White Bean Chicken Chili and have made both in the crockpot and stove top but this recipe was even better than those. I will definetly make this again and again. I used Desert Pepper Salsa Verde and that was a delicious decision. Eventually, I’ll make your homemade version. Thanks so much for sharing. I enjoy your blog.
This was easy and very good – especially with the addition of the avacado and cilantro. I could not find salsa verde in our local grocery store, and planned on making this recipe on a day that I didn’t have time to make it from scratch, so I used a couple of different, very fresh tomato based salsas, and it turned out great! Thanks!
I made this last night for my fiance and I and it was amazing! So easy to make after a long day of work, and just really hearty and delicious. I bought a rotisserie chicken, used Herdez salsa verde and topped with with cilantro, avocado, sour cream, a little bit of jack cheese and crumbled tortilla chips. I did use a bit less chicken broth, as I wanted it to be a little bit thicker. Great recipe!
I appreciated the simplicity of this recipe. When I made it, I found that it either needed a bit less broth or another can of beans to fill out the soup more. Adding avocado and fresh cilantro really made the dish.
Great recipe. I added roasted chopped poblanos and diced carrots. I took about a cup of broth and a scant cup of beans and puréed them- a trick I learned from cooks illustrated to make the base a bit creamier.
I made the recipe vegetarian (substituted with vegetable broth and shrimp) and it was delicious! Was also great for a gal on a college budget! ;)
Sounds so yummy. Thanks for that recipe!
Just a couple things – First, I doubled it for our family of 6 based off of the servings listed (2-4) I now have a complete batch left over (which isn’t really a bad thing since it is so yummy) Second, I made it exactly as the recipe instructed and it had way too much liquid – to help thicken it up I added one cup of dry rice and let it cook for 25 more minutes. Everyone loved it. Thanks for the easy gluten free recipe!
I guessed the secret ingredient to your white chicken chil!! I am so smart! And your blog is so deliciously wonderful! And, yes, you are right on time for these hearty warm soups and chilis. We are getting pretty chilly here in Maine, and, for me, it means bringing out those savory kicky Southwest flavors! Can’t wait to try the potato soup, and will probably add a little corn as is so loved in our state (6 ingredients-shhhhh!) Thank you and please keep them coming!