Tricia’s White Chicken Chili
I’ve been making this White Chicken Chili for years. It’s creamy and full of flavor. A tried and true favorite.
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WHITE CHICKEN CHILI
It was 88 degrees on Halloween. John said he feels like we’re faking the holidays around here because it feels like summer year round. I love the heat but I miss making the warm comfort food on cold winter days. So screw it…I’m making it anyway.
This recipe was given to me a couple of years ago by my friend Tricia who’s basically good at everything she does, especially cooking. My mom makes this all the time back home and just made it for her annual Halloween party. Always a hit!
Don’t try counting calories on this one…
As Paula Deen says, “I’m not your nurse, I’m your cook!”
I also have this Easy White Chicken Chili that is no work at all!
OTHER SOUP RECIPES
- Healthy Vegetable Chicken Soup
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Soup
- Cauliflower Soup
- Easy Tomato Soup
- Creamy Chicken Potato soup
- Lasagna Soup
- Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 cup butter
- 4 cups half and half
- 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
- 4 cans white beans, navy, great northern, or garbanzo, drained and rinsed
- 2-3 4 oz cans chopped green chilies
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and sliced into small pieces
- 2 cups grated Monterrey Jack cheese
- 1-2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce
- 1-2 teaspoons of chili powder, depending how spicy you want it
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 cup sour cream, optional
Instructions
- Cook onion and garlic in a couple tablespoons of butter until soft, not brown. Set aside. Make a roux by melting the butter and whisking the 1/2 cup of flour in. Boil for 3 minutes stirring constantly. Add the onion and garlic to the roux.
- Add the half and half and chicken broth. Simmer 3 minutes or until thick.
- Pour mixture into a crockpot then add the white beans, chilies, chicken, cheese, Tabasco sauce, chili powder, and cumin.
- Cook 60 minutes in the slow cooker (or longer if needed). Right before serving add salt and pepper to taste and sour cream (optional). Garnish with cilantro.
Notes
I have a 2, 4,and 7yo and a “can sometimes be” picky husband……alllll five of us ate our entire bowls for dinner!!!!! Soo good!!! We love soooo many things from your site!!! Love love love you!! Just wish you had nutrition facts. I add your recipes to fitness pal and figure out how many servings etc, just a pain 🤣
I’m slowly adding all the nutrition facts. I will add it to this one right now!! Glad you liked it.
How long do you cook this in the crockpot? It says pour into the crockpot and simmer for 20 min. I’m assuming the simmering is only on the stove. Please revise what the cooking time is for the crockpot. Would love to cook this during the day while at work.
Yes, the mixture just needs to warm in the crockpot so how ever long that takes.
How long should you be cooking for and is this all on the stove or in a crock pot? It sounds delicious, and I’d love to make it!
this is all done on the stove. Cooking time is in the instructions.
A warm and hearty chili at the end of a cold day! I used Earth Balance Buttery Spread and fat-free half & half, and reduced the cheese to 1 cup of reduced-fat mozzarella because I already had it on hand. The chill was still luxuriously creamy and tasted decadent, even with those substitutions. I added 1 cup of chopped fresh spinach to increase the nutrient content. My husband had 2 bowls of this chili even after coming home from a dinner meeting. Next time, I’ll add lime zest and white corn kernels, and I’ll serve it with cornbread.
What beans tasted the best for anyone with this recipe?
@Anonymous,
I tried it last year and it was okay for a while in the crock pot but started to get kind of grainy after a while. I’m not sure. Maybe it was a fluke. I might try it again.
Christy if you add the half and half and the cheese 20 min before you serve the chili then it shouldn’t be grainy. When milk or dairy products come to a boil, the solids and fats separate and you get that grainy look. I’ve always been told never to boil milk, cream or half and half. Try that and see how it comes out in the crock pot just have it on med to med low heat. Hope this helps?
Do you think you could put in it the crockpot for a few hours after you make it?
@kevin,
You are right. No need. Just a recipe from a friend so I kept her instructions.
Sounds good but why on earth would you put in a crockpot and simmer 20 minutes? When I try I will will leave in a big pan and just keep cooking… the slow cooker will take that long at least to heat up.
Thanks! We had this tonight and we loved it! I will definitely be adding this to our fall and winter meal rotation.
@Kristen,
Sorry, this is an old recipe and I didn’t realize it said cubes. Yes, one cube is equal to 1/2 cup of butter. I changed the recipe above.
I am wanting to make this for supper tonight…what exactly is a “cube” of butter? Is one cube equal to a stick/half cup? Or do you mean a cube as in a square hunk of butter (about 1-2 Tablespoons)? Thanks!
I made this a couple of weeks ago and thought it was good but super rich. I made a variation of it tonight and it was still fabulous…but maybe ten calories less. Ha ha. I didn’t use as much half and half but substituted water. Then I added additional water so that it was more like a cream soup rather than chili. I loved it. Another couple additions were kale (cook this with the garlic and onions) and bacon. Wowsa! The kale added color and a couple vitamins. Using more water cut calories and made the richness delightful rather than overwhelming.
Thank you for teaching me how to make a roux…after reading that and saying, “huh?” I went to wikipedia to fill in the holes of my understanding. What a great tool for any cream sauce.
this is the best white chili i have EVER had!!! i took it to a church function and it was the only crockpot that was completely EMPTY! thanks so much for sharing!!!
I just made this for dinner tonight. My husband and I were just blown away by how delicious it was!
I just ate this at my sisters house last week…for the first time! It is delish. Thanks for giving me good ideas and recipes for dinner. Love this blog.