Chicken Chili is the ultimate cozy comfort food and a recipe you’ll have on repeat in Fall. Tender shredded chicken simmered in a creamy and hearty base is so inviting, especially topped with cheese that melts into the hot chili. It also reheats well so it’s a great make-ahead recipe for meal prep.
We love Chicken chili and we’ve made every variation from Crockpot Chicken Chili to Instant Pot Chicken Chili which produces the most tender chicken. Whichever is your favorite cooking method, this recipe is a crowd-pleaser.
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Chicken Chili Video Tutorial
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Ingredients for Chicken Chili
- Chicken – we use 2 large chicken breasts, but you can sub with leftover roast chicken or storebought rotisserie
- Onion – yellow or sweet onion work great
- Chicken broth – use any kind of chicken stock or bone broth or make your own with water and bouillon
- White beans – try any kind of white beans such as cannelloni, Great Northern, or Navy beans (avoid garbanzo beans). Canned is so easy, but you can also use home-cooked beans
- Corn – drained can of whole kernel corn
- Rotel tomatoes – use a 10 oz can with the juice
- Spices – chili powder and cumin make this mildly smoky and spicy.
- Ranch mix – this is the secret ingredient to add a ton of flavor. Ranch dip or dressing mix packets range from 0.4 oz to 1.5 oz, depending on the brand, but it should be enough powder to make 2 cups of ranch.
- Cream cheese – regular full-fat will give the chili a creamy consistency
- Lime juice – squeezing fresh lime adds a zesty twist
Pro Tip: To save time, use leftover cooked chicken breast or use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Chili is the best way to repurpose leftover chicken and it never tastes like leftovers.
How to Make Chicken Chili
- Saute onion – heat oil in a dutch oven pot and sautee onion 5 minutes.
- Make chili base – add broth, rinsed beans, drained corn, Rotel tomatoes with their juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and the ranch packet.
- Add chicken – submerge chicken breasts in liquid, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes until chicken is tender.
- Shred chicken – transfer chicken to a plate and shred with forks into bite-sized pieces.
- Finish chili – add cream cheese pieces, and lime juice and simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken back to the pot, bring to a simmer and season to taste.
Common Questions
You can easily substitute with a cooked rotisserie chicken, just shred the chicken and add it to the pot when you would normally add the shredded chicken back into the chili. Chicken tenders would also work well.
If you prefer a thicker chili, you can leave the lid uncovered during the 20 minute cook time to allow more of the steam to escape.
This chili is very mild. To make it spicier, you can add more chili powder.
You can slow cook chili, letting it putter away in a crockpot for several hours. We have print-friendly instructions for Slow Cooker Chicken Chili.
Lucky for you, we’ve already tested this and posted a tutorial for Instant Pot Chicken Chili. It’s super fast and the chicken becomes super tender.
Serve with
We love to serve this as a main course paired with:
- Instant Pot Baked Potato or Air Fryer Baked Potato
- Tortilla chips
- Diced avocados
- Fresh chopped cilantro
- Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
- Lime wedges to squeeze over chili
There are so many ways to dress up a bowl of White Chicken Chili. Let me know about your favorite toppings in the comments below.
More Easy Dinner Ideas
If you’re looking for simple, family-approved recipes to add to your regular rotation, here are some of our top-rated dinner ideas.
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Easy Stovetop Turkey Chili
- Sloppy Joe Recipe
- Lemon Chicken
- Meatloaf with the Best Glaze
Easy White Chicken Chili (Stovetop Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 cups chicken broth , or stock
- 30 oz canned white beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 oz can corn, drained
- 10 oz can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilis, with juice
- 1 tsp chili powder, (use 1/2 for mild chili)
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1.5 oz packet ranch dip mix, *
- 2 chicken breasts
- 8 oz cream cheese, cut into cubes
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Heat a 6 quart enamel coated dutch oven pot over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes until softened.
- Add chicken broth, drained white beans, drained corn, Rotel tomatoes with juice. Season with chili powder, cumin, 1 tsp salt and ranch packet. Stir to combine.
- Add 2 chicken breasts and submerge in liquid. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer partially covered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is tender and easy to shred.
- Remove chicken to a bowl and shred with forks into bite-sized pieces.
- Add diced cream cheese, lime juice and stir to combine. Continue simmering for 5 minutes or until cream cheese is incorporated. Add more lime juice to taste, and season with another 1/2 tsp salt or add salt to taste. Simmer another 3 minutes or until chili reaches your desired thickness. It will thicken more as it cools.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Absolutely love this recipe, I have tried several times to dice the onion as you demonstrated, but have failed. (big smile)
Hi Kent! That’s so great to hear. Thank you for the feedback.
Does this do well cooked in a slow cooker and using rotisserie chicken?
Hi Judi, I address under the common questions of the recipe post. I hope that section helps!
Natasha! You just won the chili cook-off at Blue Ridge Community Church’s annual Fall campout, 2024! Good work and thanks a bunch for this Easy Chicken Chili recipe 😉
Hi Alyson! That’s awesome. Thanks so much for the update.
This was so yummy! It was rich, creamy and flavorful. I’ll definitely be making this again, especially on cold winter nights.
Every time I made this chicken chili, everybody loves it! Thank you Natasha. I’m a big fan. I cooked and baked with your recipes all the time. Continue success ❤️
This is one the family go to recipes. Super Yummy! One of the favourites. thank-you Natasha!!
You’re very welcome, Liz!
One of my favorites, and I have tried many Natasha recipes!!!
Aww, that’s so great! I’m so happy to hear that, Kathryn!
Wow. This is good! I made the recipe exactly as written except that I omitted the 1 tsp salt and used rotisserie chicken to save time. Maybe use low sodium chicken broth to have more control over the salt level? I only had LS broth on hand and, with all of the salt from the store-bought chicken, ranch seasoning packets, creamed cheese and canned goods, the chili was perfect without any additional seasoning necessary. Definitely a keeper!
Sure, feel free to do that. Great to hear that you enjoyed our Easy Chicken Chili recipe!
As all your recipes this is a crowd pleaser. I made this yesterday and my family love it!! I bought your cookbook before Christmas. Thank-you Natasha.
Thank you! I’m so happy to hear that.
Have made this a coupl times very very good. Last time I made i cut the chicken into small bite size pieces before cooking then didn’t have to take it out and shreds. Cooked quicker too.
Sounds great! Nice to know that you liked our Easy Chicken Chilli recipe!
Would whipped cream cheese be better to use? I find it hard to desolve.
I haven’t tested using whipped, feel free to experiment.
This chili recipe is my favorite! EVERY time I’ve made it for guests or potlucks, I’ve gotten requests for the recipe. It’s that good! I’ve also made the crockpot version of this recipe and it is excellent as well!
That’s great to hear, Rhonda! Thank you for the feedback.
That’s wonderful to hear! Thank you for your great comments and feedback.
I have made this same recipe but I have never used ranch or cream cheese in it. Can you tell me what this does to the recipe and does it change the taste, if so in what way.
Hi Regina! The ranch is the secret ingredient to add a ton of flavor. The cream cheese will give the chili a creamy consistency.
Absolutely delicious. Nice and spicy. I used ground chicken instead. Delicious.
Hi Wanda! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. Thank you for the feedback.
Is there something I can use other than powdered Ranch. I hate the stuff.
Hi Linda, I wish I had an answer for you on a substitute. Of course, you can try ranch out of the bottle, but I haven’t tried it myself to advise.
Thank you, I’m your biggest fan and have been for a very long time. Just waiting for my cookbook.
Best Regards to you and your sweet family.
Hi Linda! I use Liptons Onion Soup mix and it turns out great))
Pretty close to Tortilla soup. Didn’t use hardly any salt but was really salty. I added some heavy cream. Better. Prefer the tortilla version.
Love everything from you.
Less salt here for sure
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Cindy!
This is absolutely delicious- and easy! I’ve made it twice already. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad to hear that.
Can chicken thighs be used instead of chicken breasts? Do you think the flavor would be the same?
Hi Susan, we prefer it with chicken breast, but one of my readers mentioned successfully trying it with 1.5 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs since that is all they had on hand. I hope you love this recipe!
Made this yesterday and it was fabulous. Will definitely make this again.
Good to know that you loved this recipe, Kathleen!
First time I made this recipe, and it was soo yummy! Definitely saving it. Except I didn’t have chicken breast, I browned three skin-on bone-in thighs and followed rest of the recipe with 1 tblsp chili and 4oz cream cheese.
Good to hear that you love this recipe, Dee!