WOAH! This White Chicken Chili is done in less than an hour start to finish in the Instant Pot with melt-in your mouth tender chicken. It’s one of our favorite instant pot recipes! Just stir everything together, top with cream cheese and set for 20 minutes. So EASY!!
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Instant Pot White Chicken Chili!
We love chili around here including this hearty beef chili and easy turkey chili. It’s wonderful to have quick homemade meals like this in your pocket for busy weeknights. The instant pot makes it faster than ever to enjoy a piping hot bowl of white bean chicken chili in no time!
Ingredients for White Chicken Chili:
We have made this recipe healthier over the years by using organic produce and non-bpa lined cans. You can absolutely use home-cooked beans, or your own bone broth and freshly boiled corn on the cob (if using fresh corn from the cob, use 1 cup of chicken broth instead of 1/2 to compensate for the lost liquid).
*What Size Ranch Dressing Mix Should I Use?
Various ranch mix brands come in different sizes. It should be enough to make 16 oz of dressing or dip per the package instructions.
- Hidden Valley brand ranch packets come in a more concentrated 0.4 oz packet yielding 2 cups ranch.
- Simply Organic ranch dip used here came in a 1.5 oz packet which also yields 2 cups ranch dip.
How to Use an Instant Pot:
**CAUTION: If you are new to using the pressure cooker, always read the instruction manual and safety warnings for your machine as various brands or even models might have a different process and settings for use.
Pour yourself a cup of coffee and call on your inner nerd to read through the instructions. Instant pots are fabulous tools for speedy cooking, but they have to be used properly.
How to Make White Chicken Chili:
Step 1: Combine everything in your Instant Pot and stir together
Step 2: Top with cream cheese and set on manual high pressure for 20 minutes. It will warm up, cook 20 minutes then let it naturally depressurize 10 minutes.
Step 3: Remove chicken and shred then put it back and stir everything together.
The shredded chicken absorbs the liquid and because super juicy and melt-in-your-mouth tender. Instant pot chicken is the only way to get super tender chicken this fast!
How to Serve White Chicken Chili:
White chicken chili can be served over baked potatoes or as an appetizer with tortilla chips. Garnish with:
- Avocado
- Cilantro
- Shredded Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Jalapeños
Instant Pot Recipes You’ll Make Over and Over:
- Chicken Bone Broth – the best way to make bone broth!
- Instant Pot Beef Plov – a flavorful one-pot rice pilaf
- Dulce De Leche – unbelievably fast in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Beets – blazing fast and so flavorful
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for White Chicken Chili:
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 oz can white beans, drained
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 15 oz can corn with juice
- 10 oz can Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilis , (with their juice)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth or stock
- 1 tsp chili powder, or to taste
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 0.4 oz packet ranch dip or dressing mix*
- 8 oz package cream cheese, cut into 6 pieces
Optional Toppings and Serving Suggestions:
- 1/2 cup chopped Cilantro, for garnish
- 1 avocado, diced, for garnish
- Tortilla chips or baked potatoes to serve
Instructions
- Place all of your ingredients into your instant pot bowl in the following order: 2 chicken breasts, drained black and white beans, chopped onion, corn with juice, tomatoes with juice, and 1/2 cup chicken broth.
- Add 1/2 to 1 tsp chili powder (use 1/2 tsp to make it kid friendly), 1 tsp cumin, ranch packet. Stir everything to combine, getting some of the juice under the chicken to keep it from scorching.
- Cut cream cheese into 6 pieces and place over the top of chili. Cover and seal with lid, switch the valve to the "sealing" position and cook for 20 min on manual high pressure. Once it is done cooking, let it naturally depressurize for 10 min then switch the valve to the "venting" position to completely release steam before opening lid.**
- Remove the chicken breasts to a plate and shred apart with 2 forks. Stir everything together in the pot to melt the cream cheese into the chili then return the shredded chicken and stir to combine. Serve garnished with avocado and cilantro if desired.
Notes
**CAUTION: If you are new to using a pressure cooker, always read your instruction manual prior to use.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Q: What is YOUR favorite way to use an Instant Pot? If you were to name 1 recipe that makes owning an instant pot worthwhile, what would it be?
This is SO delicious! Plus easy to make. I used two frozen chicken breasts and they came out really tender and shredded easily. Didn’t have canned corn so I replaced with Trader Joes fire roasted frozen corn, a can of diced tomatoes and a can of chopped green chilis (didn’t have Rotel) and increased the amount of chicken broth. My two boys and husband said “keeper recipe, mom!” They loved it. Thanks!
This was delicious and the timing was about an hour in my 8 qt instant pot from total start to total finish. I added more liquid as I wanted more of a soupy finish. I got 3 quarts of soup/stew.
Love this recipe for many reasons, mainly because it is one of my husbands favorites. 🙂 It is easy to make, no exotic spices and it is versatile. You can spoon it over rice(we use only brown), mix it in egg noodles or just as it is. The only thing I change at times is the type of corn I use. Trader Joe’s has an amazing corn dip that I add about 1/2 a jar at the beginning along with the other ingredients. The other half of the jar goes on the table for those wanting more heat.
Can this be frozen for later use, or will it affect the cream cheese?
I imagine that will be fine. Make sure to allow the chili to cool to room temperature before freezing and place it in an airtight container.
I’ve been making this for years, and I always add rainbow bell peppers. I also double the recipe in my huge pot and add 1/2 gallon broth- otherwise it’s much too thick and pretty solid!
Delicious and super easy! 😋
My chicken breasts were semi frozen. I did not adjust the cooking time. They were cooked perfectly.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Donna!
Delicious and super easy! 😋
My chicken breasts were semi frozen. I did not adjust the cooking time. They were cooked perfectly.
I’m so happy you loved them, Donna!
I can not in good faith recommend this recipe. There was no flavor at all. I had my doubts when seeing the amount of chili powder and lack of salsa, jalapeños but trusted the numerous five star reviews. I was led astray. The recipe turned out but is extremely bland. I am gonna need to doctor it up to go through these leftovers.
Hi Casey, this has been a popular recipe and it definitely should not be bland. Did you change anything in the recipe that could have watered it down? Did you possibly start with frozen chicken or under-season?
I have made this most delicious chicken recipe several times. I give it to all of my family and friends. It is always perfect and moist!
That’s great to hear, Beckie!
Make this all the time. It’s a family fav. I put tri-color corn chips on top. Do you think it is possible to make with frozen chicken breasts?
Hi LaDean, I bet that could work! I saw someone else shared this in the comments below the recipe “It was a hit! I only had frozen chicken breast, so I adjusted the time to 30 minutes as suggested in previous comments. The chicken came out extremely tender and took no effort at all to shred.” I hope that helps.
I absolutely love this recipe. We make it at least once a month since discovered quite a while ago. Thank you so much for sharing this!!! Even my husband likes it and he complains about most things……with cream cheese, lol.
You’re so welcome, Kendra! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve been making this recipe about once a month ever since I discovered it. Love how quick and easy it is, and despite the cream cheese 🙂 is healthy with beans and veggies. I sometimes add chopped carrots and/or peppers. Instead of Rotel I use a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes and a can of diced green chilies. I bought a big package of ranch dressing mix and use a food scale to measure out 0.4 oz. We always top with cilantro, and those who like heat add hot sauce.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Ellee!
Okay, but kinda left a weird coating on the top of my mouth.
HI Victoria. I didn’t notice that before – did it possibly sit in the instant pot for too long after it was done? Overcooking could negatively affect the texture.
This is THE BEST recipe!! But if I want to double it, should I increase any of the cooking times?
Hi Anne, I suspect you would need a larger sized instant pot. I haven’t tested this as a double batch but if you are using a larger instant pot size, it may be the same timing. One of our readers reported great results using an 8qt instant pot for a double batch but she didn’t report increasing the time.
Love this recipe! Do I need a longer cook time if I use chicken thighs instead of breasts? Thanks so much!
Hi Erika, this recipe works great with thighs. I didn’t have to adjust the time for it when I tested it.
I have tasted many different recipes, but I have never found a chili that I liked until l tasted this recipe. The BEST chili ever.
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Love!
Just finished making this chili and only substitute canned corn for frozen corn. It was delicious in my opinion. Salt and pepper to taste and you got yourself an easy meal for any of the week. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Quick question-if we don’t really like corn nor the ranch dressing-what could I used as substitutes?
Hi Magda, I have not tried any substitutions to advise.
Awesome awesome awesome, every time. Have made it over and over. It’s a favorite for sure. Thanks for sharing it!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Katie!
This recipe is so delicious and super easy to make. Our favorite white chili recipe. Thank you Natasha. I do love all your recipes that I have made so far.
I’m so glad you’re loving it, Maureen!
I’m counting calories. It would be very helpful to know how much is the actual “serving size” in this and other recipes. ie 1 cup?
Thanks
Hi Juliane, on this recipe, we have (1 cup) listed under the servings in the recipe card.