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This Dutch oven white chicken chili is creamy, nourishing, and packed with flavor! It’s a fun change from traditional tomato-based chili, but every bit as comforting and filling. Serve it with plenty of toppings for an easy one-pot meal!
White chicken chili has always been one of my very favorite chili variations.
What’s funny is each member of my family feels that way about a different kind of chili! That’s probably why I have so many chili recipes on this site, haha.
My husband and boys love every one of my wild game chilies, like my venison chili and moose chili, and my daughter’s favorite is our ground pork chili. So needless to say, we really like chili around here!
We make it all year round, too, whatever the temperature is outside, and it doesn’t matter one bit whether it’s snowing or ninety degrees!
This one is always fun because it deviates from the classic tomato chili, and the toppings are absolutely delicious.
I serve it with a full spread of cheese, cilantro, lime, chips, and avocado for a ton of added texture, flavor, and color. Just like how I serve my beloved chicken tortilla soup!
It’s creamy, savory, and just the right amount of spicy. I think you’ll understand why it’s my favorite chili variation!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One-pot dish: A good pot of chili is the best meal to fill you up without a bunch of dishes to wash. Everything is cooked in one large Dutch oven, and you can easily serve it without any sides!
- Comforting and delicious: The creamy broth, shredded chicken, and crunchy, flavorful toppings really make this soup something special. It’s a crowd-pleaser every time, even for those who don’t typically like chili!
- Easy dinner: This meal is ready to go in under an hour! It’s easy to get started, and while the chili simmers, you can prep the toppings and clean up the kitchen. This is the perfect weeknight meal!
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: We’ll use pre-cooked, shredded chicken in this chili. This is a great way to use up leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken, but you can also cook up some breasts or thighs and shred them!
- Chicken broth: You can use cartons of store-bought broth, or make your own homemade chicken broth!
- Navy beans: Any white beans will do — I use canned to keep things simple.
- Sour cream: This adds delicious richness to the chili and a little bit of tanginess.
Find the full list of ingredients, with measurements, in the recipe card below!
How to Make White Chicken Chili
Step 1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring now and then, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the onion is soft. Stir in the garlic and cook about 1 minute, just until fragrant.
Step 2. Pour in the chicken broth, then add the shredded chicken, cumin, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 3. Take off the lid and stir in the navy beans and green chiles. Cover and simmer for 10 more minutes, until the carrots are tender. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the sour cream until smooth.
Step 4. Taste for seasonings, then ladle into bowls and pile on your favorite toppings.
Tips + Notes
- I use navy beans in this chili, but great northern beans work just as well, so grab whichever beans you already have in the pantry!
- I like a rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken here because it makes this such a quick dinner; just shred about 2 cups, and you’re good to go. Cooked chicken breasts or thighs work perfectly too!
- I always stir the sour cream in after the pot comes off the heat. That way it’ll stay smooth and creamy. If you like your chili a little thicker, you can mash about a cup of the beans against the side of the pot before the sour cream goes in!
- I keep it mild with the mild green chiles, and it’s still full of flavor. If your family likes more heat, the hot green chiles are an easy swap!
- Leftovers keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. If you are planning on freezing this, hold off on adding the sour cream. Then, once cool, transfer the chili to zippered bags and lay flat to freeze. It’ll keep for up to 3 months, and when you’re ready, just thaw it in the fridge, warm it on the stove, and stir in the sour cream off the heat!
What to Serve with White Chicken Chili
For casual weeknight meals or a quick lunch, I usually serve this white chicken chili with the toppings and nothing else. It is plenty filling on its own, and you certainly won’t feel like the meal is incomplete!
That said, adding sides to a meal is always a fun way to make it a little yummier and stretch your pot of chili further. Besides, it’s hard to pass up the opportunity to enjoy some homemade cast iron cornbread (the ultimate chili side!).
You can also try my freshly milled cornbread recipe — it has jalapeños and cheddar cheese that pair perfectly with the white chili! Or serve it with one of these other easy chili side dishes:
- Warm flour tortillas (you can even make homemade tortillas; so good.)
- Tortilla chips and restaurant-style pico de gallo or guacamole
- Sweet corn muffins
- A Southwestern-style salad
- Cheddar biscuits with freshly milled flour
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can. It’s a great substitute, though a little more tangy than sour cream. Just be sure that the chili is fully off the heat before adding it, because yogurt is even more prone to curdling than sour cream.
I just mash some of the beans against the side of the pot with a spoon to save a dish. If you want, you can also blend one of the cans of beans in a blender before adding them to the chili.
If you don’t have already-cooked chicken, I would recommend poaching some boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs on the stove in water, or right in the broth in step 2 of the recipe. It’s fast and easy, and it keeps the meat really juicy!
Related Recipes
- Quick and Easy Colorado Green Chili
- Soup De Maiz (Mexican Corn Soup)
- Dutch Oven Pizza Soup
- Polish Sauerkraut Soup with Sausage
- Sausage Tortellini Soup
If you tried this Dutch Oven White Chicken Chili or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Dutch Oven White Chicken Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 8 cups chicken broth (two 32 ounce cartons)
- 2 cups cooked chicken shredded
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 2 15.5-ounce cans navy beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 4 -ounce cans chopped mild green chiles
- 1 cup sour cream (230g)
Toppings
- Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Fresh cilantro
- Sliced avocado
- Tortilla chips
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring now and then, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the onion is soft. Stir in the garlic and cook about 1 minute, just until fragrant.
- Pour in the chicken broth, then add the shredded chicken, cumin, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Take off the lid and stir in the navy beans and green chiles. Cover and simmer 10 more minutes, until the carrots are tender.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the sour cream until smooth. Taste for seasonings, then ladle into bowls and pile on your favorite toppings.
Notes
- I use navy beans in this chili, but great northern beans work just as well, so grab whichever beans you already have in the pantry!
- I like a rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken here because it makes this such a quick dinner; just shred about 2 cups, and you’re good to go. Cooked chicken breasts or thighs work perfectly too!
- I always stir the sour cream in after the pot comes off the heat. That way it’ll stay smooth and creamy. If you like your chili a little thicker, you can mash about a cup of the beans against the side of the pot before the sour cream goes in!
- I keep it mild with the mild green chiles, and it’s still full of flavor. If your family likes more heat, the hot green chiles are an easy swap!
- Leftovers keep in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. If you are planning on freezing this, hold off on adding the sour cream. Then, once cool, transfer the chili to zippered bags and lay flat to freeze. It’ll keep for up to 3 months, and when you’re ready, just thaw it in the fridge, warm it on the stove, and stir in the sour cream off the heat!
