This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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):
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!
This delicious and easy white chicken chili recipe can be made with just 5 ingredients in 15 minutes!
Ingredients
Scale
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
Chicken: 4 cups shredded chicken is equivalent to approximately 2 medium-sized boneless skinless chicken breasts. I often shred a rotisserie chicken for this recipe, or use leftover chicken from my Baked Chicken Breasts or Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipes.
The chili and salsa verde recipe are fantastic! It’s CSA season so we threw in a ton of greens (chard, spinach, kale) so it wouldn’t go to waste. Can’t wait to eat it again for lunch today. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I made this a few nights ago and the flovor was wonderfull. I think its more of a soup than a chili because it doesn’t have the thicker texture that I associate with chili. If I make this again I will cut down on the chicken broth.
I just finished a bowl of this and had to come straight here to comment…this was seriously SO delicious. I know I’m years late so I hope this still gets to you, but I ate until I was stuffed and then went back for more! The only change besides halving the recipe (husband is deployed overseas so I’m only cooking for one) is that I used a lemon pepper rotisserie chicken which only added to the flavor. I put a dollop of sour cream, 1/4 avocado and a pinch of cheddar cheese. Seriously excellent.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
That’s wonderful, Megan, that makes us so happy! : )
I recommend Greek yogurt as an optional topping. It was so good! It is like a soup but I put more beans (I like a lot of beans) and put it over rice and that made it seem more like chili to me. Thanks for the recipe!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you, Christina, we’re so glad you enjoyed it!
Just made this tonight and it is delicious! I was worried that the flavor would be lacking but the salsa verde gives it the right kick. my add-ins were avocado, a dollop of greek yogurt and a sprinkling of grated cheddar. I made this in the crockpot (too hot for the stove right now) and only tweaked one part: adding the beans in the last 30 min of cooking instead of at the beginning.
Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you, Laurel! We’re glad you enjoyed it, and we love your take on it. Thanks for sharing!
I agree…definitely more of a soup than a chili, but very yummy. I added zucchini and spinach, still topped with avocado and cheese and loved it! I’ve made it for two gluten intolerant friends with great success.
This sounds amazing. Where can I find the pre-made salsa verde? And do you add the avocados and green onions after once its already cooked? So excited to try.
I just made this soup/chili tonight and it was so good I almost cried in the kitchen. Kudos to you for this recipe. I’m reading through the comments now to see the variety of toppings that everyone has been putting into this pot but seriously, this recipe made me really really happy tonight. The flavor is just so amazing and it was super easy to make too. Thank you so much!! You made my day :)
P/s: What’s the font that you used for the website and the comments section? I’m loving it. It’s so cute!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
That’s such a high compliment, thank you! We’re so happy to hear that you loved it so much!
Hands down my new favorite dinner. Does anyone by chance know the calorie count for this?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Tabitha, we’re so happy you like it! Unfortunately we do not know the calorie content in this, but feel free to try My Fitness Pal — a lot of our readers tend to like that for configuring calories.
Wow! Thank for this recipe! Made it tonight and my husband and I couldn’t stop saying in between bites how good it was! I said I would write this review and thanks!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Juliane, we’re so glad you and your husband enjoyed this!
Just wanted to say I love this recipe! I added a little bit of rice and it soaked up all the chicken broth and it was absolutely excellent. Thank you so much for posting. :)
I was going to snap a photo but the food was devoured too quickly :) This recipe is awesome! I’m vegetarian and so I swapped the broth for vegetable broth and I used soy chicken. So, so delicious!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Haha! We’re so glad you liked it Marisa, thanks for sharing!
My fellow volunters and I made this soup for our weekly community (mostly homeless) dinner. We served close to 200 people and everyone LOVED it!!! Our ingredients were whole chickens and dried beans supplied by 2nd Harvest food bank. We also had onions and salsa supplied by Northwest Harvest food bank. We multiplied the ingredients by 10 and had plenty. Success! Will be making the 5 ingredient potato soup soon :). Thank you so much for the great recipes.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
That’s amazing Janet, we’re so touched to hear that! Thanks for giving our recipe a try. We’re inspired by this wonderful work you are doing in your community!
This was so delicious and easy to make! I made the crockpot version and wasn’t sure how the flavor would turn out with so few ingredients, but it was fabulous! Even my picky 6 year old daughter gobbled it up! My husband and I both had seconds! I’ll definitely be making this again!
Chicken Chili is one of my new favorite things to eat. I had never tried it until very recently and fell in love. Fortunately you suggest using the Salsa Verde store bought because without that awesome tip I’d not be making this. I just don’t have the time or the patience to make it home made. I will try this very soon, can’t wait!
Made this soup tonight. Fabulous! Easy and quick, full of flavor and healthy! Will make it often in the cold months. Thanks so much for posting this recipe!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Yay, we’re so happy to hear that Heather, thank you for sharing! :)
Does someone happen to have the nutritional information for this?
THANK YOU!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Antoinette, unfortunately we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
O my….it is so …AMAZING & EASY, and Yes the Secret Ingredient is the :Salsa Verde…
I can’t believe what an Amazing Great Tasting, Chili this is….with a Little Kick…
I absolutely Love It!
I’ve got the 5 ingredient white chicken chili simmering now. Super easy and super smart to use that salsa verde in there! I LOVE salsa verde! This tastes super yummy, thank you!
For slowcooker recipe, can chicken be frozen to start?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Heather, unfortunately no. It’s really dangerous to use frozen ingredients in a slow cooker/crockpot – especially meats. You can use frozen chicken, but it must be thawed properly first. Putting frozen meat in directly will keep your meat in the danger zone (40°F – 140°F) for too long, encouraging harmful bacteria.
These soups looks so good! I will be making the White Chicken Chili today for a last minute family gathering. I needed something easy, delicious and super fast! Thanks for sharing!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Christy, we hope you and your family enjoy it! :)
I just wanted to chime in to say that you can absolutely use frozen meat in the crockpot- I do it all the time and see it recommended on several cooking websites. I find that using frozen chicken breasts to start keep the texture better than if you start with fresh ones which often get mushy with prolonged simmering. The temp in the crockpot will eventually reach boiling killing any bacteria anyway.
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Sara, that’s good to know you’ve had good results with using frozen meat in the crockpot. We have done it before too, and it definitely works, but it’s a safety issue. After doing much research on crockpot cooking, just about every source we read says it’s a big “no no.” Again, not because it doesn’t work, but because it’s riskier safety-wise. Harmful bacteria can contaminate the meat before it reaches a safe temperature. There are still a number of recipes out there that call for it, we just personally don’t recommend it.
Hi, I made the 5 ingredient white chicken chili last night and it was terrific! I agree it could be more of a soup but it was terrific and so quick to make because I cook tons of chicken, shred and then vacuum seal them in 1 lbs bags! The only extra I added was Jalapeno strips for a topping but I could see the possibilities with this one! Thank you!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing Jeanette, we’re happy you enjoyed it! :)
We’re sorry to hear you didn’t care for this Alexis, we hope you can add more seasoning to taste, or that you’re able to find another recipe that you like!
This sounds almost too good to be true! But love the simplicity of just 5 ingredients. I’ll be making this tomorrow for my daughter and her fiance. They were in a car accident on Christmas day, and have limited mobility right now, and this sounds like something that they can easily just heat up by the bow as needed. I had 2 questions I’d like to ask. 1. Is there a particular of salsa verde that you prefer to use? and 2. How do you think it would be if made with ground chicken instead of shredded?
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Lora! We’re so sorry your daughter and her fiancé were in a car accident, that’s so upsetting! :( We like the Frontera brand, and while we think you could probably use ground chicken, we think the shredded would definitely be better. We hope they get well soon, and we hope they enjoy the chili!
I loved this recipe, but made a few modifications. I added an extra can of beans, and made a 5 tbsp. butter/5 tbsp. flour roux to thicken it up. Very hearty and delicious!
I was impressed with the Herdez salsa verde. We live in Texas, so I was apprehensive to use something out of the jar, but it was wonderful! Thanks! :)
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing with us Amanda, we’re happy you enjoyed this! :)
This was absolutely amazing. I did all of the fixings: sour cream, chips, cheese and avocado and it was a HUGE hit for my husband and my stepson. Even my 1 year old loved it! Only one question.. My stepson said it was too “spicy” (but I added a lot of sour cream and cheese to tone it down) Was it the cumin or the salsa verde I used? Just wondering which one to change up next time. Thank you!!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Sarah, we’re so happy you and your family enjoyed this! Hmmm, we’re not really sure why your stepson found it spicy, because cumin doesn’t contain any heat and salsa verde is generally pretty mild. Maybe you could try less salsa verde next time?
Does anyone know the nutritional info on this chili? I am super excited to make it, but would like to know calories, carbs, etc… :-)
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hey Joie! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. The reason we aren’t publishing nutrition facts on the site is the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I just found this recipe a couple of months ago and I love it! I’ve made it several times since then. The only thing I’ve tried to modify is to have a greater proportion of solids to liquids. I’ve tried adding an extra can of beans, chopped onions, and diced green chiles. I’ve considered adding rice or quinoa. Have you ever tried that and do you think it would work well? (I always use the crock pot version by the way.)
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks Jennifer, we’re glad to hear that! We think quinoa would be an AWESOME addition to this! We would make the quinoa on the stovetop (according to the package instructions), then just mix it into the chili before serving. We hope you enjoy!
Made this tonight for a group of 10 unique people. One is a Chinese chef. They all loved it! And they all went back for seconds! Huge complement! I seasoned my chicken with chicken rub, hungaren pepricka, s&p and small amount of shallot vinegar. Put a pat of butter in the stockpot and cooked the chicken. Let set and pulled apart. added all the the ingredients to the stock I used to cook the chicken. Found the salsa verde in the salsa isle. Toppings I used were cubed avocado and vine tomatoes. Shredding monetary and cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips (south of the border) and fresh cilantro. Big hit! Thank you for such a great recipe!!! Will use again and again. New favorite, so easy!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing Lori, we’re so happy it was a hit! :D
Hi there! The 5-ingredient white chicken chili sounds SO good! I’m about to start prepping a bunch of meals to freeze for when my first baby is born in a few weeks, and I was wondering if you think I could just dump the ingredients raw (including raw chicken) into a ziploc bag or container, and then just thaw overnight before putting it all in the crockpot to cook for the day? I would make sure the chicken is fully thawed before starting it in the crockpot. Would love to hear what you think! Thanks!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thank you Tiffany, and congrats on being a new mom, that’s amazing! :D And yes, we think all of that would be fine! We hope you enjoy!
This is simmering on my stove right now. It smells absolutely out of this world. I got ambitious and tried your recipe for salsa verde, but didn’t have a mortar and pestle so I just chopped everything up and threw it in. The 5 ingredient part of the soup was super easy, I might give myself a break next time and buy a jar of salsa verde. I chopped up some avocado and cilantro, and got some tortilla chips and shredded cheese. Can’t wait till the boyfriend gets home from work to get his reaction!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Thanks for sharing Carly, we hope you and your boyfriend love it! :D
Ok, so I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to cooking (I’m really bad at it!), so I don’t know how to figure out how many chicken breasts I need for the slow cooker method. I know you said 4 cups, but how many breasts would that be? TIA!
Hayley @ Gimme Some Oven —
Hi Danielle! No worries, but if you look at at the “slow cooker method” in the recipe instructions, it says 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts – you should be able to get about 4 cups of chicken from those. We hope you enjoy this! :)
The chili and salsa verde recipe are fantastic! It’s CSA season so we threw in a ton of greens (chard, spinach, kale) so it wouldn’t go to waste. Can’t wait to eat it again for lunch today. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thank you, we’re so glad you liked them! : )
I made this a few nights ago and the flovor was wonderfull. I think its more of a soup than a chili because it doesn’t have the thicker texture that I associate with chili. If I make this again I will cut down on the chicken broth.
We’re glad you liked it, Kimmie!
I just finished a bowl of this and had to come straight here to comment…this was seriously SO delicious. I know I’m years late so I hope this still gets to you, but I ate until I was stuffed and then went back for more! The only change besides halving the recipe (husband is deployed overseas so I’m only cooking for one) is that I used a lemon pepper rotisserie chicken which only added to the flavor. I put a dollop of sour cream, 1/4 avocado and a pinch of cheddar cheese. Seriously excellent.
That’s wonderful, Megan, that makes us so happy! : )
I recommend Greek yogurt as an optional topping. It was so good! It is like a soup but I put more beans (I like a lot of beans) and put it over rice and that made it seem more like chili to me. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you, Christina, we’re so glad you enjoyed it!
Just made this tonight and it is delicious! I was worried that the flavor would be lacking but the salsa verde gives it the right kick. my add-ins were avocado, a dollop of greek yogurt and a sprinkling of grated cheddar. I made this in the crockpot (too hot for the stove right now) and only tweaked one part: adding the beans in the last 30 min of cooking instead of at the beginning.
Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes!
Thank you, Laurel! We’re glad you enjoyed it, and we love your take on it. Thanks for sharing!
I agree…definitely more of a soup than a chili, but very yummy. I added zucchini and spinach, still topped with avocado and cheese and loved it! I’ve made it for two gluten intolerant friends with great success.
Thanks, Rachel, we’re glad you liked it!
This sounds amazing. Where can I find the pre-made salsa verde? And do you add the avocados and green onions after once its already cooked? So excited to try.
Most grocery stores sell pre-made salsa verde now. And yep, I just added the avocado and green onions as a garnish while serving the hot soup.
I just made this soup/chili tonight and it was so good I almost cried in the kitchen. Kudos to you for this recipe. I’m reading through the comments now to see the variety of toppings that everyone has been putting into this pot but seriously, this recipe made me really really happy tonight. The flavor is just so amazing and it was super easy to make too. Thank you so much!! You made my day :)
P/s: What’s the font that you used for the website and the comments section? I’m loving it. It’s so cute!
That’s such a high compliment, thank you! We’re so happy to hear that you loved it so much!
Can you freeze leftovers?
Yes, you can! : )
Hands down my new favorite dinner. Does anyone by chance know the calorie count for this?
Thanks Tabitha, we’re so happy you like it! Unfortunately we do not know the calorie content in this, but feel free to try My Fitness Pal — a lot of our readers tend to like that for configuring calories.
Wow! Thank for this recipe! Made it tonight and my husband and I couldn’t stop saying in between bites how good it was! I said I would write this review and thanks!
Thanks Juliane, we’re so glad you and your husband enjoyed this!
Are the beans fir the crockpot recipe supposed to be uncooked ?
Hi Roxy, yes, you use canned beans (so they’re already cooked before you put them in the crockpot). We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Just wanted to say I love this recipe! I added a little bit of rice and it soaked up all the chicken broth and it was absolutely excellent. Thank you so much for posting. :)
Thanks Emma, we’re happy to hear that!
This was quick and super yummy! Thank you!
Thanks Ashley, we’re glad to hear you liked it! :)
I was going to snap a photo but the food was devoured too quickly :) This recipe is awesome! I’m vegetarian and so I swapped the broth for vegetable broth and I used soy chicken. So, so delicious!
Haha! We’re so glad you liked it Marisa, thanks for sharing!
Loved this recipe! I added a can of Rotel, which kicked it up in a great way :)
Awesome Lindsay, we’re so glad you liked it, thanks for letting us know! :)
love this recipe!
It’s healthy , simple, and family and friends love it!
Thanks Nella, we’re happy to hear that! :)
Could you make this as a freezer meal?
Yes, this will freeze just fine, (just don’t freeze it with the avocado in it)! :) We hope you enjoy!
Awesome! The salsa verde does the trick! I figure about 200 calories for a generous 1 cup serving!
Awesome, yep!
My fellow volunters and I made this soup for our weekly community (mostly homeless) dinner. We served close to 200 people and everyone LOVED it!!! Our ingredients were whole chickens and dried beans supplied by 2nd Harvest food bank. We also had onions and salsa supplied by Northwest Harvest food bank. We multiplied the ingredients by 10 and had plenty. Success! Will be making the 5 ingredient potato soup soon :). Thank you so much for the great recipes.
That’s amazing Janet, we’re so touched to hear that! Thanks for giving our recipe a try. We’re inspired by this wonderful work you are doing in your community!
This was so delicious and easy to make! I made the crockpot version and wasn’t sure how the flavor would turn out with so few ingredients, but it was fabulous! Even my picky 6 year old daughter gobbled it up! My husband and I both had seconds! I’ll definitely be making this again!
That’s wonderful Sandy, we’re glad to hear that!
This was a big hit with my family. It turned out awesome and will be one of our favorite recipes. Thanks so much for sharing it.
You’re so welcome Kathy, we’re really happy to hear that! :D
Chicken Chili is one of my new favorite things to eat. I had never tried it until very recently and fell in love. Fortunately you suggest using the Salsa Verde store bought because without that awesome tip I’d not be making this. I just don’t have the time or the patience to make it home made. I will try this very soon, can’t wait!
Awesome Susie, we hope you enjoy this! :)
this soup was absolutely delicious!!!!!!
Thanks Melissa, we’re so glad you enjoyed it!
Salsa verde–you are brilliant! It added so much taste! Thanks for sharing!
You’re very welcome Becca, we’re glad you enjoyed this!
Is there a brand of salsa verse you recommend?
Oooh yes, I love Herdez!
Made this soup tonight. Fabulous! Easy and quick, full of flavor and healthy! Will make it often in the cold months. Thanks so much for posting this recipe!
Yay, we’re so happy to hear that Heather, thank you for sharing! :)
Does someone happen to have the nutritional information for this?
THANK YOU!
Hi Antoinette, unfortunately we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
O my….it is so …AMAZING & EASY, and Yes the Secret Ingredient is the :Salsa Verde…
I can’t believe what an Amazing Great Tasting, Chili this is….with a Little Kick…
I absolutely Love It!
We’re so glad you like it Linda! :)
I love this recipe. I made it once with ground turkey instead of chicken and it was also very tasty. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Awesome Marie, we’re glad you like it!:D
I’ve got the 5 ingredient white chicken chili simmering now. Super easy and super smart to use that salsa verde in there! I LOVE salsa verde! This tastes super yummy, thank you!
Awesome Kathy, we’re so glad you like it! :)
Wow! Super tasty and very easy.
Thanks Kelly, we’re glad you enjoyed it!
These soups look amazing. I can’t wait to try them!!!!!
Thanks, we hope you like it! :)
For slowcooker recipe, can chicken be frozen to start?
Hi Heather, unfortunately no. It’s really dangerous to use frozen ingredients in a slow cooker/crockpot – especially meats. You can use frozen chicken, but it must be thawed properly first. Putting frozen meat in directly will keep your meat in the danger zone (40°F – 140°F) for too long, encouraging harmful bacteria.
These soups looks so good! I will be making the White Chicken Chili today for a last minute family gathering. I needed something easy, delicious and super fast! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Christy, we hope you and your family enjoy it! :)
For the crockpot should I use dried beans, not canned?
Hi Diana — nope, canned beans work just fine! We hope you enjoy!
I just wanted to chime in to say that you can absolutely use frozen meat in the crockpot- I do it all the time and see it recommended on several cooking websites. I find that using frozen chicken breasts to start keep the texture better than if you start with fresh ones which often get mushy with prolonged simmering. The temp in the crockpot will eventually reach boiling killing any bacteria anyway.
Hi Sara, that’s good to know you’ve had good results with using frozen meat in the crockpot. We have done it before too, and it definitely works, but it’s a safety issue. After doing much research on crockpot cooking, just about every source we read says it’s a big “no no.” Again, not because it doesn’t work, but because it’s riskier safety-wise. Harmful bacteria can contaminate the meat before it reaches a safe temperature. There are still a number of recipes out there that call for it, we just personally don’t recommend it.
How many does white bean chicken soup feed? Five ingredients?
Hi Lucy, the recipe will yield 2-4 servings. We hope you enjoy!
Hi, I made the 5 ingredient white chicken chili last night and it was terrific! I agree it could be more of a soup but it was terrific and so quick to make because I cook tons of chicken, shred and then vacuum seal them in 1 lbs bags! The only extra I added was Jalapeno strips for a topping but I could see the possibilities with this one! Thank you!
Thanks for sharing Jeanette, we’re happy you enjoyed it! :)
Thought it was very bland.
We’re sorry to hear you didn’t care for this Alexis, we hope you can add more seasoning to taste, or that you’re able to find another recipe that you like!
This sounds almost too good to be true! But love the simplicity of just 5 ingredients. I’ll be making this tomorrow for my daughter and her fiance. They were in a car accident on Christmas day, and have limited mobility right now, and this sounds like something that they can easily just heat up by the bow as needed. I had 2 questions I’d like to ask. 1. Is there a particular of salsa verde that you prefer to use? and 2. How do you think it would be if made with ground chicken instead of shredded?
Hi Lora! We’re so sorry your daughter and her fiancé were in a car accident, that’s so upsetting! :( We like the Frontera brand, and while we think you could probably use ground chicken, we think the shredded would definitely be better. We hope they get well soon, and we hope they enjoy the chili!
This is brilliant! So glad I found you via pinterest. 5 ingredient recipes are right up my alley :-0
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Monet, we hope you love it! :)
I loved this recipe, but made a few modifications. I added an extra can of beans, and made a 5 tbsp. butter/5 tbsp. flour roux to thicken it up. Very hearty and delicious!
I was impressed with the Herdez salsa verde. We live in Texas, so I was apprehensive to use something out of the jar, but it was wonderful! Thanks! :)
Thanks for sharing with us Amanda, we’re happy you enjoyed this! :)
This was absolutely amazing. I did all of the fixings: sour cream, chips, cheese and avocado and it was a HUGE hit for my husband and my stepson. Even my 1 year old loved it! Only one question.. My stepson said it was too “spicy” (but I added a lot of sour cream and cheese to tone it down) Was it the cumin or the salsa verde I used? Just wondering which one to change up next time. Thank you!!
Thanks Sarah, we’re so happy you and your family enjoyed this! Hmmm, we’re not really sure why your stepson found it spicy, because cumin doesn’t contain any heat and salsa verde is generally pretty mild. Maybe you could try less salsa verde next time?
Does anyone know the nutritional info on this chili? I am super excited to make it, but would like to know calories, carbs, etc… :-)
Hey Joie! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. The reason we aren’t publishing nutrition facts on the site is the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
I just found this recipe a couple of months ago and I love it! I’ve made it several times since then. The only thing I’ve tried to modify is to have a greater proportion of solids to liquids. I’ve tried adding an extra can of beans, chopped onions, and diced green chiles. I’ve considered adding rice or quinoa. Have you ever tried that and do you think it would work well? (I always use the crock pot version by the way.)
Thanks Jennifer, we’re glad to hear that! We think quinoa would be an AWESOME addition to this! We would make the quinoa on the stovetop (according to the package instructions), then just mix it into the chili before serving. We hope you enjoy!
Made this tonight for a group of 10 unique people. One is a Chinese chef. They all loved it! And they all went back for seconds! Huge complement! I seasoned my chicken with chicken rub, hungaren pepricka, s&p and small amount of shallot vinegar. Put a pat of butter in the stockpot and cooked the chicken. Let set and pulled apart. added all the the ingredients to the stock I used to cook the chicken. Found the salsa verde in the salsa isle. Toppings I used were cubed avocado and vine tomatoes. Shredding monetary and cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips (south of the border) and fresh cilantro. Big hit! Thank you for such a great recipe!!! Will use again and again. New favorite, so easy!
Thanks for sharing Lori, we’re so happy it was a hit! :D
Hi there! The 5-ingredient white chicken chili sounds SO good! I’m about to start prepping a bunch of meals to freeze for when my first baby is born in a few weeks, and I was wondering if you think I could just dump the ingredients raw (including raw chicken) into a ziploc bag or container, and then just thaw overnight before putting it all in the crockpot to cook for the day? I would make sure the chicken is fully thawed before starting it in the crockpot. Would love to hear what you think! Thanks!
Thank you Tiffany, and congrats on being a new mom, that’s amazing! :D And yes, we think all of that would be fine! We hope you enjoy!
This is simmering on my stove right now. It smells absolutely out of this world. I got ambitious and tried your recipe for salsa verde, but didn’t have a mortar and pestle so I just chopped everything up and threw it in. The 5 ingredient part of the soup was super easy, I might give myself a break next time and buy a jar of salsa verde. I chopped up some avocado and cilantro, and got some tortilla chips and shredded cheese. Can’t wait till the boyfriend gets home from work to get his reaction!
Thanks for sharing Carly, we hope you and your boyfriend love it! :D
Ok, so I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to cooking (I’m really bad at it!), so I don’t know how to figure out how many chicken breasts I need for the slow cooker method. I know you said 4 cups, but how many breasts would that be? TIA!
Hi Danielle! No worries, but if you look at at the “slow cooker method” in the recipe instructions, it says 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts – you should be able to get about 4 cups of chicken from those. We hope you enjoy this! :)