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5-Ingredient White Chicken Chili

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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):

  • Chicken: Any kind of diced or shredded chicken will do. I typically shred a rotisserie or use leftover frozen chicken from my Instant Pot Shredded Chicken or Baked Chicken Breasts recipe.
  • 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…

  1. Combine ingredients. Stir together chicken stock, shredded chicken, beans, salsa and cumin in large stockpot.
  2. 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.
  3. 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!

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5 Ingredient White Chicken Chili Recipe

5-Ingredient White Chicken Chili

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.9 from 105 reviews
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 minutes
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x

Description

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

  1. Combine ingredients.  Stir together chicken stock, shredded chicken, beans, salsa and cumin in large stockpot.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.

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458 comments on “5-Ingredient White Chicken Chili”

  1. This was so good. I used the Archer Farms salsa verde that is sold at Target; marinated 3 chicken breasts in 1/2 cup of the salsa; and only used four cups of chicken broth. Turned out so well, thank you!

  2. Wow this was really tasty. I used thighs and sauteed with onion and garlic then followed the recipe. My son hates soup/new things and he ate seconds!

  3. Hi Ali, I just made this a couple days ago, and all my family loved it. Thanks for sharing it!! :)

    Have an excellent weekend!!
    https://raspberry-bloom.blogspot.mx/2013/11/5-ingredient-white-chicken-chili.html

  4. Made this for a family birthday dinner and it was a HUGE success! I did start off with a diced large yellow onion, browned in oil. I also threw in some frozen corn, and served with all the toppings and cornbread muffins. (It was especially quick using a roasted Costco chicken.) This was a nice change from traditional chili and the family raved about it! It’s a keeper. Thanks!

  5. I’m on a pretty strict diet getting ready to have bariatric surgery so I have had to cut carbs as well as calories. Chili has been my saving grace because its usually low calorie, often low carb, high fiber, and high protein (so I can have lots of it without using too many calories). Its like, the perfect food. This chili was fantastic and if you follow the recipe exactly and then portion it out by the cup, I got about 7 cups full and each cup only had about 230 calories in it (and just a little more if you add avocado or sour cream). I just thought I’d share for the calorie conscious and my fellow dieters. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes because this one was a hit!

  6. Made this tonight and it was delicious! So easy and healthy. Used Guy Fieri Salsa Verde. Thanks for a great recipe; this one will be on repeat!

  7. I love easy recipes using very few ingredients. I’m sure I can double these ones to make them for more people. They sound delicious and I plan to make the White Chicken Chile for our Friday night Pot Luck at our church. I will let you know how it goes over!!

  8. Thanks for this truly EASY recipe! I used three cans of beans and only half the amount of cumin (to make it more kid friendly). If you want it thick (like a stew), you can almost eliminate the chicken broth. Great recipe for the Super Bowl tonight!

  9. I made the White Chicken Chili for my family last night, and despite the fact that my 3 yr. old HATES spicy foods, he loved this soup, as did the rest of my family! I was so surprised to see both my kids clear out their bowls… now that’s saying something! :-) The avocado and cilantro added the perfect combination of flavors.
    I raved about it to my mom, and now she’s going to try it too. Thank you so much for sharing, I can’t wait to try the others!!

  10. I just made this soup in the crock pot and it turned out great! I did 3 raw chicken breasts and added the other 4 ingredients and 1 can of diced green chilis and cooked it on high for 4 1/2 hours and it was so tasty! This recipe is already so easy and the crock pot made it that much easier, thanks so much for this delicious dinner idea!

  11. This is delicious! The avocados at the store were rock hard, so we topped off the chili with some guacamole. YUMMY. Saved time by using a rotisserie chicken too.

  12. I’m crazy for chills and this one sounds incredible! I love how easy you’ve made this! It’s so nice to have an arsenal of quick dinners for those nights you just can’t think straight! The salsa verde and those chunks of avocado are calling my name! ;)

  13. This sounds incredible! I’ve never made white chicken chili pepper but imagine I would like this even more the the tomato based beef chili : ) So glad to have come across this post after seeing it featured on buzzfeed.

  14. Made this for dinner today, it was SO delicious! I got a spicy salsa verde, and it was awesome! Thanks for sharing, saving this recipe!

  15. I tried this recipe for the first time today and it is AMAZING. It absolutely hits the spot and the flavors are incredible! I love that it was simple and easy for me to make as I am a grad student always on the go! I get really turned off by recipes that require so many ingredients and the fact that this only required 5 was highly appealing! I didn’t include cumin (forgot to, admittedly), but it still tasted great. I also topped mine with cilantro, avocado and sour cream. I got 4 very hefty portions out of it that will make up my lunch for the week! Such a great recipe! Thanks for sharing!

  16. Ali, this is *the* best white chicken chili recipe! Love the use of salsa verde, makes perfect sense. Best of all, it comes together fast and my family loves it!

  17. I used ingredients that I had on hand… 4 cups of turkey broth, 2 cups water w/ 2tsp. of chicken boulion,1 lrg. leftover turkey leg quarter-shredded, 2 cups grn. enchilada sauce, 4oz. of canned chopped grn. chilis,cumin,1- 15oz. can of Northern beans and 1 can of while frigoles;drained. For accompnyments:sliced grn. onions, grated pepperjack,chopped cilantro,tortilla chips and dollop of plain sour cream. DE LISH

  18. I threw all the ingredients into the crock pot and cooked on low for 5 hours. I used a bag of northern beans so they were still a bit crunchy but my family prefers crunchy beans! Thanks for the amazing recipe. We added the salsa verde on our own to our bowls,

  19. Delicious!

  20. Can you make the white chili recipe in the crock pot?

  21. I made this tonight and it was delicious! I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical because of the simplicity of ingredients. But it turns out, everything goes together so well! I cooked chicken thighs during the day in my timer crockpot, then shredded the chicken when I got home and made the remaining ingredients. The salsa verde recipe worked out perfectly too. Thanks for posting! This one is a keeper. :)

  22. Those huge chunks of avocado are calling my name :) Looks great!

  23. My husband loves white chicken chili, especially when it cooks alll…day…long. Me, I love the chili but not the time commitment, so I tried this last night and was blown away. This is amazing. Better than any recipe I’ve used before for white chicken chili. And so easy-I marinated chicken breasts in a medium-spicy hot sauce for a couple hours before cooking, then shredded-that was the worst part. This recipe was awesome and SO. Unbelievably. Easy. Even my husband-lover of all things slow-cooked for hours-was impressed by how awesome this recipe is. We topped with cilantro, avocado, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, but the soup tasted great without any of them. This is definitely going in the recipe rotation.

  24. The chicken chile looks so good I’m going to make it for my family tonight! Always looking for ways to incorporate Tomatillos into meals. I grow and can them each year and then spend the rest of the time trying to figure out how to use them in everyday cooking. This recipe is fast simple and looks way delish. Thanks for sharing it.

  25. I’m all about simple recipes with few ingredients and this one was perfect! Made it for the first time tonight and will definitely be making it again!

  26. AWESOME recipe! We loved it! I added onions, fresh garlic and diced green chili’s. I used the Herdez Salsa Verde from the grocery store and it was great! I did add 2 tbsp of cornstarch to thicken it up a bit and it was perfect. I love when I find a quick and easy recipes that I can make during the week.  This is one of the best ones yet! Thanks Ali! :)

  27. I made this tonight and it was great! I followed the stove-top method almost exactly (I used a little less chicken because I needed some for another recipe) and it came out fantastic! I used Trader Joe’s salsa verde. I do just want to mention that this says yields 2-4 servings and I would say it is closer to 5-7 (which was a pleasant surprise!).

  28. I made this last week and I’m already making it again tonight. I absolutely LOVED it. As did my brother and I will now have fight him over the last cup :) I followed your recipe exactly and came out perfect. I will always make this tasty dish.

  29. Do you add the additional ingredients: avocado, cilantro, onions, cheese to the crock pot, or after the chicken has cooked with the salsa and beans only? Making this tomorrow morning for dinner, so please let know..

  30. I am sitting at my office at work eating the leftovers for lunch.  Yummy!  I especially love the use of homemade salsa verde in the soup.  I had a lot of tomatillos from my garden that went to good use in this soup.  I wanted it to be a thicker chili so I ended up adding two additional cans of beans and using a potato masher to mash some of the beans up to thicken the soup further.  I also added 1/2 cup of cream because I like creamy white chicken chilis.  And I added some oregano.  “Souper” yummy, I will definitely make again. 

  31. I guessed the secret ingredient to your white chicken chil!! I am so smart! And your blog is so deliciously wonderful! And, yes, you are right on time for these hearty warm soups and chilis. We are getting pretty chilly here in Maine, and, for me, it means bringing out those savory kicky Southwest flavors! Can’t wait to try the potato soup, and will probably add a little corn as is so loved in our state (6 ingredients-shhhhh!) Thank you and please keep them coming!

  32. Just a couple things – First, I doubled it for our family of 6 based off of the servings listed (2-4)  I now have a complete batch left over (which isn’t really a bad thing since it is so yummy) Second, I made it exactly as the recipe instructed and it had way too much liquid – to help thicken it up I added one cup of dry rice and let it cook for 25 more minutes.  Everyone loved it.  Thanks for the easy gluten free recipe!

  33. Sounds so yummy. Thanks for that recipe!

  34. I made the recipe vegetarian (substituted with vegetable broth and shrimp) and it was delicious! Was also great for a gal on a college budget! ;)

  35. Great recipe. I added roasted chopped poblanos and diced carrots. I took about a cup of broth and a scant cup of beans and puréed them- a trick I learned from cooks illustrated to make the base a bit creamier. 

  36. I appreciated the simplicity of this recipe.  When I made it, I found that it either needed a bit less broth or another can of beans to fill out the soup more.  Adding avocado and fresh cilantro really made the dish.

  37. I made this last night for my fiance and I and it was amazing! So easy to make after a long day of work, and just really hearty and delicious. I bought a rotisserie chicken, used Herdez salsa verde and topped with with cilantro, avocado, sour cream, a little bit of jack cheese and crumbled tortilla chips. I did use a bit less chicken broth, as I wanted it to be a little bit thicker. Great recipe!

  38. This was easy and very good – especially with the addition of the avacado and cilantro. I could not find salsa verde in our local grocery store, and planned on making this recipe on a day that I didn’t have time to make it from scratch, so I used a couple of different, very fresh tomato based salsas, and it turned out great! Thanks!

  39. Omg, Ali!! Your recipe for Easy 5 Ingredient White Chicken Chili is awesome! So simple, so easy, so yummy! I love White Bean Chicken Chili and have made both in the crockpot and stove top but this recipe was even better than those. I will definetly make this again and again. I used Desert Pepper Salsa Verde and that was a delicious decision. Eventually, I’ll make your homemade version. Thanks so much for sharing. I enjoy your blog. 

  40. Make this even simpler and buy a rotisserie chicken (probably less than buying chicken breats and you get more protein out of it) take the skin off and  get all the meat off and chop, this speeds up the process, I always make it in the crockpot! <3 cilantro and avacado are a must with this!

  41. Que rico! This recipe is really delicious! I have made this “caldo” today, and I was super.  I’m a Mexican woman and I love the flavor of this, with a little bit of lemon and Valentina salsa it’s very mexicano! :D 

  42. Wow! This is a fabulous recipe. I’ll have to make my own salsa verde sometime but using store-bought was so easy! I did add a couple extra ingredients. I sautéed an onion and a little garlic, added the cumin/salsa/broth and 2/3 cups uncooked brown rice. Boiled for 30ish minutes until rice was cooked and stirred in the beans/chicken until heated through. It made 8 cups in the end. I will definitely be making this again!

  43. Use your KitchenAide stand mixer paddle attachment to shred the chicken!! SO. EASY. 

  44. I love this recipe. It’s a staple at our house which I’m extra happy about considering the ease of the recipe. One thing we do – mix in the juice from half a lime. It adds SUCH a great hint of flavor to the already delicious soup! :)

  45. I am a pipe fitter, not a cook.  My wife has a very strict gluten free diet due to celiac disease.  I am off for a couple days watching our little girl so I decided to make dinner for her.  I can’t remember the last time I did it.   I followed the recipe exactly.  It turned out AMAZING! She loved it and it was extremely easy for me to make.  Thanks for having an awesome recipe that even a big gulute like myself could make. 

  46. I have made this recipe I think 6 times now and it’s still fantastic! Most times I’ll try a new recipe, like it, but by the time I’ve made it the 3rd or 4th time, it’s newness has worn off and it’s just okay. Definitely not with this recipe! And it’s so easy! Sure, you could add a few things here and there if you want to, but trust me, this is perfect exactly as written. I’m too lazy to cook and shred chicken so I always get one of those rotisserie chickens from the meat department. It’s already cooked (and delicious) and I just have to clean it and throw it in the pot. It’s pretty much exactly 4 cups so I don’t have any awkward leftovers. I’ve used a different salsa verde every time (whatever was on sale usually) and they’ve tasted different, but equally awesome! I highly recommend topping it with the cilantro and avocado, it makes it taste so gourmet and look so beautiful. Thank you Ali so much for this awesome recipe! 

    • Thanks so much Christy, and thanks for sharing your tips! I love cilantro and avocado, so you definitely can’t go wrong there! : )

  47. Husband has been desperate for me to shake things up in the kitchen (there is only so much baked chicken a man can eat!), so I made this for dinner tonight. Super easy and SO delicious. Healthy, too! We both loved it. I’m going to freeze several batches for later dates. Yum!! Thank you so much for sharing.

  48. I’m just wondering if you can make it with dry beans from a bag instead of cans of beans and how would the instructions differ? It looks really good either way and I definitely want to make this! 

    • Sure! Here’s an article on how to cook dry beans: https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/learn-cook-beans. You can simmer the soaked beans in the soup for 1.5-2 hrs if you’d like, instead of cooking them separately.

  49. Great recipe! Thank you for posting! I did the stovetop method and I added some quest fresco and lime zest. I also blended up some of the beans to make the broth a little thicker. The salsa verde is totally the secret weapon!

  50. Hi-this recipe looks great but is 2 cups of salsa the same as 16 Oz?  Or is that a liquid measurement?   I bought a 16 Oz jar but it doesn’t look like enough.  Thanks for the recipe!