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…
- 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!
5-Ingredient White Chicken Chili
- 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
- 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.
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!
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!!
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!
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!!
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!
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!
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!
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
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!
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!