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This Healthy White Chicken Chili is a delicious recipe. It’s made with simple ingredients, yet has so much flavor.
Made with lean chicken breasts, fiber-rich beans, and veggies, this healthy white chicken chili is a complete and balanced meal. If you like this recipe, you will also love my Easy Stuffed Pepper Soup, this Instant Pot Chicken Soup, and this Healthy Cream of Chicken Soup.
Why I Love This White Chicken Chili
I love that this recipe uses dry beans and frozen chicken. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to make dinner only to realize I forgot to thaw the chicken. Not only is this a weight off my mental load, the cost savings is great too!
Enjoy!
– Becca
Ingredients in White Chicken Chili
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: I use frozen chicken breasts for this chili, but frozen thighs work too.
- Green Chili Peppers: I usually use poblano peppers, though any green chile variety will work.
- Bell Pepper: Bell peppers are low in calories and rich in vitamin C and other antioxidants, making them an excellent addition to a healthy lifestyle.
How to Make Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Step 1: Add the white beans, diced green chiles, jalapeños, diced bell peppers, onion, garlic, spices, chicken broth, and almond milk to your pot.
Step 2: Give the ingredients a quick stir to mix up the seasoning, and then place the frozen chicken breast on top so that you can easily shred it when it is done cooking.
Step 3: Close the lid and turn the pressure valve to sealing. Cook the chili on high pressure for 45 minutes using the “bean,” “manual,” or “pressure cook” buttons.
Let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes. After the natural release, quick release the pressure and remove the lid.
Step 4: Remove the chicken and shred it. I love using a stand mixer for this.
Step 5: Add the shredded chicken back to the pot of chili.
Step 6: Turn the Instant Pot to sauté mode and mix in the yogurt. You can let the chili simmer for another 10-15 minutes if you prefer a thicker chili.
Top with your favorite chili toppings like shredded cheese, green onion, cilantro, sour cream, tortilla chips and avocado.
Keep in mind that these optional toppings are not included in the total nutrition facts.
Recipe Tips
- Healthy white chicken chili lasts about 5 days in the fridge when stored in an airtight container. To freeze, portion it into single servings so it thaws faster. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just thaw and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
- If I’m really short on time I’ll use canned beans and a rotisserie chicken and reduce cooking time to 4 minutes. Having precooked shredded chicken breasts really helps to get dinner on the table even quicker! That’s why I love these easy rotisserie chicken recipes.
- Adjust the amount of chili powder or add in cayenne pepper to suit your taste buds. Want it extra flavorful but not too spicy? Try adding a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce!
- I actually don’t love dairy, so I like to make this chili dairy-free by omitting the yogurt.
White Chicken Chili FAQs
Since I make this chili in the Instant Pot, I use dry beans. I usually go with navy beans, but great northern or cannellini beans work too—just remember that larger beans might take a little longer to cook.
Cumin adds a warm, earthy flavor that balances the creaminess of white chicken chili. Since this chili doesn’t have the bold tomato base of a traditional red chili, cumin helps build depth and gives it that familiar “chili” taste. It also pairs well with the mild heat from green chiles and the richness of the beans and chicken.
Healthy Eating Plans
21 Day Fix
Makes 4 Servings of 2 Cups Each
Entire recipe: 5 red containers, 2 yellow containers, 3 green containers, 2 tsp (almond milk)
Per Serving: 1 1/4 red container, 1/2 yellow container, 3/4 green container, 1/2 teaspoons
2B Mindset
This healthy white chicken chili is a great recipe for lunch on the 2B Mindset program when you add in a salad or plate of raw veggies.
If you tried this recipe for Healthy White Chicken Chili or any other recipe on my site please leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comments!
Healthy White Chicken Chili
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Equipment
- Instant Pot 6 qt
- Cutting Board
- Kitchen Knife
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried white beans washed but not soaked
- 3 diced green chiles fresh, diced | I used poblano
- 2 jalapenos chopped
- 1 bell pepper red, chopped, about 1 cup
- 1 onion yellow, chopped | about 1/2 cup
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tbsp ground cumin
- ½ tbsp chili powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup almond milk unsweetened
- 1 ½ – 2 lbs. chicken breast must be frozen to allow time for the beans to cook
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt plain, 2%
Instructions
Instant Pot
- Dump everything into the Instant Pot except the plain Greek yogurt and frozen chicken. 1 cup dried white beans 3 diced green chiles 2 jalapenos 1 bell pepper 1 onion 4 cloves garlic 1/2 tbsp ground cumin 1/2 tbsp chili powder 1/2 tsp black pepper 2 cups chicken broth 1 cup almond milk
- Give the chili a quick stir to mix up the seasoning.
- Place the frozen chicken on top so that you can easily shred it when it is done cooking. 1 1/2 – 2 lbs. chicken breast
- Close the lid and turn the pressure valve to sealing. Cook the chili on high pressure for 45 minutes using the “bean”, “manual”, or “pressure cook” buttons. Let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 minutes before doing a quick release.
- Remove the chicken, shred it, and add it back to the chili.
- Turn the Instant Pot to sauté mode. Mix in the Greek yogurt. You can let the chili simmer for another 10-15 minutes to allow the chili to thicken even more if desired. 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
- Optional: Top with cheese, cilantro, or avocado and serve.
Stovetop
- Soak your beans overnight.
- Mix all the ingredients except the Greek yogurt in a large pot.
- Bring the chili to a boil on high heat, then cover and reduce the heat to low.
- Allow the chili to simmer for 2-3 hours stirring occasionally as needed until the beans are tender.
- Remove the lid and shred the chicken. Add the chicken back to the chili.
- Mix in the Greek yogurt. Allow the chili to continue to simmer until it reaches your desired thickness.
- Optional: Top with cheese, cilantro, or avocado and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Can you freeze this?
Yes :)
I am so excited to be making this tonight. Are the nutrition facts per pot? The WW App it says it is 11 points on the Blue Plan if this is per serving making the whole pot 44?
Hi there, we got one blue point per serving – making the whole pot four blue points. These numbers were calculated using fat free Greek yogurt so, depending on ingredients you use, your points may differ :)
Excited to try this! Any idea how I should alter this if my beans are already cooked?
Hi there, we haven’t made this with cooked beans so we can’t be sure of the cooking time. We’d probably just use the soup/stew setting or add the beans in at the end.
Are the nutrition facts including calorie count for 1 serving or the whole pot?
Nutrition is per serving :)
Would black beans work as well?
Yes, as long as they’re dry! :)
Amazing, can’t count how many times I’ve made it. Have to double recipe because my family loves it!!!