White Chicken Chili Recipe with Shredded Chicken, White Beans and Avocado

This white chicken chili recipe with shredded chicken and white beans makes a gently spiced chili that’s addictively delicious. You can dial up the heat with green chilies or chili flakes. The first night, dish up bowls of the hearty chicken bean chili, and top with avocado, grated cheddar, sliced radishes, and fresh coriander. The next day, eat leftover chili on tostadas or tacos.

If you enjoyed the depth of flavour and level of spice of our white bean chili, then you’ll love our white chicken chili recipe with shredded chicken and white beans, topped with avocado, cheddar, radishes and coriander. It’s so addictively delicious, I couldn’t stop eating it and was having it on everything: tostadas, tacos, nachos and quesadillas.

Also gently spiced like the white bean chili recipe we recently shared, it’s another crowd-pleaser with the warmth coming from plenty of dried spice. If you want more heat, you can easily dial it up with the addition of fresh green chilies, or do as I do and sprinkle on red chili flakes, which I stir in just before eating.

As with the white bean chili and my vegetarian chili, this white chicken chili recipe is one of our best canned beans recipes. It’s not only more affordable than a traditional meaty chilli con carne, the cannellini beans, butter beans and poached chicken breast make it super healthy.

Now before I tell you more about this white chicken chili recipe, we have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader-supported. If you’ve cooked our recipes and enjoyed them, please consider supporting Grantourismo.  For instance, you could buy something on Amazon, such as one of these classic cookbooks for serious cooks or cookbooks for culinary travellers; book a cooking class or meal with locals on EatWith; or buy a handcrafted KROK, the best mortar and pestle ever, made by artisans in a village in Thailand. We earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

And if you’re looking for more cooking inspiration, we have many hundreds of recipes from around the world in our archives from places we’ve lived, travelled and loved. Note that you can save your favourites by clicking on the heart on the right of any post to create your own private account. Now let me tell you more about this white chicken chili recipe.

White Chicken Chili Recipe with Shredded Chicken and White Beans

Our easy white chicken chili recipe makes a good old bowl of chili that is deeply flavoured courtesy of the dried spices and super healthy thanks to the shredded poached chicken, a simple homemade stock (no added sodium), and loads of beans which are packed with vitamins and minerals.

Of course a bowl of chili is not only about what’s in the bowl, it’s about what’s on top of the chili. Toppings and garnishes add texture, contrast, fragrance, and even more flavour. My white chicken chili recipe calls for grated cheese, avocado, sliced radishes, fresh coriander, and sliced scallions at a minimum, but I also like to provide dishes of pickles, jalapenos, and sour cream on the table.

Our white chicken chili recipe is also one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day and if you make a big batch will make you multiple meals – you can pile in onto tostadas or into tacos, on top of nachos or rolled up in burritos. Reduce it right down until it’s really dense, and you have a fantastic white chicken chilli dip. See our post on our best recipes for better leftovers for more ideas.

Tips to Making this White Chicken Chili Recipe with Shredded Chicken and White Beans

Just a few tips to preparing this white chicken chili recipe, as it’s super easy. I use shredded chicken breasts, which I first poach, then from the poaching liquid I create a simple stock that I ladle into the chilli to give it even more flavour.

But of course you could use leftover roast chicken if you have any in the fridge or buy a rotisserie chicken for speed and convenience.

We find ourselves increasingly using chicken breasts when once upon a time we would have used more brown chicken meat, and that’s because chicken breasts are more affordable than chicken thighs here, and they’re also healthier.

Poaching the chicken is a cinch. You need to lay the chicken breasts beside each other in a pot, pour in just enough cold water to cover them, turn the heat to high, bring the water to boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer.

Poke a digital kitchen thermometer into the thickest parts of the chicken breasts to check their internal temperature. When it reaches 74°C then it’s ready. Don’t poach them for longer than that or they’ll be dry. Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and set them aside on a plastic cutting board until they’re cool enough to touch, then use clean hands or forks to pull the chicken apart.

Use a strainer to remove any scum and impurities from the poaching water, then add 500ml of water and salt, bring to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes or so. That’s your simple stock that you can ladle into the chilli as per the recipe. If you have any left, pour it into a glass jar and refrigerate. It will keep for a few days.

As for the white beans in our white chicken chili recipe, I love butter beans and cannellini beans but by all means use whatever canned white beans you happen to have in the pantry. I adore butter beans as they’re so creamy and soak up the flavours, and cannellini beans a little bit firmer.

I’ve used canned beans as they’re convenient and so affordable, but if you prefer to start from scratch with dry beans, go for it. If you’re sticking with the tinned beans, do drain the beans. I usually keep the brine in case I need to loosen up the chilli but with this white chicken chili recipe I’m using stock.

Do taste the chilli before serving it. I think this has a really nice level of spice that gives it great depth of flavour, but I have to confess that when I’m making this for myself, I add even more spice. Terence prefers the level of spice in the recipe.

Distribute the chilli between bowls and what you top it with or use as garnish is up to you and what’s in your fridge and pantry, however, I like to grate plenty of cheddar cheese on top (and I do this immediately so it starts to melt), then top with diced avocado and finely sliced radishes and garnish with fresh coriander sprigs and sliced scallions.

I’ll then serve the bowls of chilli with dishes of sliced medium green chillies or jalapeños, pickled shallots or pickled cabbage, sour cream or Mexican cotija (white cheese), and red salsa or our favourite hot sauces. We like to wash chili down with classic margaritas or micheladas. Enjoy!

A final note: regarding the spelling of ‘chili’ in this white chicken chili recipe post, as regular readers know, we’re Australians so we use English-English and therefore the spelling ‘chilli’ rather than ‘chili’. We’ve gone with American-English for this post as a test to see whether spelling affects visitors ability to find the post.

White Chicken Chili Recipe with Shredded Chicken and White Beans

White Chicken Chili Recipe with Shredded Chicken and White Beans

AuthorLara Dunston

This white chicken chili recipe with shredded chicken and white beans makes a gently spiced chili, although you can dial up the heat with green chilies or chili flakes. The first night, dish up bowls of the hearty white chicken chili, and top with grated cheese, avocado, radish, coriander (cilantro), and scallions.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican-American, Mexican, Tex-Mex

Servings made with recipeServings 6

Calories 238 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 400 g chicken breasts - or leftover chicken pieces or rotisserie chicken
• 500 ml water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp soybean oil
• 1 large white onion - diced
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground paprika
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 400 g can of butter beans - drained
• 400 g can of cannellini beans - drained

Instructions

 

• Poach the chicken: lay the breasts beside each other in a pot, cover with cold water, turn the heat to high, bring the water to boil then reduce to simmer. With a kitchen thermometer check the internal temperature of the breasts; when it reaches 74°C in the thickest parts, remove the chicken and set aside.
• Use a strainer to remove scum and impurities from the poaching water, add 500ml of water and salt, and boil for 5 minutes.
• In your favourite chilli pot, skillet or large round flat-bottomed wok over medium-high, heat the oil, add the onions, and fry for a few minutes until soft and fragrant, add the minced garlic, and continue to fry until the onions are translucent.
• Add the ground cumin, coriander, white pepper, salt, ground paprika, chilli powder, and turmeric, and stir to combine; add the drained butter beans and cannellini beans, and half the chicken stock; turn the heat to high and allow to bubble for 10 minutes or so, stirring frequently so it doesn’t stick, adding more stock if needed.
• Use two forks or clean hands to pull the chicken breasts apart into large pieces; add those to the chilli, which should have reduced substantially by now; stir, add more stock if needed, reduce the heat to low, cover, and leave the chilli to simmer for another 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
• Taste and if needed adjust the seasoning and spices to suit your palate, stir well to combine, then leave to simmer for another 5 minutes or so until the flavours deepen and chilli thickens. When you’re satisfied with the density and depth of flavour, serve.
• Distribute the chilli between bowls, saving some chicken pieces to pile on top, then sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese and (optional) chilli flakes, and garnish with fresh coriander sprigs, sliced scallions, and diced avocado.

Notes

Serve with Mexican pickles, sliced green chillies or jalapeños, sour cream and/or Mexican cotija, rice or tortilla chips, and your favourite hot sauces.

Nutrition

Calories: 238kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 22gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 43mgSodium: 1243mgPotassium: 463mgFiber: 7gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 292IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 77mgIron: 3mg

Click through for more ideas for what to cook this week. Please do let us know in the comments below if you make our white chicken chili recipe as we’d love to know how it turns out for you.