Everyone will love this amazing dairy free white bean chicken chili recipe! It’s a deliciously hearty white chicken chili that gets its flavor from caramelized corn and an amazing combination of spices! It’s hearty, flavorful, and delicious.
And don’t let the dairy free thing scare you, this chili is naturally dairy free making it perfect for anyone looking to limit their dairy or doing an eating plan like Weight Watchers!
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The Best White Chicken Chili
I like two kinds of chili – Cincinnati chili and this white chicken chili. I hate onions and most chilis have onions. This one doesn’t and the flavors are amazing. It’s kind of the perfect dinner for a cold winter evening.
And it’s won more than its fair share of chili cook-offs in the past ten years. It’s also one of our favorites for a Super Bowl party – perfect for serving to a crowd!
This chili (and this homemade chicken noodle soup) is a staple at our house during the fall, winter, oh and spring/summer. It takes a little while to make but the extra effort of caramelizing the corn and grilling the chicken is what makes this chili recipe so amazing.
And most of that time is just spent letting it all marinate together anyway – not actively cooking!
Why People Love This Chili
- Caramelized corn gives the soup a sweet and smoky flavor!
- Marinated grilled chicken gives the flavor more depth that blends so well with all of the spices!
- This is a heartier chili where a little goes a long way to filling people, so it’s great to serve a crowd! All while being dairy free for anyone who is avoiding dairy!
- It’s naturally dairy free but still hearty and even dare I say creamy because of the white beans and corn.
White Bean Chicken Chili Ingredients
Ingredient notes & Substitutions
- Olive oil – we prefer olive oil in this recipe but you could also use avocado oil or coconut oil to caramelize the corn
- Chicken breasts – we prefer organic grass-fed but you can use any chicken breasts you want. Just make sure it’s raw chicken (not cooked) so you can marinate it.
- Lime juice – fresh or bottled is fine but try to use a good quality bottled juice if you go that route.
- White beans – canned, these are also regularly called cannellini beans, white beans, and Great Northern beans.
- Corn – canned corn, frozen corn, or if its in season – fresh ears of corn. Use leftover corn in this chilled corn soup!
- Chicken broth – regular broth or chicken bone broth works great as well (one of our Whole 30 must-haves)
- Toppings of your choice – this would be great with some sour cream, tortilla strips, avocado slices, jalapeno slices, or any other toppings of your choice
How to make White Chicken Chili
This white bean chicken chili takes a bit of time but that time is totally worth it in the end. And all of the steps are SUPER easy!
It’s an easy white chicken chili but does take a bit of time to simmer and let the flavors combine. But then you can have chili all week long or even freeze it!
White Chicken Chili Video
You can watch the video below to see how easily this comes together!
1 – Marinate the Chicken
You start by marinating your chicken in the spices. If you skip the marinating part, the flavor won’t be as good.
Once the chicken is marinated, grill it and shred it.
Yes, you could just bake, saute, or cook the chicken however but the smokiness of the grilled shredded chicken really makes this white bean chili amazing.
2 – Caramelize the Corn
While your chicken is cooking, put your corn in a pan over medium-high heat on the stovetop and cook it until it’s nice and crispy. No need for any oil – the corn will just caramelize on its own.
Don’t be tempted to flip it too often or you’ll end up with warm corn but not caramelized corn – and this is a game-changer for this white bean chicken chili. The flavor of the caramelized corn is amazing. Just stir every few minutes – it typically takes 8-10 minutes.
It’s the same stuff we use in our white chicken enchiladas, which readers have called the perfect enchilada recipe!
3 – Make Your White Chicken Chili Base
Next up, you’re going to combine the chicken, spices, and flour to create a nice thick base for the rest of the chili.
You’ll first heat the chicken in a little olive oil, then add the spices and combine. Follow that with a little flour (to thicken the sauce), and some chicken broth to deglaze.
Read through the actual recipe card below for the timing and tips on adding each of these – you can’t just add them all in together at once!
Once that’s all mixed together, you add the chicken stock, beans, and corn and bring it to a boil before moving onto the next step.
4 – Let the White Chicken Chili Thicken
Technically once things get to a boil, everything will be warm and cooked. You could eat it then BUT you aren’t going to want to because it’ll be super thin.
Instead, simply let the white bean chicken chili simmer until it’s thick and creamy. The flour that you added with the chicken in the first few steps of this recipe will help thicken it up.
Tip!
Do not add more flour at this point if you think it’s still too thin – the flour won’t mix in the same way and you’ll end up floury tasting broth.
Just wait it out. The longer it simmers, the more chicken stock will be reduced, and the thicker it’ll be. We typically let it simmer until the chicken stock has been reduced by half.
5 – Serve and Garnish the Chicken Chili
Once the white chicken chili is thickened, it’s ready to serve! You can choose what to garnish it with but I’ve included some of our favorite toppings below! Obviously skip the dairy if you want a dairy free meal!
I also love to serve it with this yummy cornbread recipe and pumpkin crunch cake for dessert!
- Tortilla strips
- Sour cream
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Shredded cheese
- Jalapeno coins
- Sliced black olives
Tips and Storage Information
Salt and marinate your chicken for 30-60 minutes beforehand to give the chicken the best flavor. If you don’t have time, you can grill right away, but it’s better marinated.
Wait until your corn is caramelized before removing. You want it to have a bit of a brown caramelization to it to really get the sweet flavor of the corn.
Undersalt the chili if you’re planning on eating it with salty chips and cheese.
Sprinkle spice evenly among the mixture rather than just dumping all in one place to help distribute the flavors in the chili.
Make double and freeze to enjoy at another time.
White Chicken Chili FAQs
How do you fix chili that is too thin?
The flour that you added with the chicken in the first few steps of this recipe will help thicken it up. Do not add more flour at this point if you think it’s still too thin – the flour won’t mix in the same way and you’ll end up floury tasting broth.
Just wait it out. The longer it simmers, the more chicken stock will be reduced, and the thicker it’ll be. We typically let it simmer until the chicken stock has been reduced by half.
How Long Does White Chicken Chili Last?
White chicken chili will last in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to five days. If you’re planning to store it right away, make sure to allow it to cool down completely before putting a lid on top of the containers.
Can You Freeze White Chicken Chili?
Yes, definitely! This chili freezes great in a freezer safe container. We use these for freezing things and love them! When you’re ready to reheat, simply put it in a pot on the stove and reheat – add a bit of chicken broth or bone broth to give it more moisture.
What to do add if chili is too thick?
If you accidentally let it simmer too long and it gets thicker than you’d like, you can always add some additional chicken broth to thin it out again. Start with a 1/4 to 1/2 cup (depending on how thick it is) and go from there.
What to Serve with White Chicken Chili
Because chili contains most food groups all in one dish, sometimes it’s tough to figure out what to serve with it. These all go great alongside this dairy free white bean chicken chili!
- Tropical fruit salad – a little fruit goes well with anything and this sweet fruit salad is the perfect balance to the smokiness of the chili.
- Strawberry mojito mocktail – a fun Latin inspired drink that washes this chili down perfectly!
- Homemade guacamole – whether you’re serving guac to go with tortilla chips or for people to put on top, it’s still a perfect addition to this chili!
- Sopapilla cheesecake – if you want a dessert option that stays in the Mexican atmosphere, this play on sopapillas is easy to make and delicious!
More Chicken recipes
If you like chicken, make sure to try out these other delicious chicken recipes!
- Homemade chicken and noodles – a soup that uses store-bought rotisserie chicken and homemade egg noodles, just like grandma made!
- Coconut chicken tenders – a tropical twist on traditional chicken tenders that both kids and adults love!
- Lemon chicken thighs – a Greek chicken recipe that uses Greek spices and lemon to create a super tender chicken dinner!
- Almond crusted chicken – this almond chicken is one of our most popular recipes for good reason, great for kids and adults!
- Copycat Chick-Fil-A Chicken Nuggets – these taste just like the ones you get from the restaurant but you can make them at home!
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Dairy Free White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 3 T olive oil
- 1 (15-oz) can corn, drained, rinsed, and dried OR 3 ears fresh corn dekerneled
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts , marinated, grilled and shredded
- 1 tsp salt + salt to taste
- 2 T ground cumin
- 1 T fennel seeds
- 1 T dried oregano
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 3 T flour
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 (15-oz) cans cannellini/white beans
- black pepper to taste
Chicken Marinade
- 1 T olive oil
- 2 T lime juice
- 2 T water
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp fennel
Instructions
- Salt both sides of your chicken.2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a large zipper top bag and combine.1 T olive oil, 2 T lime juice, 2 T water, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, 2 garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp fennel
- Add the chicken to the bag and let chicken marinade for at least a 1/2 hour. If not, go ahead and grill right away.
- Grill chicken until completely cooked inside. Once fully cooked, let cool, then shred chicken.
- Heat 1 T olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add corn.3 T olive oil, 1 (15-oz) can corn, drained, rinsed, and dried OR 3 ears fresh corn dekerneled
- Toss corn in olive oil to coat, sprinkle with kosher salt, and roast for 8-10 minutes or until caramelized and brown, only stirring every few minutes. Once caramelized pull out and set aside.1/2 tsp kosher salt
- Add 2 T olive oil to the same pot you used to cook the corn and heat to medium heat.
- Once hot, add chicken and cook for 1-2 minutes just to reheat.
- Sprinkle spices (up through chili powder) over chicken, cook for another minute.4 garlic cloves, 1 tsp salt + salt to taste, 2 T ground cumin, 1 T fennel seeds, 1 T dried oregano, 2 tsp chili powder
- Add flour to chicken, stirring to coat and cook for another minute.3 T flour
- Add 1 cup chicken stock to deglaze, scraping up all the brown bits from the bottom.4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Add the other 3 cups of chicken stock, beans, and corn. Bring to a boil.2 (15-oz) cans cannellini/white beans
- Lower the heat and simmer 30-45 minutes or until reduced by half and thickened.
- Salt to taste. Be careful to not over salt if you will be adding salty cheese and/or eating with salty chips. It’s better to under salt.black pepper to taste
- Serve hot and garnish with cheese, cilantro, and other desired toppings.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info
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