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Fall and football season is here and there is nothing better than a big bowl of chili on game day. You’ll love our dairy free healthy white chicken chili recipe seasoned with the big flavors of cumin and chili powder with added creaminess from pureed cauliflower and beans.
We love a rich and creamy bowl of white chicken chili. Unfortunately, most recipes are pretty high in calories and fat since they include heavy cream, cream cheese, or sour cream as the base. That’s why we created this easy and healthy version of white chicken chili without cream cheese that is still just as delicious!
The secret to making this chili creamy without butter or cream cheese is to puree cooked cauliflower with one of the cans of white beans. It adds tons of creaminess without a lot of added fat; plus you sneak in an extra serving of veggies.
This chili recipe is a snap to make as a weeknight dinner for your family and can easily feed a crowd on game day. Speaking of game day, we also love serving up this healthier chili cheese dip.
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Table of Contents
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- Tools for This Recipe
- Variations
- How to Make Healthy White Chicken Chili
- Crockpot (Slow Cooker) White Chicken Chili Directions
- Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Directions
- Is White Chicken Chili Healthy?
- What to Eat with White Chicken Chili
- Can You Freeze White Chicken Chili?
- Healthy White Chicken Chili Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken: we used boneless skinless chicken breasts for this healthy white chicken chili recipe, but you can use pre-cooked chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken pieces for the low calorie white chicken chili.
- White Beans: we used great northern beans to boost the protein and fiber in this easy chili recipe. They also add creaminess to this dairy free recipe. If you can’t find great northern beans, cannellini beans also work well for this recipe. You can technically use black beans too, but your chili will have a darker color.
- Chicken Broth: reduce the sodium in this recipe by using a low sodium chicken broth.
- Cauliflower: you can use leftover cooked cauliflower or steam-in-bag frozen cauliflower for this chili. When combined with the beans, it adds creamy texture to this dairy free white chicken chili recipe. Here are some more clever ideas for eating more cauliflower.
Tools for This Recipe
- Large pot
- Food processor, blender, or immersion blender
- Cutting board or chicken shredder tool
- Citrus juicer
- Slow Cooker (optional)
- Insta Pot (optional)
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Variations
- Keto: to make this white bean chili recipe keto-friendly, use only 1 can of white beans so it is only 11 grams net carbs per serving or omit the beans completely.
- Paleo and Whole 30: to make this healthy chicken chili paleo friendly and Whole30 compliant, remove the white beans from the recipe. The cauliflower alone can be pureed with broth to create a creamy base for this soup without the beans.
How to Make Healthy White Chicken Chili
- Brown the Chicken: for better flavor, pan sear the chicken breasts in olive oil in a large pot until golden brown on the outside before cooking the chili. It only takes a few minutes. Don’t cook the chicken entirely, just cook long enough to brown the outside and then set aside.
- Cook the Aromatics: after removing the chicken from the pot, add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent. Stir in the garlic, cumin, chili powder and cook for another minute.
- Simmer: Add the green chiles, corn, chicken broth, and pan-seared chicken breasts to the pot. Cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Puree the Beans and Cauliflower: While the chili is simmering on the stove, add 1 can of beans, cooked cauliflower, and 1 cup of broth to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. (You can also add everything to a bowl and use an immersion blender to puree them.) Stir this into the chili pot to add creaminess.
- Shred the Chicken: Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pot with a fork and shred. You can fork shred the chicken on a cutting board or add the chicken to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix with the paddle attachment until shredded. My favorite method is using this clever chicken shredding tool. Add the shredded chicken back to the pot. Finish with a squeeze of lime and serve with desired toppings.
Crockpot (Slow Cooker) White Chicken Chili Directions
- Puree the Beans and Cauliflower: add the 1 can of beans, 1 cup of broth, and the 2 cups of cooked cauliflower to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
- Fill the Slow Cooker: layer the ingredients in your slow cooker starting with the raw chicken breasts then the spices and onion; next add the rest of the ingredients like green chiles, broth, corn, and pureed bean/cauliflower mixture, and remaining can of beans.
- Cook on Low 8 Hours: remove the chicken and shred before adding back to the pot. Stir in the lime juice, fresh cilantro, and season with salt and pepper before serving your crockpot white chicken chili.
Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Directions
- Puree the Beans and Cauliflower: add the 1 can of beans, 1 cup of broth, and the 2 cups of cooked cauliflower to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
- Fill the Instant Pot: layer the ingredients in your instant pot starting with the chicken then the spices and onion; next add the green chiles, broth, corn, and pureed bean/cauliflower mixture, and remaining can of beans.
- Pressure Cook: cover and seal with the lid; switch the valve to the “sealing” position and cook for 20 minutes on manual high pressure. Let it naturally depressurize for 10 minutes then switch to the “venting” position to release the steam before opening the lid.
- Shred the Chicken: remove the chicken and shred before adding back to the pot. Stir in the lime juice, fresh cilantro, and season with salt and pepper before serving your instant pot white chicken chili.
Is White Chicken Chili Healthy?
Normally, white chicken chili can be pretty high in calories and fat since cream cheese or cheese is used to make it creamy. Here is our top tip for making a healthy white chili: use white beans and cauliflower to thicken the soup.
Cut down on prep time by using steam-in-bag frozen cauliflower. Puree one of the white beans with the cooked cauliflower in a food processor or blender with some broth until smooth. This cauliflower and bean puree acts as a thickening agent and adds creamy texture.
Healthy white chicken chili is a great way to incorporate garlic, beans, peppers, and other anti-inflammatory foods into your diet.
What to Eat with White Chicken Chili
If you are looking for some topping ideas for your chili, here are a few of our favorite toppings: crushed tortilla chips or tortilla strips, cilantro, green onions, avocado slices, jalapeno, salsa verde, plain greek yogurt, fresh lime. Here are some of the best side dishes to serve with this chili: cornbread, baked potato, air fryer sweet potatoes, or a salad.
Can You Freeze White Chicken Chili?
Yes, this healthy white bean chicken chili is freezer friendly. Allow chili to cool to room temperature before transferring individual portions to airtight containers for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Healthy White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 ½ lbs)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno, seeds removed, chopped
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 4 oz can green chiles (mild or hot)
- 2 cups fresh or frozen corn
- 6 cups chicken broth, divided
- 2 15 oz cans white northern beans, drained and rinsed, divided
- 2 cups cooked cauliflower*
- 1/4 cup cilantro washed and diced, reserve a few leaves for garnish
- ½ lime, juiced
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and cook 2-3 minutes on each side, just until golden brown. Remove from the pot and set aside.
- Add the onion and jalapeno to the pot and saute 3-5 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Stir in the garlic, cumin, and chili powder and cook for another minute.
- Add the green chiles, corn, 5 cups of the broth, and the chicken breasts to the pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- While the chili is simmering, add 1 cup broth, 1 can of white beans, and the cauliflower* to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add to the pot to simmer with the rest of the chili.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the pot and shred with forks or in the stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Add back to the soup pot with the remaining can of beans, cilantro, fresh squeezed lime juice, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 2-3 minutes then turn off the heat. Taste and add more salt if needed. Serve with desired toppings.
Six servings in the dish, but how much is one serving? A cup? 3/4 cup? Thanks!
Jade –
Great question! There are a total of 6 servings within the dish and 1 serving is going to be 1 cup. Enjoy!