Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili is a delicious southwestern-style soup made with white beans, corn, green chilies, shredded chicken, and bold spices.
This easy Instant Pot White Chicken Chili is one of our new favorite comfort foods. We love a good chili recipe but up until now we have only shared red chili recipes with you.
Unlike our keto chili, pale ale beer chili, smokey chipotle chili, and Instant Pot chili, this dish skips the red chili and instead it is packed full of corn, green chilis, and white beans. To go with that milder flavor we used shredded chicken instead of beef and the result is a creamy, rich, and flavor packed white chili we absolutely love.
The fact that you make it in an Instant Pot in under an hour makes it a great addition to your weeknight dinner rotation!
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What You’ll Need
- Olive oil – Use olive oil to saute the onions, jalapeno, and garlic.
- Yellow onion– Finely diced yellow onion adds a bit of aromatic flavor to the recipe.
- Jalapeno– Diced jalapeno adds heat. Feel free to add less if needed for a milder flavor.
- Garlic– Fresh garlic cloves will give the best flavor.
- Green chilis -Canned, milder peppers adds flavor without much heat.
- White Beans – We used Great Northern white beans but you can also use cannellini beans, or navy beans. Rinse and drain the canned beans for added creaminess and body.
- Corn – Corn adds a bit of crunch and sweetness. You can use fresh, frozen, or canned corn for this dish.
- Spices – Cumin, chili powder and salt create the perfect blend of flavors.
- Chicken broth – Adds a richness to the sauce. Go for low sodium chicken broth if you’re trying to control the salt content.
- Chicken breasts – You’ll be cooking the chicken in the broth and then shredding it. The tender meat absorbs the flavor of the spicy broth packing the dish full of flavor.
- Sour cream – This may be my favorite part. That little scoop of sour cream stirred in at the end gives the sauce a rich, creamy flavor.
New to using an Instant Pot? Make sure you read our beginner’s guide on “How to Use an Instant Pot” to get started!
How to Make It
Saute the veggies. Place your inner pot into the Instant Pot and set it to SAUTE. Add the olive oil and let it get hot before adding the onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Cook the onion, pepper, and garlic for about 5 minutes or until the veggies have started to soften.
Prep the beans. Scoop out a cup of white beans (leave the rest be for now). Place the cup of beans in a food processor and puree. If you need to, add a little bit of chicken broth to help make the beans a bit smoother as you blend them. Set the puree aside for later.
Add the ingredients to the Instant Pot. Cancel SAUTE mode and pour in the remaining beans, corn, green chilis, cumin, chili powder, salt, and chicken broth. Give it a good stir to mix it all together. Slice the chicken breasts in half and add them to the pot. If you are using ground chicken or turkey, crumble the meat before adding it.
Pressure cook the chili. Once the ingredients are in the pot, lock the lid into place and turn the valve to SEALING. Set the Instant Pot to manual pressure for 15 minutes on high pressure. When the beep sounds, press CANCEL to stop cooking. Allow it to naturally release pressure for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the valve to VENTING to release the remaining pressure.
Shred the chicken. Carefully remove the chicken pieces. Allow them to cool just slightly (they should still be warm) and then shred them with two forks. Once it is shredded, add the chicken back into the pot. If you use ground chicken or turkey, you can just break up any large chunks using a spoon or spatula.
Add in the puree and sour cream. Turn the Instant Pot onto SAUTE mode and stir in the bean puree and sour cream. Cook the chili for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the chili has thickened a bit. Serve hot with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of cilantro. You can also add tortilla chips, cheese, avocado, or other toppings for added flavor and heat.
Alternative to Chicken Breast
We used uncooked chicken breasts for this recipe, but if you have left over chicken or would rather use a rotisserie chicken you definitely can. If you choose to use pre-cooked options, you’ll need to add the chicken at the end along with the sour cream and bean puree. You only need to cook the chicken until it is warmed through.
You could also use ground chicken, ground turkey, turkey breasts, or leftover turkey if you prefer. If they are uncooked, just follow the directions for cooking the ground versions or add cooked turkey at the end like you would with cooked chicken.
You can freeze white chicken chili for up to 3 months. Before you put it into a freezer safe container or gallon freezer bag, let it cool completely. Once cooled just seal it up in your container and store in the freezer until you are ready to use.
When you are ready to eat it, defrost it in the refrigerator first. Once it is defrosted you can reheat it in the microwave or on the stove top over medium low heat.
I like this chili just the way it is but it is a little thinner than some of our red chili recipes. If you want to thicken it a little you can mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with a little of the broth and whisk it together until it is smooth. This is called a slurry. Bring the chili to a boil and add pour the slurry in. Turn the heat to medium low and stir continuously until the chili has thickened.
What to Serve With White Chicken Chili
There are lots of different ways you can dress up this recipe. Some of my favorite toppings include:
- Avocado – we often cube the avocado, but you could cut it into slices or mash it up a bit
- Jalapenos – cut into wheels or diced
- Lime – add a squeeze of lime, you can use a lemon/lime squeeze to make it easier to get the juice
- Salsa – you can add some extra flavor and heat if you want, just add your favorite salsa right on top
- Tortilla chips – crumble them up for a bit of crunch or dip in whole shells to scoop out some of the chili
- Monterey jack cheese or cheddar cheese – who doesn’t love more cheese? You can add both if you really want to.
- Sour cream – a dollop of sour cream sometimes is all you need to make chili complete
- Cilantro – chop up a little cilantro for a burst of fresh flavor right on top of the chili
Looking for More Instant Pot Recipes?
- Instant Pot Navy Bean Soup {Stove Top Instructions Included}
- Keto Instant Pot Cabbage Rolls
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
- Instant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Soup {Keto}
- Easy Carrot Soup {Instant Pot & Stove Top Instructions}
- Instant Pot Big Mac Soup {Low Carb}
- More Instant Pot Recipes…
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Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 6 ounces Yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 Jalapeno, finely diced
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 2 cans (4.5 ounces each) Green chilies
- 2 cans (15.8 ounces each) White Beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (15.25 ounces each) Corn
- 1 tablespoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 5 cups Chicken broth
- 1 pound Chicken breast, this is approximately 2 breasts
- ½ cup Sour cream
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to SAUTE and heat olive oil. Once hot add onion, jalapeno, and garlic and cook for approximately 5 minutes until the vegetables have softened.
- Remove 1 cup of white beans from the rest. Place them in a food processed and puree (you can add a little chicken broth if needed) until it is fairly smooth. Set puree aside.
- Add remaining whole beans, corn, green chilis, cumin, chili powder, salt, and chicken broth. Stir together.
- Cut chicken breasts in half and add them to the pot.
- Lock lid in place, turn valve to SEALING and set to high pressure for 15 minutes.
- When the beep sounds press CANCEL to stop cooking and let it do a natural release for 15 minutes.
- Turn the valve to VENTING and let the remaining steam escape. Remove the lid and take out the pieces of chicken. Shred them with a fork before adding the chicken back to the pot.
- Set Instant Pot to SAUTE and stir in the bean puree and sour cream cooking for another 2-3 minutes.
- Serve with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of cilantro.
Nutrition
