Turns out, Jon Snow was right- winter is here! It’s cold, rainy and windy outside, it sure feels like January! Many of us find comfort in warm and creamy soups in this weather. No wonder January is National Soup month in the US. To celebrate, I bring to you, one of my all-time favorite, super easy to make, creamy and delicious, White Chicken Chili recipe.
Three Reasons Why This Homemade Chili Rocks!
✓ It’s a Dump & Start Recipe
✓ Works great for school-nights
✓ Can be made with a few Pantry Ingredients
This white bean chicken chili is part of my Dump & Start Recipes series, because that’s all there is to it. You dump all the ingredients in the pressure cooker and let it do its magic. The only work you have to do after that is figure out what toppings you want to put on it 🙂
I make this pressure cooker chili a lot on sports nights. I set up the pot and then take my kids out for their classes. By the time we are back, hot and piping dinner is waiting for us.
It is a lifesaver chili recipe for times when I haven’t had the chance to do groceries, especially during winter and rainy season. I always keep some frozen corn and chicken in the freezer. My pantry is always stocked with cans of beans, green chillies and stock (Chicken or Vegetable). It is nice to be able to make a tasty and nutritious meal with a handful of pantry ingredients.
Easy White Chicken Chili in an Instant Pot
To make this recipe even easier to make, I make it in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot
. Why? Because I can dump everything in and finish some work in the meantime, without having to babysit the pot. To learn more about the Instant Pot, check out my Instant Pot FAQ and Accessories blog post.
Here’s How I Make this Easy Chili Recipe:
✓ Dump all chili ingredients in, give it a light stir, close lid and pressure cook.
✓ Release pressure after 5 minutes. Remove chicken and shred it.
✓ Using a potato masher, mash a few beans to make the chili thick and creamy.
✓ Add the shredded chicken, garnish with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
Customize this Easy Chicken Chili with any Veggies or Beans
This white chili recipe comes together very well without any fresh ingredients to add. You can easily customize this recipe to your liking. Switch up the vegetables. You can add peppers, carrots, fennel, and, switch up the beans to Black beans, Cannellini Beans
or Pinto Beans
too.
As a variation, I add chopped Kale or Chopped spinach to this chili sometimes. It is the easiest and tastiest way to feed some dark-greens to my kids 🙂
How to Make White Bean Chicken Chili on the Stovetop
This recipe is very easy to make on the Stove top too. Simply dump everything in a large soup pot. Cover it, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer it for 15-20 minutes, or till chicken is tender enough to shred and the beans are nice and creamy.
If you are converting this recipe for your stove top pressure cooker, I would cook it for 2 whistles, then reduce the heat to medium and cook it for 5 minutes. Let it rest for 10 minutes before opening the cooker.
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Easy White Chicken Chili in Instant Pot
Ingredients
Pressure Cook
- 2 tsp extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tsp garlic (2 cloves, or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 cup celery sliced or chopped; about 3 ribs
- 1 Jalapeno de-veined, de-seeded, chopped
- 1 cup frozen corn no need to thaw
- 2 cans northern Beans 2 X 14-15oz cans, rinsed and drained
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (Less than 1 lb.) (can use tenders or thighs)
- 2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp cream cheese (optional)
- 1-1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp Ancho chili Powder (or regular chili powder)
- 1 tsp ground Cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne Pepper optional
Garnish Options: (customize it)
- 1-2 tsp lime juice before serving
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro for garnish
- 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese about 1 tablespoon per bowl, or, your favorite chili toppings
- 2-3 tsp sour cream
Instructions
- Prep: Rinse and drain beans. Wash and chop celery. Turn Instant Pot On. Add all ingredients listed under "pressure cook" and give it a stir.
- Close the pot. Set Manual/Pressure Cook for 4 mins for chicken tenders. If using chicken breast, set 8-10 mins, depending on size; For boneless chicken thighs, set 6 mins.
- Wait for natural pressure release for 5 mins, and then release remaining pressure manually (QR). Open the lid after the pin drops. Remove the chicken. Using a potato masher, mash a few beans to make the chili thick and creamy. Using two forks, shred the chicken and put it back in the pot. You can even shred the chicken in the pot itself. The chicken is super tender at this point, so shredding in the pot is real easy and mess free.
- That's it. Serve with a squeeze or lime and top with your favorite chili toppings- cilantro, cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips...
Stove top recipe
- Simply dump everything in a large soup pot. Cover it, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer it for 12-15 minutes, or till chicken is tender enough to shred and the beans are nice and creamy.
- If you are converting this recipe for your stove top pressure cooker, I would cook it for 2 whistles, then reduce the heat to medium and cook it for 5 minutes. Let it rest for 10 minutes before opening the pressure cooker.
