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White Chicken Chili

White chicken chili with a creamy golden broth made by simmering shredded chicken with beans, corn, and green chiles. This stovetop chili finishes with melted cream cheese for a thick, comforting texture.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 520
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken breast
  • 1.5 lb chicken breast, cooked and shredded
White beans
  • 2 can (15 oz) white beans, drained
Corn
  • 1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
Diced green chiles
  • 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
Onion
  • 1 onion, diced
Garlic
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
Chicken broth
  • 4 cup chicken broth
Cream cheese
  • 8 oz cream cheese, cubed
Heavy cream
  • 1 cup heavy cream
Ground cumin
  • 2 tsp cumin
Chili powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
Oregano
  • 1 tsp oregano
Smoked paprika
  • 0.5 tsp smoked paprika
Sour cream
  • 1 sour cream for serving
Pepper jack cheese
  • 1 pepper jack, shredded, for serving
Jalapeño
  • 1 jalapeño, sliced, for serving
Cilantro
  • 0.25 cilantro, chopped, for serving
Lime
  • 1 lime for serving
Salt
  • 1 salt to taste
Black pepper
  • 1 pepper to taste

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Sauté aromatics and spices
  1. Heat a large pot over medium heat and sauté the onion for 4 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, and smoked paprika and cook for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
Build the chili base
  1. Add the chicken broth, white beans, corn, and green chiles, then bring everything to a boil. Look for active bubbling across the surface before moving to the next step.
Make it creamy
  1. Reduce heat to low and stir in the cubed cream cheese until fully melted and smooth. Continue stirring until the broth looks thick and creamy.
  2. Stir in the shredded chicken and heavy cream, then simmer for 10 minutes, keeping small bubbles steady. Watch for a gentle thickening as the chili warms through.
Season and serve
  1. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir to combine. Serve hot with sour cream, shredded pepper jack, jalapeño, cilantro, and lime on top.

Notes

Pro tip: keep the heat low when melting the cream cheese so it dissolves smoothly instead of clumping. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days; freeze up to 2 months (cream may look slightly grainy after thawing—stir well while reheating). For a lighter option, use half-and-half in place of heavy cream.