First of all, I have a lot of favorite Chili recipes. And a lot of favorite Chicken Chili Recipes, links below. This Creamy White Chicken Chili is one of my all-time faves.
Creamy White Chicken Chili
It’s rich, creamy, and oh-so flavorful with a hint of smokiness. It’s perfect comfort food. You won’t go wrong serving this for dinner or a game-day get-together. It’s unique, people will rave and you’re gonna come off as a stone-cold genius!
About Creamy White Chicken Chili:
It’s mad crazy delish, quick, easy, and relies mostly on common ingredients. There are a couple of little surprises, though, among them a can of chili beans: Who knew a can of chili beans would be so good in chili? j/k
The creaminess comes from half and half and jack cheese stirred into the chili. Now that I think about it, it’s half chili, half queso. I snuck in bacon and a smidge of liquid smoke, so that’s fun, too.
This isn’t wimpy chili but rides the cusp of very interesting to mildly spicy. Mostly this is all about the incredible flavor and not about the heat. If you’d like more heat add more jalapenos – or check under Serving, below.
Other Favorite Chicken Chilis:
You might want to check out, all shown below:
You can see more Chili recipes on the menu for Soups, Chowders, and Chilis.
Serving:
Of course, you need to top with more cheese and bacon but there’s another item in my arsenal that takes the chili over the top.
Set out a jar of Pickled Jalapenos or Cowboy Candy for those who want to up the ante in the heat department.
Try drizzling a little juice from either right in your chili. This is like a bit of magic that’s going to cut through all the rich creaminess of the chili!
Making the Creamy White Chicken Chili:
Did I mention this is a fast and easy recipe for a chili? It’s a huge plus, especially since it doesn’t take a lot of effort but tastes like it does.
The only tricky part is adding in the cheese at the end. It has to be done off heat, in small handfuls, basically pinches, each stirred in until no longer visible before the next is added.
If you’d like to vary the thickness of the chili, hold back just a little of the chicken stock until the cheese is all mixed in, then decide if you wish to add in the rest of the stock.
Creamy White Chicken Chili
Storing and Reheating the Creamy White Chicken Chili:
When storing a heavy, dense dish like this, add it to the fridge after it has cooled, and cover it only after it is chilled. It will cool down faster that way.
When reheating, add more liquid if needed. It’s a judgment call and it will be difficult to tell how much liquid to add until it has started reheating. Reheat on the stove or the microwave, gently stirring often. Be careful not to turn it to mush.
Don’t freeze. Items with half and half or cream typically don’t thaw well.
Substitute for Chili Packet
Saving Money on Ingredients:
There are several opportunities to save, and many of these items are at a low before holidays. To see what might be on sale before any holiday, see my post Win at the Grocer.
- Beans: Canned beans are cheap but dried beans are cheaper. A pound of beans equals about 3 standard 15-ounce cans and each can holds about 1 1/2 cups of beans once drained. 2 pounds could be cooked up and the rest put into 2 Ziplocs of a cup and a half each and frozen for another recipe. Dried beans are often on sale around any holiday when ham is normally served.
- Bacon: Watch for specials before almost every holiday. It’s an ideal item to pick up at rock-bottom pricing and freeze, since it takes so little room. If bacon needs to be chopped or diced, slightly thaw and slice top to bottom right through the package. If shopping discount groceries, avoid the cheapest varieties.
- Stock: It pays to make your own Chicken Stock with bones and scraps, but if you don’t, buy your stock during the glut of sales over the Winter Holidays and before Easter.
- Chicken: Never pay full price on any chicken; it goes on sale often, usually reaching a low about once a quarter, and freezes well. Know your prices and stock up when it’s at rock bottom.
- Cheese: It goes on sale so often at the regular grocery, it’s easy to keep stocked with sales-priced cheese. Discount stores have great pricing, all the time. Cheese keeps for weeks in the fridge, unopened. It may be frozen but will be crumbly upon being thawed, suitable only for things like casseroles.
- Half & Half: Should cost roughly 1/2 the price of cream. If not, buy cream and mix it with milk. Aldi & Lidl normally beat grocery stores and buyers clubs in pricing, but if limited to the regular grocery watch for sales, especially before holidays. It keeps well unopened for several weeks.
- Bell Peppers: Buy on sale; they’ll keep two to three weeks in the fridge. Discount groceries run about the same as the ones on sale at the regular grocery. Green is always less expensive than other colors. Compare pricing in two or three packs to singles.
- Jalapenos: Seldom on sale but packages of about a dozen are dirt cheap at Aldi or Lidl. They’ll last a week or two in the fridge. Extras can be roasted, steamed, deseeded, and frozen in small packets for future recipes.
- Chili Packet: I always use the individual spices in my recipe, and often make this Chili Seasoning in bulk.
Creamy White Chicken Chili
Creamy White Chicken Chili
Creamy White Chicken Chili is crazy over the top good, a little spicy, a little smoky and crazy good. Perfect for game day or family dinner!
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Soups
- Cuisine: Mexican or Southwestern
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon, diced (it will be cooked all at once but 1/2 reserved for garnish)
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes *
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 large or two small green bell pepper(s), diced
- 1 large jalapeno, seeded & finely diced (two if using 1 for garnish)
- 3 cups half and half
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 (1 oz) packet chili seasoning *
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 (15 oz each) cans great northern (or other white) beans, rinsed & drained
- 1 (15.5 oz) can chili style beans in chili gravy
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1 (8 oz) package shredded pepper Jack cheese, divided
- salt & pepper to taste
- reserved bacon, jalapeno and cheese for garnish
- lime wedges for garnish
Another option is to use about 3 cups of already cooked and shredded chicken. Simply add it in with the stock and cream.
Instructions
In a large Dutch oven, cook bacon until browned & crispy/chewy. Remove bacon & drain, leaving two to three tablespoons of drippings in the pot. Add chicken breast and cook until no longer pink and until slightly browned. Remove chicken and add onion, bell peppers, and jalapeno to the pot, and cook until softened, about five to six minutes.
Add half of the bacon back into the pot, reserving half for garnish, then the chicken, half & half, stock (Depending on how thick you’d like your chili, a bit of the stock can be held back, maybe 1/2 cup and added if needed after the cheese goes in) and chili packet.
Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then. Turn off heat and add the beans and liquid smoke, heat through. Turn off the heat and add about 3/4’s of the cheese, a bit at a time, stirring well after each addition, reserving the rest for garnish. Add salt and pepper to taste. If you’ve reserved stock, now’s the time to decide if you’d like to thin the chili with the remainder.)
Serve with the reserved bacon, reserved cheese, and jalapeno for garnish, accompanied by lime wedges.
Note: if you’d rather not use a chili packet, my preferred spices are: 1/2 teaspoon ground celery seeds, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, 2 bay leaves, 2 tablespoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/8 teaspoon oregano.
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I’m sharing Creamy White Chicken Chili at Throwback Thursday Link Party & at Fiesta Friday, Foodie FriDiy and Saucy Saturdays!
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