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Make a delicious and rich Instant Pot white chicken chili in less than 30 minutes with this recipe! This white bean chicken chili is a great dump-and-go recipe. Loaded with flavor, it’s a hearty and comforting meal after a busy day.
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Table of Contents
- Ingredients for Instant Pot Chicken Chili
- How to Make Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
- Can you make it ahead of time?
- What to Serve it With
- Favorite Toppings for White Chicken Chili
- Can you make this white chicken chili in the slow cooker?
- Recipe Notes and Tips
- More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili Recipe
When the days start to get a bit cooler, I always turn to a great chili to warm me up. Rather than my traditional chili recipe, I decided to mix things up with this delicious and creamy white chicken chili.
Making this white bean chicken chili recipe in the Instant Pot means that I can quickly make this after a busy day and have something warming and comforting without spending hours stirring pots on the stovetop.
If you are after some more quick and comforting recipes, be sure to check out my Instant Pot Goulash, Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana, and Instant Pot Beef Stew.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Chicken Chili
To make this easy white chicken chili in the instant pot, you will need the following ingredients:
- Oil: Your usual cooking oil will work fine in this recipe.
- Onion and garlic: For a great base flavor.
- Chicken breasts: Use skinless and boneless breasts for this recipe, organic if you are able.
- White beans: Also known as cannellini or white kidney beans. Beans are a great source of fiber and protein.
- Diced green chilis: I used canned green chilis. You can add more or less depending on how spicy you like things.
- Seasonings: Cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper add lots of flavor.
- Chicken broth: You can also use vegetable broth if you have that instead.
- Cream cheese: I use full-fat cream cheese as it’s much richer, but you can use low fat if you prefer. It adds creaminess to the chili.
- Lime juice: Use fresh, rather than bottled lime juice. This adds freshness and the acidity cuts through the creaminess. Don’t skip this, it adds so much flavor.
- Corn: I prefer to use thawed frozen corn, but you can use fresh or canned.
- Cilantro leaves: To add freshness. You can use parsley if you don’t like cilantro.
How to Make Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Step One: Prepare Chicken Chili
- Heat oil in the Instant Pot using the Saute setting. Add onions and cook for a couple of minutes until translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add to the pot chicken breasts, white beans, diced green chilis, and spices.
- Add chicken stock and stir everything.
Step Two: Pressure Cook White Chicken Chili
- Close the lid and turn the vent to sealing.
- Cook on High Pressure for 15 minutes. When done, carefully do a quick pressure release and open the lid.
Step Three: Add-In Cream Cheese and Shred Chicken
- Remove chicken breasts to a bowl.
- In another medium bowl mix some liquid from the soup and the sliced cream cheese. Mix until well incorporated, and stir back into the pot. Close the lid to allow the cream cheese to melt completely.
- Using two forks, shred the chicken. Return chicken back to the soup and stir everything.
Step Four: Serve warm and add toppings
- Add corn and juice of 2 limes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve warm and sprinkle some fresh cilantro leaves if you wish.
Can you make it ahead of time?
Chili is such a great dish for meal prep and freezer meals and this is a great recipe to take the stress out of weeknight dinners. This Instant Pot white chicken chili recipe is no different. You can make everything ahead of time and add it to the inner pot of the pressure cooker, cover it and store it in the fridge until you are ready to cook it.
Storage
Refrigerate: Let the white chicken chili cool to room temperature and transfer it to an airtight container. It will keep well for 3 to 4 days and can be reheated on the stovetop.
Freeze: Transfer the cooled chili to a freezer bag or freezer-safe container. Frozen white bean chicken chili will keep well for up to 3 to 4 months. Thaw the chili in the fridge overnight before reheating.
What to Serve it With
This pressure cooker white chicken chili is perfect to serve by itself in a bowl, but I also like to add additional toppings to it and serve with some rice, cornbread, or cornbread muffins for a fuller meal. Try topping it with some of my favorite toppings below.
Favorite Toppings for White Chicken Chili
This chili is great on its own but you can also add some toppings if you like. Here are some of my favorite go-to toppings for white chicken chili:
- Avocado crema
- Guacamole
- Sour cream
- Shredded cheese
- Sliced jalapenos
- Sliced avocado
- Chopped cilantro
Can you make this white chicken chili in the slow cooker?
Yes, this chicken chili recipe is easier to adapt for your Crockpot! Follow the recipe as is, but cook for about 6 hours on low or about 3 hours on high. Once you shred the chicken, cook it for an additional 30 minutes on high to get it nice and thick.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- Don’t cook the cream cheese with the chicken chili because dairy tends to curdle when cooked under pressure. It’s best to add it at the end and let it melt in the hot soup.
- To make dairy-free you can leave out the cream cheese, it’s still delicious!
- This chili is big on flavor but mild in the heat department. If you prefer more spice, you can add extra green chilies or a bit of cayenne, chili powder, or hot sauce.
- You can make this Instant Pot white chicken chili with both fresh or frozen chicken breasts, increase the cooking time only by 3 minutes.
- Because this chili contains chicken, take care to only reheat it once.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Ham and Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Ribs
- Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
- Instant pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
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Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1.5 lb chicken breasts
- 2 cans white Great Northern or Cannellini beans, drained
- 4.5 oz can diced green chilis
- 2 Tablespoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt and pepper
- 4 cups chicken stock or broth
- 8 oz package cream cheese, cut into 6 pieces
- ½ lime, juiced
- 1 cup cooked corn
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves, chopped (1 Tbsp)
Instructions
- Heat oil in the Instant Pot using the Saute setting. Add onions and cook for a couple of minutes until translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add to the pot chicken breasts, white beans, diced green chilis, spices, and chicken stock and stir everything.
- Close the lid and turn the vent to sealing. Cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes. When done, carefully do a quick pressure release and open the lid.
- In a bowl mix some from the soup liquid and the sliced cream cheese. Mix until well incorporated, and stir back into the pot.
- Remove chicken breasts to a bowl, and using two forks, shred the chicken. Return chicken back to the soup and stir everything.
- Add corn, and juice of 2 limes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve warm and sprinkle some fresh cilantro leaves if you wish.
Video
Notes
- Don’t cook the cream cheese with the chicken chili because dairy tends to curdle when cooked under pressure. It’s best to add it at the end and let it melt in the hot soup.
- To make dairy-free you can leave out the cream cheese, it’s still delicious!
- This chili is big on flavor but mild in the heat department. If you prefer more spice, you can add extra green chilies or a bit of cayenne, chili powder, or hot sauce.
- You can make this Instant Pot white chicken chili with both fresh or frozen chicken breasts, increase the cooking time only by 3 minutes.
- Because this chili contains chicken, take care to only reheat it once.
- You can make it in the slow cooker by cooking it for about 6 hours on low or about 3 hours on high. Once you shred the chicken, cook it for an additional 30 minutes on high to get it nice and thick.
- Refrigerate for 3 – 4 days or freeze when cooled for about 3 – 4 months.
I would like to make in the slow cooker with ground chicken. Should I make any adjustments or do you not recommend this method?
You would need to adjust the cooking time of course. Probably, cook it on High for 3-4 hours or Low for 6-7 hours.
Can this be made with groind chicken?
Probably, it can, but I haven’t tried it. The texture won’t be the same though. I would also make sure to saute and break up the ground chicken in the Instant Pot before you pressure cook it.
I love chili on a cold winter day and this looks so hearty and warming. I’ve never tried adding cream cheese to my chili, I’ll have to give this a try.
I love all the flavors and creaminess going on here especially the flavor of lime I am going to try this over the weekend
I could seriously eat stews and chilies every day of my life without ever getting bored White Chili is my favorite for sweater season – with lots of cilantro!
White chicken chili is one of my all time favorite comfort food recipes! Love that you’ve made it in the IP 🙂
I’m always looking for new Instant Pot recipes and this one has become one of my favorites! Perfect for the colder weather.
Just a heads up, the recipe doesn’t mention when to add the beans.
thanks for letting me know, just updated it. You add the beans when you add the chicken breasts.