USA · Soups
White Chicken Chili
White chicken chili is the pale, creamy answer to the red beef kind — shredded chicken and white beans in a broth built on green chiles, cumin, and oregano, thickened by pureeing part of the beans rather than by flour.
Ingredients
- chicken breast700 g
- canned great northern beans (2 cans of 400 g), drained and rinsed800 g
- green chiles120 g
- chicken stock900 ml
- cream cheese120 g
- onion1 pcs
- sweet corn150 g
- ground cumin2 tsp
- dried oregano1 tsp
- lime1 pcs
- monterey jack100 g
- coriander1 bunch
- vegetable oil1 tbsp
- garlic3 cloves
- cayenne pepper (optional)1 pinch
Method
- 1Chop the onion and cook it in the oil in a large pot over medium heat until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the minced garlic, ground cumin, dried oregano, and a pinch of cayenne, and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
- 2Pour in the chicken stock and the green chiles with their liquid, then slide in the whole chicken breasts. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook 18–20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- 3Lift out the chicken, let it cool a few minutes, and shred it with two forks. Keep the pot at a low simmer.
- 4Scoop about a third of the drained beans into a blender with a ladleful of the hot broth and puree until smooth. This is what thickens the chili — there is no flour in it.
- 5Stir the pureed beans back into the pot along with the remaining whole beans and the sweet corn. Simmer uncovered 15 minutes so it reduces and the flavours settle.
- 6Lower the heat until the surface barely moves, then whisk in the cubed cream cheese a piece at a time until it melts completely. Don't let it boil after this point or the dairy will split.
- 7Return the shredded chicken, warm it through, and season with salt, pepper, and the juice of the lime. Serve topped with grated monterey jack, chopped coriander, and extra lime wedges.