Creamy, White Bean Chicken Chili

This creamy, white bean chicken chili is easy to make and filled with flavor, fiber and protein.  Make it as an easy dinner, then re-heat the leftovers for a nutritious lunch throughout the week.

This past Saturday, Brian and I rounded up the kids, our dog and our hiking gear and took off for Ohiopyle State Park. It’s a beautiful area of Pennsylvania with lots of hiking trails and gorgeous scenery. We experienced the beauty of autumn in the most perfect way – surrounded by trees in the middle of the woods. It was a perfect day of fitness, family time and nature.

I woke up Sunday morning feeling relaxed, inspired and super excited for the Steeler game. Sunday is a big meal prep day for me, so I was grateful that I woke up excited to cook. Aside from my weekly meal prep, I planned on making a big pot of white bean chicken chili for the game.

How To Make Creamy White Bean Chicken Chili

This chili is super easy to make, especially if you make it like I do –  in a slow cooker. You basically just add all of the ingredients together, turn it on high or low and forget about it. It’s a great cooking method for anytime, but especially when you plan to cook a lot of different meals at the same time. Check out my post on cooking a week’s worth of meals in five hours for more meal prep tips.

Before cooking, there’s about 5-10 minutes of prep work that needs done. I highly suggest measuring all of the ingredients first. That way, you can be sure that you have everything you need. There’s nothing worse than starting, then realizing you don’t have enough of one of the ingredients.

Once everything is set out and measured, dice and chop the ingredients that call for it. For this recipe, you’ll need to dice the onion and red pepper, and chop the jalapenos and cilantro.

Make sure to trim all of the visible fat from the chicken, then put it in the slow cooker.  Add the chicken broth, then stir in the half and half creamer and cream cheese. Don’t worry if the cream cheese doesn’t melt and combine with the other liquids right away. It will continue to soften and combine as the chili becomes warms.

You can now add all of the other ingredients. Stir in the beans, corn, onion, red pepper, jalapeños, cilantro and spices. Stir everything together well, then cover. Allow the chili to cook on high for ~4 hours. If you have some family members that like spicy chili, but others that like mild, you might want to wait until the end to add some of the spices. I talk more about that below.

After 4 hours has passed, use a pair of tongs to remove the chicken breast and shred the chicken. The chicken should literally fall apart at this point, so it should be super easy to shred. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker, cover and allow it to cook for an additional 10-15 minutes.

When ready to serve, portion the chili into serving bowls, garnish with cilantro and enjoy.

Adjusting The Heat And Spiciness of Your Chili

If cooking for a family of five has taught me anything, it’s the importance of making recipe modifications and adjustments where needed. Making one meal that the entire family will love isn’t as easy as it might sound. I know other parents out there can agree.

Brian and I love hot, spicy food, but my son prefers mild flavors. My daughter and other son fall somewhere in the middle. This chili recipe is pretty spicy, and I wanted everyone to enjoy it. To make sure, I took some extra steps to make that happen.

Make A Separate, Smaller Pot

Rather than adding all of the spices right away, I left the chili powder and cayenne pepper out. After the 4 hours, when I removed the chicken to shred, I put ~4 cups of the chili into a separate small crock pot. I added some shredded chicken to the small crock pot, but added the rest to the larger pot of chili. I only added the chili and cayenne powder to the larger pot of chili. That smaller pot will be much less spicy and perfect for those who prefers mild flavors

Add Extra Spices Before Eating

You can also increase the spiciness by adding some extra seasoning to each individual bowl. Brian and I both like spicy food, so I sprinkled some extra ground pepper to mine, and some extra cayenne on his.

These modifications add an extra step to the cooking process, but they are worth and make it easy to satisfy everyone states preferences.

Calories And Nutrition Facts

This recipe makes 12 cups of white bean chicken chili. My recommended serving size is ~2 cups, which provides 360 calories, 38 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of fiber, 9 grams of fat, and 33 g protein. That amount also supplies 740 milligrams of sodium, 10% of the daily value for calcium, 15% of the daily value for iron and 15% of the daily value for potassium. More nutrition information can be found in the notes section of the recipe card.

Topping Suggestions

If you love cilantro, be sure to add some extra to the top of each bowl before serving. We also added a spoonful of sour cream, sliced avocado and some colorful tortilla strips.

I hope you love this as much as we did. It made a great, game day meal.

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