(Recipe updated March 6, 2025.)
I don’t often make white chili, but this one is exceptional. Funny thing – my friend Colin next door is in his 30s and he’s never had white chili until I made this for him, and he said the flavors were amazing. He also said, “It’s almost like a deconstructed enchilada.”
One of the reasons this is so good is the chicken part I use. So many recipes call for chicken breasts, and I have no idea why you would use that when chicken thighs have more fat. “Fat = Flavor”, to quote Samin Nosrat from Salt Fat Acid Heat. Some recipes call for boiling the chicken and then shredding it. In this recipe, I poach the chicken as it is a more gentle way to cook the protein which results in more tender, juicy, and flavorful meat.
White Chicken Chili with Great Northern Beans Using Chicken Thighs
This will be the best white chicken chili you've ever had. It is flavor-packed. My friend said it was "like a deconstructed enchilada". Recipe updated March 6, 2025.
Servings: 4 servings
Equipment
- 1 Instant read thermometer to check internal temperature of the chicken.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken thighs poached and shredded
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 white onion medium diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 7 oz can of green chilies
- 1½ tbsp cumin
- 1½ tbsp oregano
- 1½ tbsp cayenne papper
- 2 32 oz boxes of chicken broth
- 3 14.5 oz cans of Great Northern beans divided, 2 cans strained and rinsed, 1 can pureed in a blender
- 2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese shredded
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 3-4 pinches MSG (The food industry's secret ingredient.)
- sour cream optional garnish
- cilantro optional garnish
- avocado, large diced optional garnish
Instructions
Poaching Chicken
- Remove any excess fat from the thighs.
- Fill a large pot with with salted water and bring to a medium boil.
- Add the whole chicken thighs and turn the heat down to maintain a low simmer.
- Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Check with an instant-read thermometer. Chicken is done when the internal temp is 165 ºF.
- Remove chicken from pot to a cutting board, and shred using two forks, or your hands after it cools.
Chili
- Heat the oil in a soup pot on medium high.
- Add the onion and cook until tender.
- Add the garlic and green chiles. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Cook for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken broth and 2 cans of strained and rinsed beans, and 1 can of pureed beans.
- Add the shredded chicken.
- Add salt and pepper to taste, and two pinches of MSG.
- Simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of Monterey Jack shredded cheese.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro, sour cream, and large diced avocado, plus the remaining cup of the shredded cheese.
