Quick answer: Simmer 1 1/2 lb of chicken breast with an onion, white beans, green chiles and 4 cups of low-sodium broth for 20 minutes, shred the chicken, mash a cup of beans in and stir in Greek yogurt off the heat for a creamy chili without cream. A bowl has about 366 calories and 42 g of protein.
We like a chili that tastes of the beans and the cumin, not of cream. This healthy white chicken chili recipe starts with lean chicken breast and white beans, and gets its creamy body from the beans themselves and a little Greek yogurt at the end. It is a one-pot supper for six, ready in about 45 minutes.
White chicken chili recipes at a glance
| Version | What changes | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| This chili (stovetop) | Chicken breast, white beans, green chiles, Greek yogurt | The recipe card below |
| White chicken chili slow cooker recipe | Same ingredients, cooked low and slow | A section below |
| White chicken chili recipe in crock pot | Another name for the slow cooker version | Covered by the same section |
| White meat chicken chili recipe | Chicken breast is the white meat used here | This recipe |
| White beans chili with chicken | The same dish, named by its beans | This recipe |
Sources: our recipe; keyword volumes from DataForSEO, October 2026. Nothing in the table is a health claim.
What goes in the pot
Start with good ingredients and let them do the work. Each one has a job.
- Chicken breast, 1 1/2 lb (about 680 g). Lean and mild. It simmers whole in the broth and is shredded at the end, which keeps it tender.
- White beans, 3 cups (about two cans). Drained and rinsed. Two cups go in whole, one cup is mashed to thicken the chili, so there is no flour and no cream.
- Low-sodium chicken broth, 4 cups. It carries the flavor, and low sodium lets you decide the salt.
- Green chiles, 1/2 cup. Mild, a little smoky and a little tangy. Add more if you like heat.
- Cumin and oregano. Two teaspoons of cumin and one of oregano, cooked in the oil for a minute so they bloom.
- Greek yogurt, 3/4 cup, and lime. Stirred in off the heat for creaminess and a gentle tang, and a squeeze of lime to finish.
How to make white chicken chili: the three steps
Cook the onion slowly, simmer the chicken gently and finish off the heat. That is the whole method. The detail that matters most is the finish: stir a ladle of the hot broth into the yogurt before it goes in the pot, and keep the chili from boiling afterwards. The recipe card has the steps and photos.
For the chicken, go by temperature, not by the clock. The USDA safe temperature chart lists 165°F (73.9°C) for poultry breasts (USDA FSIS safe temperature chart). A thermometer in the thickest part tells you when it is done.
White chicken chili slow cooker recipe
You can make the same chili in a slow cooker. Put the onion, garlic, spices, broth, chicken, 2 cups of the beans and the chiles in the pot and cook on low until the chicken shreds easily and reaches 165°F (73.9°C). Then shred the chicken, mash the last cup of beans into the broth, and finish with the yogurt and lime as in step 3. Trust the thermometer rather than the clock.
White chicken chili recipe in crock pot
A crock pot is the same thing as a slow cooker, and the method above works for it. Cooking the onion in oil first for a few minutes adds flavor, but you can skip it when you are short of time.
Slow cook white chicken chili recipe: a few tips
Add the yogurt and the lime only at the end, after the heat is off, because long cooking splits yogurt. Taste for salt after the beans and the broth have cooked together.
How many calories and how much protein?
We calculated the recipe with USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient. One bowl, a sixth of the pot, has about 366 calories, 42 g of protein, 34 g of carbohydrate and 7 g of fat, and about 798 mg of sodium. It is an estimate: the real numbers move with your beans, your broth and the size of the bowl, and the yogurt weight is a documented assumption.
Most of the protein comes from the chicken, with the beans adding protein and fiber. The sodium is the number to watch: 798 mg is about 35 percent of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, and it comes mostly from the broth, the canned beans and the salt. Low-sodium broth, well-rinsed beans and salt added last all help.
Creamy white chicken chili recipe without the cream
The creaminess has two sources. One cup of the beans is mashed with a splash of hot broth and stirred back in, which thickens the chili with no flour. Then the Greek yogurt goes in off the heat, so it stays smooth. Add the yogurt after the heat is off, and do not boil the chili again, or it can split.
Healthy white chicken chili: a high protein bowl
By USDA data, a bowl has about 42 g of protein and 366 calories, so this is a high protein white chicken chili. Most of the protein comes from the chicken breast, with the beans adding protein and fiber. Healthy here means lean chicken, beans and yogurt instead of cream. It does not mean low in sodium: a bowl has about 798 mg, so use low-sodium broth and rinse the beans.
Serving ideas
Serve the chili in warm bowls with a lime wedge. A handful of chopped fresh herbs, a few slices of avocado or a spoonful of Greek yogurt on top work well, and warm tortillas or a slice of good bread to scoop it up. It also goes well next to a green salad.
Tips and common mistakes
- Simmer, do not boil. A hard boil toughens chicken breast and clouds the broth.
- Temper the yogurt. Stir a ladle of hot broth into the yogurt first, then stir it into the pot off the heat.
- Go by the thermometer. 165°F (73.9°C) in the thickest part of the chicken, then stop.
- Rinse the beans. Canned beans are salty, and rinsing them lets you control the salt.
- Season at the end. Broth and beans both add salt, so taste before you add more.
- Common mistakes: boiling, adding the yogurt too early, over-salting early and overcooking the chicken.
- Troubleshooting a thin chili: mash a few more beans into the broth, or simmer it uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes before the yogurt goes in.
Variations and substitutions
- More heat: add a diced jalapeño with the onion, or a pinch of cayenne with the cumin.
- Chicken thighs: skinless thighs work too, with a little more fat and flavor. The numbers above are for breast.
- Different beans: cannellini, great northern or navy beans are all white beans. The numbers above are for canned white beans.
- Rotisserie chicken: a fast option is to stir shredded cooked chicken in near the end. We have not calculated the numbers for it.
- No dairy: leave out the yogurt and add a splash more lime and a little extra mashed bean for body.
Storage and reheating
Let the chili cool, then refrigerate it in shallow containers soon after cooking. The USDA lists 165°F (73.9°C) for leftovers, so reheat it until it is steaming hot, gently so the yogurt does not split (USDA FSIS safe temperature chart). We found no official shelf life for this exact chili. Freeze portions you will not eat soon.
For an easy make-ahead breakfast the next day, see our Greek yogurt parfait or the cottage cheese breakfast bowl.
What readers report
On two of the recipe pages we read, readers say the whole family liked a white chicken chili, including a picky eater who went back for more bowls, and some say they made it several times. One reader blended about half of the beans with an immersion blender and used a rotisserie chicken to save time. These are personal accounts, reformulated here, not tests or proof, and they describe other recipes than ours.
Safety and good to know
This chili contains dairy (yogurt) and chicken. Check the labels if you or your family have an allergy or intolerance, and cook the chicken until it reaches 165°F (73.9°C). If you follow a special eating plan, are watching your sodium or have a health condition such as high blood pressure, check with your doctor or a registered dietitian: this is a recipe, not dietary advice.
How we researched this
- Recipes: we read five white chicken chili pages on October 19, 2026 (Cooking Classy, Tastes Better From Scratch, Delish, The Kitchn and Half Baked Harvest) and wrote our own recipe and steps.
- Nutrition: values come from USDA FoodData Central for each ingredient; the weights of the yogurt, the cumin and the oregano use documented assumptions, so the total stays an estimate.
- Food safety: we read the USDA FSIS safe temperature chart linked above on October 19, 2026.
Healthy White Chicken Chili Recipe: Creamy Without Cream
A creamy white chicken chili made with lean chicken breast, white beans and Greek yogurt instead of cream, thickened with mashed beans instead of flour, with USDA numbers per bowl.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Soften the onion and the spices. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion for 5 to 6 minutes until soft and translucent, then add the garlic, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Measure everything before you start so the garlic does not burn.
- Simmer the chicken, beans and chiles. Add the broth, the whole chicken breasts, 2 cups of the beans and the green chiles. Bring to a gentle simmer, not a hard boil, and cook for about 20 minutes, until the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165°F (73.9°C) on a thermometer.
- Shred the chicken, thicken and finish. Lift the chicken onto a board and shred it with two forks. Mash the remaining 1 cup of beans with a splash of the hot broth and stir it into the pot, which thickens the chili without flour. Return the chicken. Take the pot off the heat, stir a ladle of hot broth into the yogurt first so it does not curdle, then stir the yogurt and the lime juice into the pot. Taste and adjust the salt.
Notes
Do not boil the chili after the yogurt goes in: heat can make Greek yogurt split. If you need to reheat a bowl, do it gently.
For less salt, use low-sodium broth, rinse the canned beans well and add the salt at the end, to taste.
Nutrition Facts
Per serving (estimated)
- Total Fat
- 7 g
- Sodium
- 798 mg
- Total Carbohydrate
- 34 g
- Protein
- 42 g
Frequently asked questions
What are the main ingredients in white chicken chili?
White beans, chicken, green chiles, onion and garlic, cumin and oregano, and a broth. The creaminess comes from something extra: cream, cream cheese or, in this recipe, mashed beans and Greek yogurt.
What is the secret ingredient in white chicken chili?
There is no single secret, and cooks give different answers. In our version, the two choices that make it creamy without cream are mashing a cup of the beans into the broth and stirring Greek yogurt in off the heat, with a squeeze of lime at the end to keep it bright.
What are some common mistakes to avoid when making white chicken chili?
Boiling hard, which toughens chicken breast and makes the broth cloudy. Adding the yogurt while the pot is still boiling, which can make it split. Seasoning too early with salty broth and canned beans, which makes it too salty. And overcooking the chicken: go by the thermometer, not the clock.
What are the ingredients in a 5-ingredient white chicken chili recipe?
A shortcut version would use chicken, canned white beans, broth, green chiles and a spice such as cumin. Ours uses a few more ingredients, mostly pantry spices, onion and garlic, for more depth.
Is white chicken chili healthy?
This version has about 366 calories, 42 g of protein, 34 g of carbohydrate and 7 g of fat a bowl by USDA data, with lean chicken breast and beans. It also has about 798 mg of sodium, which is about 35 percent of the 2,300 mg Daily Value, so low-sodium broth and rinsed beans matter.
How do I store and reheat white chicken chili?
The USDA says leftovers should be reheated to 165°F (73.9°C). Cool the chili quickly in shallow containers, refrigerate it, and reheat it gently so the yogurt does not split. We found no official shelf life for this exact chili, so check the USDA guidance on leftovers before keeping it more than a few days.
Comments
Tried it? Tell us how it went: your comment helps other readers.