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A white bowl of creamy white chicken chili with shredded chicken and white beans, and a lime wedge on a small plate beside it

Healthy White Chicken Chili Recipe: Creamy Without Cream

Prep
15 min
Cook
30 min
Total
45 min
Servings
6 servings

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

  • 1 tbspolive oil
  • 1 mediumonion, chopped
  • 3 clovegarlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 lbboneless skinless chicken breast, about 680 g
  • 3 cupcanned white beans, about 2 cans, drained and rinsed
  • 4 cuplow-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 cupcanned green chiles, mild, chopped
  • 2 tspground cumin
  • 1 tspdried oregano
  • 1/2 tspsalt
  • 1/4 tspblack pepper
  • 3/4 cupplain greek yogurt, stirred in off the heat
  • 2 tbsplime juice

Instructions

  1. 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.
    Chopped onion, garlic, chicken breasts, white beans, broth, spices and a lime laid out in small bowls on a counter
  2. 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.
    A pot of pale broth with white beans and pieces of chicken breast simmering gently
  3. 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.
    A pile of freshly shredded cooked chicken breast on a wooden cutting board next to a white bowl

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) : Calories: 366 | Total Carbohydrate: 34 g | Protein: 42 g | Total Fat: 7 g | Sodium: 798 mg

Category: Healthy RecipesAuthor: Kerth GCuisine: American