22 Quick and Easy Recipes in 30 Minutes (or less) + 5 Chef Secrets To Make You A Better Cook!

Home Recipes Dinner Chicken

Chicken Chili with White Beans

Jump to Recipe
By Jenn Segal
Save Recipe
Tested & Perfected Recipes

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.

This chicken chili is a hearty, healthy dish you can feel good about eating.

Dutch oven of chicken chili.

If you’re looking for a lighter alternative to my classic chili recipe, this chicken chili is just the ticket. It’s made from scratch, loaded with veggies, and packed with protein-rich chicken and beans. But don’t worry—it’s still hearty and satisfying, even for the biggest football fanatics in your life. The ingredient list might look a bit long at first glance, but don’t let that scare you off. It’s mostly spices, and the active cooking time is only about 30 minutes, though it simmers on the stove for nearly two hours to develop that deep, rich flavor. And here’s a tip: be sure to use regular ground chicken, not the lean variety, for the best texture and taste. For a tasty variation, check out my favorite turkey chili recipe too!

Table of Contents

What You’ll Need To Make Chicken Chili With White Beans

Chili ingredients including cannellini beans, chicken broth, and garlic.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Onions and red peppers in a Dutch oven.

Step-by-Step Instructions

To begin, heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or nonreactive soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and red bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring to prevent garlic from burning, about two minutes more.

Cooked onions and red peppers in a Dutch oven.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the ground chicken, chili powder, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, oregano, cayenne pepper, and salt.

Ground chicken and spices in a Dutch oven with vegetables.

As the chicken cooks, use a wooden spoon to break the meat into very small clumps; cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.

Wooden spoon in a Dutch oven with a chicken mixture.

Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, and sugar.

Tomatoes in a Dutch oven with a chicken mixture.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered with lid ajar, for about one hour, stirring occasionally. Stir in the white beans and simmer, uncovered for about 50 minutes more, or until the meat is tender and the flavors are well combined.

White beans in a pot of tomato and chicken mixture.

For a soupier chili, you can add additional water. For a thicker chili, simmer uncovered until the desired consistency is reached. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Note that this chili is moderately spicy; feel free to adjust to your liking by increasing or decreasing the cayenne and red pepper flakes.

Dutch oven of chicken chili.

You May Also Like

Print

Chicken Chili with White Beans

Metric Cup Measures
By Jenn Segal

This chicken chili is a hearty, healthy dish you can feel good about eating.

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cups chopped yellow onions, from 2 medium onions
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 6 medium garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 pounds ground chicken (preferably not labeled "lean")
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (omit for milder chili)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 (26 oz.) cartons Pomi chopped tomatoes or two (28 oz.) cans chopped or diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 (15 oz.) can Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a large nonreactive pot over medium heat. Add the onions and red bell pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring to prevent garlic from burning, about two minutes more.
  2. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the ground chicken, chili powder, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, oregano, cayenne pepper, and salt. As the chicken cooks, use a wooden spoon to break the meat into very small clumps; cook until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered with lid ajar, for about one hour, stirring occasionally.
  4. Stir in the white beans and simmer, uncovered for about 50 minutes more, or until the meat is tender and the flavors are well combined. For a soupier chili, you can add additional water. For a thicker chili, simmer uncovered until desired consistency is reached. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
  5. Note: Pomi boxed tomatoes are available at some regular grocers, Whole Foods and gourmet food shops.
  6. Note: A nonreactive pot is made of a material that will not react negatively with acidic ingredients. Stainless steel, enamel, glass and nonstick (as long as there are no scratches in the nonstick coating) are all safe to use. Do not use cast iron or aluminum.
  7. Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The chili can be frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat it on the stovetop over medium-low heat until hot. (The chili will thicken up some when frozen, so you’ll likely need to add some broth when reheating.)

Pair with

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Per serving (1 3/4 - 2 cups servings)
  • Calories: 374
  • Fat: 17 g
  • Saturated fat: 4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 29 g
  • Sugar: 9 g
  • Fiber: 9 g
  • Protein: 31 g
  • Sodium: 1110 mg
  • Cholesterol: 111 mg
Nutritional Data Disclaimer

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

See more recipes:

Comments

Load Previous

  • Hi Jenn! I’ve lost count of your recipes that I’ve not only made but loved. This one is one of my fall\winter time staples. I substitute70\30 ground turkey for the chicken and stick to everything else. I’m trying the Italian Wedding Soup next!
    Keep doing what your doing!

    Regards

    • — Roderick Walker
    • Reply

  • This is delicious…I make it exactly as written and everyone loves it!

  • What is the original source for this recipe?

    • Hi Andrea, This is an old recipe and I don’t recall where the inspiration came from.

  • I made this Today, and it is DELISH!!! I just didn’t add as much red pepper flakes and no cayenne. Very tasty, my husband loves it! Next time I’m thinking of also adding grilled sliced chicken sausage links. Again Great Recipe Jenn!!

  • Hi Jenn, i haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I’m planning to ASAP! I’m wondering if i substitute “hominy” for the cannoli beans would work??! I happened by a few other chicken chili recipes that have it/hominy and since I love hominy maybe it would work HERE?! Your thoughts?
    I trust YOUR recipes much more than some random chefs…ijs. 🙂 #noOffense

    • Hi GiGi, I’ve never cooked with hominy so I can’t say for, sure but assuming it’s cooked (not dried), I suspect it should work. Please LMK how the chili turns out if you try it. (And so glad you like the recipes!) 🙂

      • Welp Jenn I’d bought the hominy AND cannoli beans but when it came time, I wanted to follow your lead first by not changing your recipe. This was a fantastic recipe already, but NEXT time I will add the hominy. For those that don’t know what hominy IS, it’s basically dried CORN thats been soaked in a mineral lime bath. This process causes the kernels to double in size. Hominy is also used to make tortillas …,and grits too. I love the taste and texture of it, plus I love grits and tortillas too!!! So IMHO, it’s corn, and corn can easily go into chili! I’ll come back and report to ya Jenn!

        • Glad it turned out well as is. Would love to hear back when you try it with the hominy! 🙂

  • Hi, I love all of your recipes. My only comment for this one is to use less salt, max 1 tsp. Thanks

  • Didn’t turn out like a chilli. Was very dry even though i added extra water in to make it soupy. Followed the instructions exactly except used diced tomatoes instead of pomi chopped. Perhaps thats why it didn’t turn out well?

    • Hi Atiya, Sorry you had a problem with this. The tomatoes shouldn’t have made a difference. This chili is fairly thick. Did it look different than what you see in the first picture? If so, is there any chance you made a measuring error?

  • I have made this several times and I have found that when I eliminate the chicken broth it is less watery and more flavorful.

  • Love love love LOVE! I’ve made this recipe three times since I discovered it! Followed every instruction to the T! Leftovers are even better! Thank you Jen!

  • Hi Jen. I love all of your recipes. I have made many things from your cookbook and website. I have not made the chicken chili yet. Can I use ground turkey instead?

    • Glad you like the recipes. Sure, you can use ground turkey here! 🙂

Load More

Add a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.