March has certainly come in like a lion here. As I sat, snowbound, watching the beautiful snowflakes accumulate, my heart skipped a beat when I noticed Keith putting a large pot on the stove top. He had decided to make us White Chicken Chili. Homemade chili on a cold day is like a warm hug. It comforts you and helps you forget the fact that spring is several long weeks away.
Keith's White Chicken Chili is bursting with flavor. He took the time to carefully roast the chicken himself, which he used to create an incredible base for the chili. While I think this is an important step, it is certainly acceptable to use store-bought chicken stock to save time. He also soaked the navy beans overnight to reduce cooking time. Of course, it would not be a Superman Cooks recipe without the jalapeños and cilantro! This combination of flavors stewing on the stove fills the house with a delightful aroma that makes you feel actually happy to be snowbound.
As with most of our soups, the flavor just gets better over time. We were lucky that Keith made enough of this to last for days! We topped our chicken chili with a bit of shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream. We also found tortilla chips to be a perfect complement. The chunky, robust flavor of this chili gives me the strength to make it through those last few miserable weeks of winter. Roar lion, roar!

White Chicken Chili
A white chili made with flavorful chicken and navy beans with a southwestern kick
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 3 quarts 1x
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, cut up
- 1 large onion
- 2 Tbsp chopped garlic
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 1 LB navy beans (dry)
- 1 TBSP chicken base
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 2 whole bay leaves
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 3 plum tomatoes
- 1 poblano pepper
- 1 jalapeño pepper
- Shredded cheddar cheese for garnish
Instructions
- (For this recipe where you can prep the night before by cooking the chicken and soaking the beans)
- Cut up chicken into pieces. Place in large stock pot and cover with 1 gallon water.
- Add garlic, 1 teaspoon black pepper, bay leaf and chicken base.
- Bring water to boil and reduce heat to medium and cook for 30 minutes
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- When chicken is done, remove chicken from water with tongs and place on baking sheet. Reserve the water to use next day for the soup.
- Bake for 30 minutes
- Remove from oven and allow to cool overnight in refrigerator.
- In a large bowl, soak beans according to package.
- To prepare soup:
- Remove all chicken from bones and dice up
- In a large pot, place the oil and diced onions and cook over medium heat until translucent.
- Add remaining liquid reserved from chicken.
- Bring to a boil and drain beans. Then add beans to pot.
- Cook over medium high heat until beans are tender, about 30 minutes
- Add diced chicken to pot and reduce heat to low.
- Combine 2 tablespoon flour with ½ c water and mix until smooth in a cup.
- Dice peppers and add to soup and cook for 15 minutes.
- Add this to soup to thicken slightly
- Cut, remove seeds and dice tomatoes and add to soup, continue to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Chopped ¼ C cilantro and add along with cumin and allow to sit for 15 minutes removed from heat.
- Serve in bowl and top with shredded cheese
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Southwestern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 oz
- Calories: 190
- Sugar: 5.4 g
- Sodium: 200.6 mg
- Fat: 9.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.9 g
- Protein: 11 g
- Cholesterol: 30.3 mg
Keywords: chicken, soup, chili, bean, mexican, tex-mdx, savory, hearty
Barb says
Looks delicious! Need to try this one!
★★★★★