White Chicken Chili with cream cheese is the ultimate creamy comfort food! This recipe is loaded with everything good and so comforting on a cool night. We top our Creamy White Chicken Chili off with avocado, jalapenos, sour cream, and more.
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White Chicken Chili Recipe with Cream Cheese
This is the only white chili recipe you’ll ever need. It’s so good, you’ll want to make it every night!
Since I cook so much these days, it takes a lot for me to get really really really excited about a new recipe. Well let me tell you, I am EXCITED about this comfort food recipe!
This soup is SO easy to throw together (just how I like my recipes) and made in minutes. You can have the ultimate comfort food on your table in about 30 minutes. And it’s great for freezing and eating later too. You won’t be disappointed, trust me!
You can make this easy chicken chili with cream cheese (the secret to making it super creamy), on the stove or in a Crockpot. Two easy ways to make one delicious chili! The creaminess makes it unique, and an instant favorite.
Tips for the Best Creamy White Chicken Chili
This recipe is not a healthy low-cal kind of recipe, but I want it in bulk anyways! It’s so cold right now, I’ve got to be shivering off a few calories, right? It’s just the ultimate comfort food plus it’s SO easy!
This White Chicken Chili Recipe is loaded with:
- chunky chicken
- lots of spices
- white beans
- fresh cilantro
- green chiles
- creamy cream cheese
- …and lots more!
YUM! Then to kick things up a notch, I added heavy cream and cream cheese to make it really creamy. TO DIE FOR!
It was good on its own, but it was REALLY GREAT with the added creaminess. This recipe is meant for a crowd (up to 14 servings), but I’m a little selfish with this one.
Instead of sharing it with anyone, I ate a nice big bowl and then froze the rest for later. I’m already looking forward to eating it all season long!
Award Winning White Chicken Chili Recipe
I’m so excited that many readers have written in to tell me that this Creamy White Chicken Chili has won them first prize at their local chili cook offs. I couldn’t be more proud! Let me know if you try it!
Want to make this Blue Ribbon White Chicken Chili at home? It’s so easy!
A good chili recipe can’t be beat. This recipe is even better! It’s such an important recipe to have in your arsenal for cold winters, or any time you need a comforting meal.
I like to think this Creamy White Chicken Chili is one of the best soup recipes out there, and for me it definitely is! I hope you try it and let me know what you think. We have been making this for years now and it’s a hit every single time!
Creamy Chili Toppings
If you make this, please don’t forget to add ALL THE TOPPINGS! Go as crazy as possible with your favorites. Here’s what we like throw on top:
Topping Ideas:
- tortilla strips
- sour cream
- cilantro
- avocado
- jalapeños
- shredded cheese
You can’t go wrong, unless you skip them all together. Make this dish a feast, because you deserve it! You just spent all that time in the kitchen cooking (well, less than an hour), so make sure you eat as much as possible!
Can this be prepared in a Slow Cooker?
We have shown you how to make white chicken chili on the stove. It’s a super easy way to make it in 30-45 minutes if you just need to get dinner ready to go. But you can also adapt this recipe to make it in a crock pot!
To make in a slow cooker, you just need to make a couple of changes.
- Cook the onions, garlic, olive oil, and lime juice on the stove (as in step 1).
- Add all of the ingredients (except the cream cheese and heavy cream) into a large slow cooker.
- Cook on the low setting for 6-8 hours for a nice slow simmer, or on high for 2-4 hours to speed it up a bit.
- Once it gets to your preferred thickness, stir in the cream cheese until fully melted, and then stir in the heavy cream.
Now it’s ready to serve with all your fave toppings. Whether you make it on the stove or in a crockpot, it’s sure to please.
I make it no secret that my Mom’s chili is the Best Chili Recipe Ever…but this Creamy White Chicken Chili is a close second. Definitely the best as far as white chili recipes go.
I go back and forth on which one to take to chili cook-offs. This recipe has won a few awards for readers and nothing makes me happier!
I hope this makes all of your comfort food dreams come true. I know it did mine! Speaking of…it’s calling my name.
More Soups & Chili
If you love this White Chicken Chili Recipe below, be sure to see these other soups and chilis we love on a cold night.
Creamy White Chicken Chili Recipe with Cream Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 onions diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 pounds COOKED chicken cubed (or 2 lbs cooked shredded rotisserie chicken)
- 32 ounces low sodium chicken broth
- 4 cans great northern white beans 15.5 ounce cans, fully drained and rinsed
- 3 cans diced green chiles 4 ounce cans, drained
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 8 ounces low fat cream cheese cubed
- 1 cup heavy cream
optional toppings
- Tortilla chips or strips
- sliced jalapeños
- chopped cilantro
- shredded Mexican blend cheese
- sour cream
- sliced avocado
- lime juice
Instructions
- In a 6 qt dutch oven or stock pot, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil and lime juice over medium high heat. Cook until the onions are fragrant and translucent.
- Add in the cooked chicken, chicken broth, beans, chiles, and seasoning. Bring to a boil, stirring often, and then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer uncovered for 30-45 minutes, or until it’s the thickness you desire. Stir occasionally. I let mine simmer for a full hour to let all the flavors blend fully and to get a nice thickness. It would have been ready to go after 30 minutes, so just do what you like best! *** (See below for Slow Cooker Instructions)
- Turn off the heat and stir in the cubed cream cheese. Stir constantly until the cream cheese melts and incorporates completely. Stir in the heavy cream.
- Top with as many or as few optional toppings as you desire. I used them all! The more the merrier.
- Enjoy!
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
Nutrition Information
I absolutely love this recipe. I’ve made it several times before, but never in the slow cooker. Trying to go quickly for tomorrow, can I throw raw chicken breasts in the crockpot in the stage before I add cream cheese and heavy cream, let the chicken cook, remove and shred and add back in when I put the HWC and cream cheese?
I haven’t tried it that way, but I imagine it should work okay!
Im so thrilled with this recipe! It was much easier than I thought it would be! Instead of green chilis And Jalapenos I decided to use a can of hot Rotel and a small bag of shredded Habanero dhredded cheese…I also cheated a bit(due to only having 1 working arm/hand after stroke) I cheated by using canned White Chicken Breast meat
As long as it still tastes great, who cares about the small cheats :).
I won’t tell, Sherri ;)
This is the best recipe I’ve used… I actually added 2 cans of white hole kernel corn (drained) and a can of origin Rotel tomatoes to mine and I have to say I will continue to cook it like that! WOW
Thanks for sharing, Spencer!
If I could leave 10 stars for this recipe I would! Every time I make this my family keeps saying they can’t get over how good it is. The only thing I modify is I use slightly less garlic than it calls for, but that is totally our taste preference. Gather your ingredients and make this warm and creamy deliciousness tonight!
Happy to hear, Pattie!
I am making this now and have a question. When do you add to 1/2 cup of cilantro? During cooking or is it listed as a topping?
Add it in before the cream cheese :)
I have made this recipe multiple times and every single time, it is absolutely amazing! It’s perfect for meal prepping and I often make ahead and freeze into single serving portions for a super easy and hearty weeknight meal.
Thanks for sharing, Emily!
I adjusted some of the ingredients based on what I had at home, and swapped chicken for leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. So good!
Such a great idea!
This is the first time I’ve made chicken chili. I made it for a chili cook off at work and it won 1st place. Everyone loved it. My family also love it. I also added corn to the recipe.
Wow, that’s amazing! Thanks for sharing, Kimberly!
The recipe is great, but your site is awful! I’m so overwhelmed with ads and I will nevercome back to your site again.
I am sorry, the ads are sadly necessary to keep this site going so you can have access to free recipes. There is an option at the top of the website to jump straight down to the recipe and skip everything in between!
Your site is AMAZING!! Totally understand the need for ADs. I am SO happy I found your site. THANK YOU!!!! <3
This chili is heavenly! I changed one small detail. I didn’t use quite as much garlic and it was perfect for my family. If you like a bit of spice it will become a favorite.
Thanks for sharing, Pattie :)