Easy White Bean Chicken Chili Recipe

In case that white bean poblano pepper chili IG post looked and sounded good to you, here is the recipe! While it’s still chilly outside, I am craving warm easy meals for comfort and warmth. I love having prepared food as a go to for the week. Grab some and heat it up for an easy lunch, snack, or dinner for the fam.

I started with a recipe from The Neelys on Food Network, my husband’s last name is McNelley so we as a family are The McNelleys so it kind of made me giggle in that, yeah let’s McNelley The Neely chili. (Yes silliness still feels good to me). 

This chili is hearty with a little extra flavor kick and makes for a delicious meal on it’s own.

I hope you enjoy.

Here is what I came up with and what we call yummy with a little kick (that “we” includes our block of friends because I used this recipe at the chili cook off at our block party last month and it was a hit!).

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

4 (14.5 ounce) cans white beans

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 large jalapeno pepper, minced (or 2 if you like a little more kick)

2 nice sized poblano peppers, chopped (by nice i mean medium to large)

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 Tablespoon already minced garlic in the jar)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1-½ teaspoons ground coriander

1-½ teaspoons ancho chili powder

4 cups chicken broth or bone broth

2 limes juiced, plus lime wedges for serving

1 rotisserie chicken, remove the skin and shred the meat

¼-½ cup of chopped cilantro leaves, leaves for garnish

Toppings:

Cilantro, chopped or torn

Avocado, cubed

Sour cream

Shredded cheese (if you’d like)

Tortilla chips – crushed or whole for scooping!

Here we go:

Drain and rinse the canned white beans. I leave one can as whole beans and I mash one can in a small bowl. I know there are 2 more cans, hang on I will tell you what to do with them in a minute. Set the beans aside.

Add the olive oil to a large dutch oven or stock pot and heat it over medium-high heat. Add the onions, peppers and garlic and saute until transparent and as my chef friend Tad says “let them sweat”. I think that means let them look soft and liquidy but I pretend I’m super chef-fy and that I totally know what he means. Season the veg with salt and pepper to taste, you can always add more later. 

After 5 minutes when the veg looks “sweaty” add the cumin, coriander and chili powder to toast the spices. Once that all looks toasty (mixed together and no longer looking like raw spices) take all of the veg out of the pot and put aside. 

Into the same pot you have been using (Do not clean your pot! There is left over yumminess from all of that sweating and toasting in there.) add the lime juice and chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Add the 2 cans of beans that I promised to talk about earlier and use an immersion blender to blend the 2 cans of white beans into the liquid, this makes for a thick hearty chili. 

Next add back in the veg and onion you had set aside. Add in the can of beans that you mashed into a bowl and finally add in the one can of beans left whole and let this all simmer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes of simmering, taste your chili and see if you want to add any salt or pepper. Next stir in your shredded rotisserie chicken and cilantro and simmer for another 5-10 minutes until heated through. 

To serve, make individual bowls filled with chili and then top with the fixings of your choice.

I like cubed avocado, sour cream, crushed tortilla strips (for crunch), cilantro, and The Pepper Plant Original Hot Pepper Sauce. It’s hearty and delicious and makes you feel toasty and spicy.

Enjoy! 

XO

Tracy