White Chicken Chili

This chili post was requested by a friend (hi Janet!). It's a wonderful week night meal relying on dried herbs, leftover chicken, canned beans, and prepackaged chicken stock. Of course you can spiff it up by using homemade chicken stock and dried beans that you've cooked yourself. So, without further adieu, let's get started.

For this batch, I used cooked chicken thighs that I purchased at Costco for less than $2 per pound. Leftover chicken works equally well, doesn't matter if it's light or dark meat.

Next we saute the onions. Mmmm... the aroma of onions cooking drives me crazy!

Time to add the flavor - black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, cumin, Kosher salt, and oregano.

Sauteing the herbs with the onions gives them a flavor boost.

Don't be alarmed when you see browned bits form on the bottom of your pan, just don't let them burn.

Time to add the chicken stock and reserved chicken...

And the beans (and optional green chilies). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in dried parsley.

Just before serving, stir in sour cream and heavy cream.

Garnish and serve. Enjoy!

White Chicken Chili

Serves 6-8

Printable Recipes

Ingredients

• 2 pounds diced chicken, about 3 cups (white or dark, cooked or not, whatever you have)

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 3 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder - not garlic salt)

• 2 (two) 15.5-ounce cans Cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (or any light colored bean - great northern, pinto, black eyed peas)

• 4 cups homemade chicken stock (low sodium if using canned)

• 2 teaspoons ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (more if you like it hot)

• 8 ounces sour cream (low fat is fine. Plain yogurt can also be used)

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 2 tablespoons dried parsley

• Optional: if you like it spicy, add a 4-ounce can of diced green chilies

• Garnish: sour cream, shredded cheese (pepper jack, cheddar, etc), chopped scallions, chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over med-high heat.

2. If using leftover chicken, skip this first step. If using uncooked chicken, lightly season the chicken with salt and pepper and saute in the heated oil until browned (no need to cook completely at this stage).

3. Remove chicken; reserve.

4. In the same pan, saute onions until slightly browned; add salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne, oregano, and cumin.

5. Continue to cook for a few minutes to "bloom" the flavor of the herbs.

6. Add chicken stock, chicken, beans, and optional green chilies to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

7. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream, heavy cream, and parsley. Garnish and serve.

Note

• 1 pound cooked dried beans is equal to about 4 cans.