Instant Pot White Chicken Chili is super easy to put together and makes a great weeknight meal in under 30 minutes. Using rotisserie chicken saves us a ton of time while adding incredible flavor! This healthy version of chicken chili is dairy-free (but add some cheese for serving if you'd like!) and can be made mild or spicy to suit every chili lover's preference.
Table Of Contents
This Instant Pot White Chicken Chili uses no cream cheese and cheddar cheese is optional just for serving, making it a delicious dairy-free chili recipe. It's quick and simple because we're using a rotisserie chicken and lots of canned ingredients and spices, making it so dinner is ready in only 30 minutes!
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili can be made brothy or creamy. This recipe is for a healthier brothy chicken chili with optional ways to make it creamy included below. It's the healthier counterpart to my absolute favorite Instant Pot dinner- creamy jalapeño cheddar chicken which you must try if you haven't already!
This recipe is dairy free, unless you choose to add in dairy thickeners or cheddar cheese when serving. It's incredibly easy thanks to a flavorful cooked rotisserie chicken and pantry staple canned vegetables and beans. Just saute your vegetables, add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and pressure cook! Make the recipe as written, then thicken if desired and dress with garnishings any way you'd like.
This recipe works in a 6, 8 or 10 quart pressure cooker. I use my 8 quart Duo Crisp so I can make a big batch and freeze the extras for quick dinners later on.
Ingredients
- Jalapeño peppers: with seeds to add spice or without to keep it mild.
- Green chiles: diced green chile cans are perfect. They are usually labeled as fire roasted.
- Rotisserie chicken: we're keeping it easy and quick here by using seasoned pre-cooked chicken. You can make this delicious slow cooker rotisserie style chicken rather than buying one.
- Chili powders: I use a combination of chili powder for heat and ancho powder for subtle sweetness. I think using these 2 chilis gives this recipe a sweet heat that makes it extra fantastic. If you can't find ancho powder, add more chili powder.
- Cannellini beans: or any other white bean is fine. You can also use a mixture of white and black beans.
- Corn: canned sweet corn is perfect but frozen works too. You can even cut the corn kernels off of leftover Instant Pot corn on the cob or air fried corn on the cob!
- Seasonings and aromatics: onions, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt and black pepper.
- Chicken broth: or vegetable broth.
- Lime juice: fresh lime juice adds a nice zing when a little is added at serving.
Instructions
STEP 1: Add extra virgin olive oil to the inner pot of the pressure cooker. Set to saute on HIGH for 3 minutes. Add diced onion, minced garlic, and half of the sliced jalapenos (reserve the remaining jalapenos for serving). Cook, stirring frequently, until the timer beeps.
STEP 2: Pour the chicken broth into the pot and deglaze, scraping stuck pieces off the bottom. Add the fire roasted green chiles, oregano, cumin, ancho powder, chili powder, salt and black pepper.
STEP 3: Close and seal the pressure cooker lid. Set to pressure cook/manual on HIGH for 5 minutes. Complete a controlled quick release of the pressure when done. Remove the lid and stir in shredded rotisserie chicken, cannellini beans and sweet corn. Let warm through for 5 minutes.
STEP 4: Serve topped with fresh torn cilantro leaves, sliced jalapenos, tortilla chips and cheddar cheese if desired.
Topping Suggestions
These are some of my favorite toppings for Instant Pot white chicken chili:
- Cheddar cheese
- Avocado slices
- Fresh cilantro
- A splash of fresh lime juice
- Jalapeños
- Crispy tortilla chips- these are especially good for scooping up that delicious chili, no forks required!
Variations
Alter Instant Pot white chicken chili to suit your preferences in the following ways:
- Make Spicier: add a few tablespoons of salsa verde during step 2 or drizzle with mango habanero salsa when serving. Or simply add lots of seeds from the sliced jalapeños, plus extra jalapeños.
- Make Milder: use less jalapeños and deseed them completely to make a mild white chicken chili.
- Creamy: instead of a soupy chicken chili, add sour cream or cream cheese at the end to thicken and make it creamy. If you want to keep it dairy-free, mash 1 can of the beans before adding them to the broth.
- Vegetarian: ditch the chicken and use tofu instead and replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth.
What To Serve With Chicken Chili
This recipe makes a hearty full meal on it's own but if you'd like to serve it with an appetizer or side dish, it pairs well with:
How To Store
Fridge: Store for up to 5 days in a covered container. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
Freezer: Store for up to 6 months in freezer safe bags or containers. Defrost overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Commonly Asked Questions About Chicken Chili
White chicken chili can be lower in calories and higher in healthy fats than traditional beef chili recipes, but this depends on the ingredients you choose if straying from this recipe. An 8 ounce serving of my recipe here provides nearly 50 grams of protein and just 463 calories. It's also full of Vitamin A and Potassium, among other vitamins.
Yes, frozen corn is fine. Add frozen corn during step 2 instead of at the end.
To make a thicker, creamy chili, mash 1 can of the cannellini beans before adding to the broth. If you're not concerned about keeping it dairy-free, then add about ½ cup or more of sour cream or cream cheese after it's done pressure cooking.
You should not use the chili setting for this recipe, since the chicken is not being cooked in the broth. On high, the chili setting is programmed for 30 minutes and on low is programmed for 25 minutes. This recipe needs only 5 minutes of pressure cooking time so you can just use the manual or pressure cook mode.
Recipe
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2-4 jalapeno peppers sliced and divided, with or without seeds
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 8 oz diced green chiles
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon ancho chili powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups rotisserie chicken shredded, without skin
- 3 cans cannellini beans 15 ounce cans, drained
- 1 cup sweet corn
- fresh cilantro torn
- tortilla chips optional for serving
- cheddar cheese optional for serving
Instructions
- Add olive oil to the inner pot of the pressure cooker. Set to saute on high for 3 minutes. Add diced onion, minced garlic, and half of the sliced jalapenos to the pot. Reserve the remaining jalapenos for serving. Cook, stirring frequently.
- Pour the chicken broth into the inner pot and deglaze, scraping stuck pieces off the bottom of the pot. Add the fire roasted chilis, oregano, cumin, ancho powder, chili powder, salt and black pepper.
- Close and seal the pressure cooker lid. Set to pressure cook/manual on high for 5 minutes. Complete a controlled quick release of the pressure when done. Remove the lid and stir in shredded chicken, cannellini beans, and sweet corn. Let warm through for 5 minutes.
- Serve topped with fresh torn cilantro leaves, sliced jalapenos, tortilla chips and cheddar cheese if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Sarah says
If I want to use dry beans, would I simple cook them beforehand then add to the stew as if I were using canned? thanks!
Kristina Tipps says
Yes you can do that.