Healthy chicken chili is the warm, comforting, hearty meal you need on a cold day. Traditional red chili can step aside because this rich white chili definitely takes the cake. It is sure to fill you up, while staying light and healthy.
This healthy chicken chili is wonderfully thick and creamy, yet it has no added cream or dairy. It is so easy to make too, as you prep it for the slow cooker or crockpot, set it for a few hours, and completely forget about it. With minimal effort, you’ll have a delicious, flavor-packed meal that’ll also provide you with excellent leftover lunches or dinners for days!
What makes this healthy chicken chili so good?!
This healthy white bean chicken chili is truly one of the best out there! It is naturally thick and chunky with fresh, wholesome ingredients. Filled with corn, jalapeños, shredded chicken, and beans, this recipe is not only good for you, but it also leaves you completely satisfied.
Slow cooker chicken chili creates an entire meal, so no need to waste time making side dishes to go with it. You have your veggies, protein, and starches all wrapped into one bowl! It is super easy with very little work and an incredibly short prep time. Even better, over time, it magically builds flavor and leaves you with a smoky chickeny jalapeño chili that your family will love!
The beautiful magic not only comes from the punch of flavor, but from the wonderful texture you’re able to create with the white beans. Before adding them to the crockpot or slow cooker, half of the beans get a whirl through the blender, creating a creamy, dairy free base for the broth. As it cooks, it blends together with the other ingredients and gets filled with corn, chicken, and jalapeño goodness. There’s truly no other healthy chili like it!
Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- If you don’t like as much spice, you can opt to replace the jalapeños with an additional green bell pepper instead and prepare it in the same way as described for the jalapeños.
- For an even thicker broth, blend an additional can of beans. Just be aware that the chili thickens a bit more by the next day and gets plenty chunky from the chicken and corn.
How do you make healthy chicken chili?
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
Char the whole jalapeños by holding them over the open flame of your stove and rotating them until they’re dark on all sides. If you don’t have a gas stove, you can place them whole on a broil-safe sheet pan and broil them on high for a few minutes until charred. Watch them carefully.
Place the charred jalapeños in a bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow them to sit for 5 minutes before removing them from the bowl. Peel off the skin of the jalapeños and remove the inner ribs and seeds. Set them aside.
On a sheet pan, add your diced onions, green pepper, garlic, olive oil, and cumin. Mix it around to coat it all evenly in the oil and cumin. Place the sheet pan in the oven and roast until the onions and pepper become soft, about 10 minutes.
Add the cooked onions, pepper, and garlic to the slow cooker. Top them with the chicken breasts, corn, 1 can of the canned green chiles, 1 can of the beans, and 1 can of chicken broth.
To a blender, add the other cans of green chiles, beans, and chicken broth, along with the charred jalapeños. Blend until smooth and add the mixture to the rest of the ingredients in the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix everything together. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours. When done, remove the chicken, shred it with two forks, and place it back into the slow cooker.
Serve individually and top with fresh lime juice, cheddar cheese, sliced jalapeños, and tortilla chips.
For stovetop healthy chicken chili:
Follow all the above directions, but place everything into a tall stock pot instead of a crockpot. Cook on the stove for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Then, follow the final steps above.
What can I serve with chicken chili?
This white chicken chili can definitely stand alone as a meal, but if you want to add some variation, you can serve it with crusty bread, like a french baguette, a side salad, oven roasted vegetables, or homemade cornbread. You can also elevate it by topping it with fresh cilantro, avocado, scallions, yogurt or sour cream, and tortilla strips.
What is the secret to great chili?
Great chili is composed of 3 main things:
- A protein source of choice, such as chicken, ground beef, pork, lentils, beans, and the like.
- A fantastic blend of seasonings, such as chili powder, cayenne, cumin, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper.
- Additional flavor pairings and vegetables, such as jalapeños, peppers, corn, tomatoes, and chicken, veggie, or beef broth, as well as garnishes and toppings, like scallions, sour cream or yogurt, shredded cheese, avocados, tortillas chips, and so on.
What makes this chicken chili healthy?
This slow cooker chicken chili is healthy because it is homemade from fresh, wholesome, nutrient-packed ingredients. The chicken provides healthy protein to keep you full for hours, while the jalapeño, pepper, corn, onion, and garlic offer their own vitamins and minerals. Additionally, it is rich and creamy with no added thickeners, milk, butter, or cream. Instead, it utilizes the smooth, velvety properties of white beans to help thicken the broth and make it ultra comforting.
One more tip
- White chicken chili is excellent for lunch or leftovers the following day. The flavor tends to build as it rests and it also thickens a little bit more. To store, allow the chili to cool off and place it in the refrigerator up to 4 days. You can also freeze it for 4 to 6 months.
Looking for more healthy soup recipes? Try these:
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
Healthy Chicken Chili
Equipment
- slow cooker (or stock pot)
- Blender
- sheet pan
Ingredients
- 3 jalapeños
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 uncooked boneless chicken breasts (around 2 lbs)
- 2 cans yellow corn (15.25 oz each)
- 2 cans fire roasted diced green chiles (4 oz each)
- 2 cans white great northern beans (15 oz each) drained and rinsed
- 2 cans low sodium chicken broth (14.5 oz each)
- salt and pepper to taste
- for garnish: fresh lime juice, cheddar cheese, sliced jalapeños, and tortilla chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
- Char the whole jalapeños by holding them over the open flame of your stove and rotating them until they’re dark on all sides. If you don’t have a gas stove, you can place them whole on a broil-safe sheet pan and broil them on high for a few minutes until charred. Watch them carefully.
- Place the charred jalapeños in a bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow them to sit for 5 minutes before removing them from the bowl. Peel off the skin of the jalapeños and remove the inner ribs and seeds. Set them aside.
- On a sheet pan, add your diced onions, green pepper, garlic, olive oil, and cumin. Mix it around to coat it all evenly in the oil and cumin. Place the sheet pan in the oven and roast until the onions and pepper become soft, about 10 minutes.
- Add the cooked onions, pepper, and garlic to the slow cooker. Top them with the chicken breasts, corn, 1 can of the canned green chiles, 1 can of the beans, and 1 can of chicken broth.
- To a blender, add the other cans of green chiles, beans, and chicken broth, along with the charred jalapeños. Blend until smooth and add the mixture to the rest of the ingredients in the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper.
- Mix everything together. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours. When done, remove the chicken, shred it with two forks, and place it back into the slow cooker.
- Serve individually and top with fresh lime juice, cheddar cheese, sliced jalapeños, and tortilla chips.
For stovetop healthy chicken chili:
- Follow all the above directions, but place everything into a tall stock pot instead of a crockpot. Cook on the stove for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Then, follow the rest of the final steps above.
Notes
- If you don’t like as much spice, you can opt to replace the jalapeños with an additional green bell pepper instead and prepare it in the same way as described for the jalapeños.
- For an even thicker broth, blend an additional can of beans. Just be aware that the chili thickens a bit more by the next day and gets plenty chunky from the chicken and corn.
- White chicken chili is excellent for lunch or leftovers the following day. The flavor tends to build as it rests and it also thickens a little bit more. To store, allow the chili to cool off and place it in the refrigerator up to 4 days. You can also freeze it for 4 to 6 months.
Want more recipes like this delivered right to your inbox? Be sure to subscribe below and never miss a thing!
Kathy
Kids loved it and was great as leftovers.
Alana Lieberman
So glad to hear! It's definitely one of my favorites.