Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
This creamy Instant Pot White Chicken Chili is made with tender chicken, white beans, green chiles, and a smooth cream cheese broth. Includes cook times for fresh or frozen chicken.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion minced
- 2 (4.5 oz) cans chopped green chiles mild heat level, drained
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock *see note in recipe card
- 2 (15.5 oz) can cooked great northern beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts fresh or frozen
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
Instructions
- Before you start cooking, take the cream cheese out of the fridge and leave it on the counter to soften. This will help it blend beautifully into the chili.
- Turn on the Instant Pot's Sauté function, add the oil, and heat for 30-60 seconds. Once heated, add in the diced onions and green chiles. Sauté for 3-4 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften. Add 2 teaspoons minced garlic, 2 teaspoons cumin, and 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and sauté for 1 minute longer, or until fragrant. Hit Cancel to turn off the Instant Pot.
- Pour in about ½ cup of the broth and scrape off any browned bits from the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add the remaining broth to the inner pot.
- Stir in 1 teaspoon kosher salt and the rinsed and drained beans. Nestle the chicken into the cooking liquid.
- Close the Instant Pot and be sure the vent knob is sealed. Using the Manual or Pressure Cook function, set the cook time to 15 minutes on HIGH pressure for fresh or thawed chicken, or 20 minutes on HIGH pressure for frozen chicken.
- Once the cooking time elapses, let the pressure release for at least 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, you can do a quick release of any remaining pressure by knocking the vent knob from the sealed to venting position, or you can continue to let the pressure release naturally.
- Once the pressure has been released, remove the chicken from the inner pot to a cutting board and let rest for a few minutes, before shredding with 2 forks or chopping into bite-sized pieces.
- Remove 1-2 cups of the cooking liquid (it is okay if there are beans in the liquid) from the inner pot and place it into a blender. Add the softened cream cheese to the blender. Blend until well combined, leaving the vent on the blender lid partially open to let the steam escape while blending.
- Add the blended liquid and shredded or diced chicken back to the inner pot, and stir. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
- Serve as desired with any toppings you like, such as sour cream, shredded cheese, pickled jalapenos, diced avocado, fresh lime juice, and/or cilantro.
Video
Notes
*Note on Stock/Broth: Using 4 full cups of broth makes this a creamy, broth-forward chili. For a thicker result, reduce the broth to 2 cups, reduce the salt to just ½ teaspoon, and cook as directed. Keep in mind this will likely yield closer to 4-6 servings rather than a full 8.
Beans: Feel free to use cannellini beans in place of Great Northern beans.
Cream Cheese: I recommend avoiding fat-free cream cheese, as it isn't as rich and creamy as full-fat or reduced-fat.
Add Corn: Feel free to add up to 2 cups of frozen corn kernels before pressure cooking.
Dairy-Free: Omit the cream cheese. For a naturally creamy texture, blend about 1½-2 cups of the chili broth with some of the cooked white beans, then stir it back into the pot.
Storage: Once the white chicken chili has cooled, store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat individual servings in a heat-safe bowl, covered with a damp paper towel, in the microwave in 30-second intervals until warmed through.
See Instant Pot High Altitude Conversion if cooking 2500+ feet above sea level.
Nutrition
Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 598mg | Potassium: 566mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 100IU | Vitamin C: 2.4mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 1.9mg
