Warm Up with a Bowl of Easy Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
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Today, we’re making a super easy Instant Pot white chicken chili. This chili is super easy and the best part is you can throw it all into the Instant Pot. Instead of letting chili cook on the stove all day, it comes together in an hour or so.
My husband has a “no soup for dinner” policy, but chili is hearty enough that it passes as “more of a stew.” I put all this in quotation marks because while I know what he’s getting at, I feel like chili is its own category in between soup and stew. Right?
What are your thoughts? Leave me a comment to tell me if you think chili is a soup, a stew, or its own category.
Anyways, let’s get to the recipe.
How to Make Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Let’s go through how to prep each of the ingredients in a little more detail than you’ll find in the recipe card. I think the recipe is pretty straightforward, but here’s where to look if you have any questions.
What Kind of Chicken to Use in Your Chili
For our white chicken chili, you’ll need a pound of chicken. I used a large chicken breast and two thighs, all boneless and skinless. Nutty as this is going to sound, pop those in the Instant pot first with a sprinkle of salt and tap the “Poultry” button. Turn the time down so it runs for about 6 minutes.
The chicken will finish cooking in the soup, but we want it cooked enough that we can chop and shred it.
I like my chicken texture to vary a little in each bite. Chunks of juicy chicken are nice to come across, but shredded chicken is its own wonderful texture, too. Because your chicken isn’t going to be cooked all the way through, the undercooked parts are easier to cube. Usually, the skinner section of your chicken breast will cook through and shred really easily.
To cube and shred efficiently, I simply use my knife to cut everything into cubes. Then, I use my tongs (which I usually use to hold the chicken while I cut it) to squish some of the well-done cubes. The meat will break into shreds where it wants to.
Finally, you’ll tip the chicken back into the Instant Pot.
Remember to wash your hands and sanitize the knife and surface upon which you were cutting to avoid cross-contamination.
White Beans and Yummy Veggies
I like cannellini beans best for my white chicken chili. Navy beans are fine, but I feel like they have kind of a powdery texture in soups. I can’t describe it any better than that. If that is the silliest thing you have ever heard, just use whichever you like best.
It’s only important that you use two cans of white beans. It’s kind of the whole point of this chili, right?
And you will be using the beans and the liquid they are stored in. This is nice because nothing goes to waste, you don’t have to rinse the beans, and it’s just plain quick.
For the veggies, I like a little heat, but I don’t want to add too many distracting colors. Keeping the color palette simple, I opt for a large yellow onion, two poblanos, and one large green bell pepper. You could easily use jalapeños for more heat or just green bell peppers for no heat.
I also like corn in my chili, but it does break down weirdly when it’s cooked for too long. So, go ahead and get out your can of corn so you don’t forget. Just know that you will drain it and add the corn at the end.
There are no tomatoes in this recipe. If that’s a deal-breaker for you, you can add them. Your chili just might come out a little pink.
While I’m breaking down my chicken, I do like to run the “Sauté” button with my onion and pepper just to get a little color on them.
What Spices to Use in Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
When it comes to the spices I use in my good old-fashioned turkey chili, they are pretty red in color. While this is great when your chili is meant to be Autumn-colored, it’s not ideal in white chicken chili. So, what spices do you use?
Skip the chili powder and paprika. Instead, we’ll use mustard powder. Then, we’ll still add the cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder as usual. Other than that, it’s salt and pepper and done!
All the partially cooked chicken, veggies, beans with their liquid, and spices go right into the Instant Pot. Hit the “Soup” button and let it work.
My Secret Ingredient
And now… the secret ingredient. What do you think it is?
It’s American cheese. Did you guess right?
Yeah, I take two slices of American cheese and stir them into my hot chili right after the Instant Pot finishes depressurizing. It melts in, it adds a little something, and it is delicious.
Are you too fancy for American cheese? I’m teasing. No, I totally get that. Just leave it out. I wouldn’t bother adding anything else because there isn’t a cheese that melts quite the same way.
For me though, I need it. If you happen to be the kind of person who has Velveeta on hand, GO FOR IT! Make this the cheesiest chili ever. My friend’s mom used to do that (or maybe she still does… I just haven’t seen her in a while), and it’s literally the ultimate comfort food. I think I ate like 3 bowls at her house.
How to Store Leftover Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
This actually isn’t a big recipe. My 3-year-old doesn’t really like foods that are mixed together like this, so she just had some chicken, peppers, and beans on a plate. Anyway, so, this recipe is honestly kind of small-batch compared to the usual chili recipe that preps enough for a church chili cookoff.
I got 5 pints of chili out of it. For us, a 2-cup/1-pint serving plus some cornbread is a very filling meal. Then we have enough to put into 3 pint-jars. That’s lunch for both of us the next day, and then, there is one to fight over the day after.
As with most chilis, this one is also a little better when it has been reheated the next day. Chili science is bonkers, y’all.
But anyway, I store my chili leftovers in glass pint jars portioned into servings so it’s easy to grab for lunch. I fill them up to the neck of the jar. There’s a little space for air there, but this is also a precaution if we end up freezing them.
We keep these in the fridge for no more than 5 days. If you need it to last longer, put the jars into the freezer after they have gotten cold in the fridge first. Keep in mind that water expands when frozen. So, that bit of space at the top is necessary to avoid your jar exploding in the freezer.
What to Serve with Your White Chicken Chili
My last post was for a really easy, small, tasty loaf of cornbread. This is the perfect side dish to go with your chili. It’s quick to make so you’re not tacking on hours of baking as you try to speed up chili-making in the Instant Pot.
Since you’re cooking in the Instant Pot, I assume you want all the quick and easy breads to go with as possible.
Now, if cornbread isn’t your thing, I would also recommend my 3-Ingredient Beer Bread Muffins.
You could also go for my small-batch garlic cheddar biscuits. These are a hit with people on Pinterest, and they are super duper easy with big flavor.
On a similar note, you could do my chili cheddar biscuits to carry over the spice into your breadbasket. This is a great option if you grew your own peppers and now need to eat them all before they go bad. Why yes, that is a very specific scenario that I am familiar with. Haha! How did you know?
The Instant Pot White Chicken Chili Tool Kit
Last but not least, here’s all the equipment you’ll need to make your chili. Happy cookin’!
Comment below if you have questions, concerns, or opinions. And tag me @ellejayathome on Instagram or Twitter if you share pictures from any of my recipes. I love to hear from you!
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (breasts and/or thighs)
- 1 large yellow onion
- 2 large poblanos
- 1 large green bell pepper
- 2 15-oz cans cannelini beans (with the liquid; do NOT drain)
- 1 tsp ground mustard powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp pink himalayan salt
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 2 slices American cheese (use the "deluxe" kind or Velveeta if you can find it)
Instructions
- Add raw chicken to the Instant Pot. Secure the lid. Press "Poultry" and turn the time down to 6 minutes.
- While the chicken cooks, dice your onion, poblanos, and green bell pepper.
- Wash hands thoroughly after handling poblanos. Avoid touching your face as the pepper oil may burn.
- Remove the chicken and dice it up. It may not be cooked all the way through. This is fine. Wash your hands, knife, and cutting board to avoid germs spreading.
- Add the diced chicken, diced vegetables, canned beans with their liquid, salt, pepper, cumin, mustard powder, garlic powder, and onion powder to the Instant Pot.
- Secure the lid, and press the "Chili" button. Let it run on the default settings and depressurize naturally.
- Remove the lid and add in the American cheese. Stir until it has melted in and the broth looks thick, cloudy, and more like chili.
- Portion into 5 pint-sized mason jars for meal prep for the week. Keeps in the fridge for 5 days. Freeze if you won't use it in time. Keeps in the freezer for up to 6 months. See blog post for notes on freezing glass jars.
- To serve fresh, ladle as much as you want into a bowl.
- Optional: Garnish with corn, jalapeños, cilantro, cheese, and/or avocado.
