Christmas is always a very stressful time of year for me. There’s just too much to get done in too short a space of time! One of the things I do to try to make things run more smoothly is to make recipes that are familiar and comforting. Things that don’t require a lot of time standing at the stove. And ones that make large batches that can stretch for several meals. This White Chicken Chili fits all of those descriptions. It starts out with a purchased rotisserie chicken which saves a huge amount of cooking time. The remaining prep time is minimal and it cooks at a low temperature while you’re free to do other things. And, it makes a large pot full of chili! Good for two, if not three, meals for me and BeeBop.
I’ve posted several chili recipes here in the past for various types of chili – Black Bean Chili, Vegetable Chili, a White Bean Turkey Chili, and even my shortcut Chili-My Way. All those chilies have one thing in common – they’re tomato based. But in this White Chicken Chili, there’s not a tomato in sight. It’s a creamy, buttery, smooth base full of delicious, tender chicken and white beans. And just may be our all-time favorite chili around here.
White Chicken Chili - a creamy, buttery, smooth base with tender chicken and white beans. Click To Tweet
Start with a purchased rotisserie chicken. Remove all the meat and shred or chop it and set it to the side. Those little rotisserie chickens really have a lot of meat once you disassemble them, don’t they? Discard the skin and bones. Or nibble on a little bit of the crunchy bits if you’re like me :-)
Then, in a large pot cook the chopped onion in butter until the onions are nice and softened. Remove them from the pot and set them aside for now. In the same pot, melt the remaining butter and whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking constantly, for three minutes. Add the onions back to the pot. Gradually add the broth and the half and half, whisking all the while. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until thickened.
The mixture will be nicely and obviously thickened. See how it clings to the spoon?
Then stir in the Tabasco, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Add the drained beans, chilies, chicken, cheese and milk. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Stir in the sour cream.
This chili may be served immediately but it so much better the next day after the flavors have had a chance to combine. Serve with the usual chili garnishes – cilantro, cheese, jalapenos, etc.
Enjoy!
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White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
- Amy’s Amazing White Chicken Chili from Kalyn’s Kitchen
- Black and White Chicken Chili from Leite’s Culinaria
- Aunt Jennifer’s White Chili from Weekly Dish
- Paula Deen’s White Bean Chili
- The Pioneer Woman’s White Chili
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