I couldn’t ever find a white chicken chili I liked, so after trying several “meh” recipes, I decided to make my own. Threw this together on a whim thinking it would at least be a quick, easy weekend prep to weekday meal kind of item. But it turns out that Barry declared this his favorite thing I’ve ever made, so I figured I better share. I make this pretty spicy but you can adjust (or eliminate) the heat easily. ~Robin
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Ingredients:
- 2 T. olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, diced*
- 4 medium jalapeño peppers, seeded, diced (reduce for lessened spice)
- 4 4-oz. cans (2 c.) chopped Hatch** green chiles; don’t drain (I use mild on these – more for flavor than heat)
- 4 cloves minced fresh garlic (or about 2 tsp. minced jarred garlic)
- 1 1⁄3 c. low-sodium chicken broth (can always add more if you need it, but you don’t want it too soupy)
- 4 c. cooked shredded chicken breast
- 3 cans cannellini beans, drained well
- 3 T. fresh lime juice (I just juice one small lime)
- 1 T. cumin
- 1 – 3 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (I do the whole tablespoon because I like it spicy!)
- 2⁄3 c. cilantro (about 1/2 a bunch) chopped; reserve some for garnish
- 1 1⁄2 tsp. garlic salt
- Optional garnishes/accompaniments (not figured in WW points): sliced avocado, shredded Monterey jack cheese, tortilla chips, and/or a cilantro sprig.
Instructions:
In a large stock pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil on med-high heat. Then add onion, jalapeño, chiles, garlic, and sauté for 5-7 minutes (until veggies soften).
Reduce to medium heat. Add drained beans, chicken, broth, cumin, lime juice, garlic salt (sounds like a lot of garlic, but it’s a whole lot of food too — trust me), cilantro, & red pepper flakes. Cook for 12-15 min.
Serve and garnish as desired.
Weight Watchers Info.: This makes a whopping 11 one-cup servings.
Old SmartPoints: 4 points per cup
Freestyle Points: 1 point per cup
*For easy onion dicing, using a ‘gator chopper will save you some tears, literally. They have varied dicing sizes, so be sure to check on that before purchasing – I used one with a ¼ inch dicing size, but you could use a larger one as well. I used to hate chopping onions before my folks got me this for Christmas one year. Now I can chop without tears and much more quickly.
**You can use any chopped green chile, but I prefer Hatch chiles.