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Home » Blog » Course » Main Dish » Instant Pot White Chicken Chili

Instant Pot White Chicken Chili

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Published: Aug 20, 2022 by Andrea + Stef ·

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Quick and easy to make Instant Pot white chicken chili is full of flavor and warms you with a slight kick of spice. Made with chicken, canned beans, vegetables and spices, this chili cooks up in the pressure cooker in 15 minutes.
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Bowl of white chicken chili with tortillas strips and cheese on top.
bowl of garnished white chicken chili

Instant Pot white chicken chili is a hearty and satisfying soup packed with tender chicken, beans, corn and peppers. It is quick and easy to make in the Instant Pot, so you are ready to enjoy your chili in only 35 minutes.

Table of Contents

  • What Is Instant Pot Chicken Chili?
  • Why You’ll Love This
  • Ingredients
  • INSTRUCTIONS
  • Recommended Tools
  • HOW TO MAKE AHEAD
  • HOW TO COOK ON THE STOVETOP
  • HOW TO STORE
  • Recipe Tips
  • Common Questions
  • Instant Pot White Chicken Chili Recipe
bowl of white chicken chili with a spoon in it

You can garnish this gluten free and keto friendly chicken soup with cilantro, queso fresco, jalapeños, tortilla strips and sour cream to make it even more delicious. Serve with crusty white bread or cheesy rolls for an amazing lunch or dinner.

What Is Instant Pot Chicken Chili?

White chicken chili is an easy to make chicken soup bursting with shredded chicken and vegetables like beans, corn, bell pepper and chilies. It is a hearty and flavorful soup seasoned with fresh lime juice, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. It can be prepared in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop and tastes absolutely amazing garnished with tortilla strips, jalapeños, sour cream, queso fresco and cilantro.

Bowl of white chicken chili with tortillas strips and cheese on top.

Why You’ll Love This

  • Main Ingredients: onion, garlic, chicken, chicken broth, beans, corn, bell pepper, green chilies, spices
  • Cooking Method: Instant Pot
  • Nutrients: great source of protein, 34g per serving
  • Cooking Time: 15 minutes (plus 10 minutes natural release time)
  • Pairs well with: grilled meats, fish and seafood
  • Diets: keto friendly, gluten free, dairy free (without sour cream or cheese garnishes)
  • Special Equipment Needed: Instant Pot, food processor or blender
ladle of white chili over an instant pot
two bowls of Instant Pot white chicken chili with garnishes

Ingredients

You may have all of these Instant Pot chicken soup ingredients in your refrigerator or pantry and not need to make a trip to the grocery store. See recipe card below for ingredient amounts and print the recipe.

  • Pantry Ingredients: olive oil, chicken broth, Great Northern beans, yellow corn, chopped green chilies
  • Produce Ingredients: onion, garlic, red bell pepper, lime
  • Meat Ingredients: chicken breasts
  • Spices: cumin, chili powder, salt, cayenne pepper
  • Optional garnishes: Jalapeño, sour cream, tortilla chips, queso fresco cheese crumbles, cilantro
ingredients for instant pot white chicken chili

WHAT TO MAKE NEXT: If you love making soup in the Instant Pot then you’ll love our Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup.

INSTRUCTIONS

This section shows how to cook easy white chicken chili in the Instant Pot, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique. For full step-by-step instructions, photos and nutritional information see the recipe in the recipe card below. You can print the recipe with or without photos.

PREPARE: First, blend one can of rinsed beans, if using. Then sauté diced onion and garlic for 5 minutes using the sauté setting of your Instant Pot. After turning off the Instant Pot, add chicken breasts, chicken broth, beans, corn, bell pepper, green chilies and spices. Stir to combine.

beans pureed in a blender
chopped onions in the instant pot

COOK: Lock the lid, set the release valve to closed and set the Instant Pot to pressure cook for 15 minutes. Afterwards allow a 10 minute natural release, before carefully opening the pressure valve to release the pressure.

all the soup ingredients in the instant pot
broth added to instant pot

FINISH: Remove the chicken, shred it and return it to the soup. Finally, season with lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.

shredded chicken returned to the soup
bowl of garnished white chicken chili

GARNISH: We recommend garnishing the finished chili with tortilla strips, sour cream, jalapeño slices, queso fresco crumbles and cilantro.

WHAT TO MAKE NEXT: If you love chili then you’ll love our Easy Chili recipe with beef and sausage.

Recommended Tools

Instant Pot– This recipe requires an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker. Andrea has this Instant Pot. It isn’t the fanciest but we love it and it will work for most people’s needs. If you’re looking for one with all the bells and whistles, Stef has this 10-in-1 Instant Pot.

HOW TO MAKE AHEAD

Instant Pot white chicken chili can easily be made completely ahead of time. Prepare this hearty and delicious chicken chili up to two days before serving. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to serve. You might find that the chili tastes even better after allowing the flavors to blend for a day or two.

HOW TO COOK ON THE STOVETOP

  1. Sauté the oil, onion, and garlic over medium heat in a dutch oven or heavy bottom stock pot.
  2. Add the chicken broth, beans, chicken breasts, corn, bell pepper, green chilies and spices. Stir.
  3. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and shred then return it to the pot. 
  4. Add salt, pepper, and lime juice to taste.
  5. Garnish and serve.

HOW TO STORE

Refrigerate: Store leftover chicken chili in an airtight container or ziploc bag in the fridge for up to 3 days if you can’t eat it the next day.

Freeze: Store in an airtight, freezer safe container. If you’re storing in a zip top plastic bag, try to get as much air out as possible. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Defrosting: A great way to defrost your Instant Pot chicken soup is in the refrigerator overnight.

Recipe Tips

Follow these tips to make the best easy chicken chili.

  • Don’t skip the sauté step. Sauteing your onions and garlic will improve the flavor and texture.
  • Use 3 cans of any types of beans. If you want to add kidney beans or pinto beans that works as well.
  • Taste the soup before you season with salt and pepper. You may want to add more lime juice or not want to add any salt, depending on the sodium content of your chicken stock.
  • Don’t forget to garnish. The soup is delicious on it’s own but try it with cilantro, queso fresco, jalapenos, tortilla strips and sour cream to kick it up a notch!
close up of a bowl of easy chicken chili

We love serving a simple side of crusty white bread with Instant Pot chicken soup. Crispy garlic French bread, air fryer 3 cheese bombs or easy cheesy garlic rolls are other great sides to serve with this mouthwatering soup. If you want to keep the meal low carb and keto friendly, cheesy cauliflower breadsticks are an amazing side dish choice. 

  • Easy Chili

  • Chicken soup in a gray mug.

    Instant Pot Chicken Soup

  • chicken tortilla soup in a bowl

    Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

  • Side view of a bowl of mexican rice with a spoon scooping some out.

    Instant Pot Mexican Rice

Common Questions

For perfect results every time, here are answers to the most common questions about cooking Instant Pot chicken soup.

Is white chicken chili healthy?

Instant Pot chicken soup is a healthy, low calorie and low carb meal choice. Above all, it only has 404 calories per bowl but provides 34g of protein. Additionally, chicken soup is gluten free, keto friendly and dairy free if eaten without sour cream and queso fresco crumbles.

What type of bean is best for chili?

We used great northern beans for this recipe but you can choose whichever kind you prefer. You could also try using black, pinto or kidney beans, for example.

Should white chicken chili be thickened?

This type of chicken soup is usually kept at a thinner consistency. Blending one can of beans before adding it to the soup, will thicken it slightly. Additionally, if you add a little cream when the soup has finished cooking it will become creamier. It will, however, no longer be dairy free.

Bowl of white chicken chili with tortillas strips and cheese on top.
5 from 3 votes

Instant Pot White Chicken Chili Recipe

Author Andrea + Stef

Course dinner, Main Dish, soup
Cuisine American, keto, Mexican
Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes minutes
Total Time 35 minutes minutes
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6 servings
Quick and easy to make Instant Pot white chicken chili is full of flavor and warms you with a slight kick of spice. Made with chicken, canned beans, vegetables and spices, this chili cooks up in the pressure cooker in 15 minutes.
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Equipment

  • Blender or Food Processor
  • Instant Pot
  • cooking spoon or spatula
  • meat shredder or two forks

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 4 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 3 cans Great Northern Beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 can yellow corn drained
  • 1 red bell pepper diced
  • 1 can chopped green chilies (4.5 oz)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 lime juiced

Optional Garnish:

  • jalapeño sliced
  • sour cream
  • tortilla strips
  • queso fresco cheese crumbles
  • cilantro chopped

Instructions

  • Blend one rinsed can of beans plus 1 tablespoon of water in a blender. Set aside.
    beans in a blender
  • Heat Instant Pot on saute setting.
  • Add oil to pot once it’s hot. Saute onion in the oil for 5 minutes. Stirring frequently.
    chopped onions in the instant pot
  • Add the garlic for 1 minute. Stir continually so it doesn’t burn.
    garlic added to onion in the Instant Pot
  • Add the rest of the ingredients, including blended beans. Stir.
    all the soup ingredients added to the instant pot
  • Close and lock the lid. Set vent to sealed.
  • Pressure cook on high for 15 minutes. Natural release 10 minutes.
  • Carefully switch vent to open to release remaining steam. Once steam is released, unlock and remove the lid.
    broth added to instant pot
  • Remove chicken, shred. Return to pot.
    shredded chicken returned to the soup
  • Add juice of 1 lime, and salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve with cilantro, queso fresco, jalapeños, tortilla strips and sour cream, if desired.
    bowl of white chicken chili with garnish

Notes

  • If you prefer, skip blending one can of beans and add those beans whole to the soup. The blended beans thicken the soup slightly and add protein to the broth.
  • You can also use frozen corn if you prefer.

Nutrition

Calories: 404kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 901mg | Potassium: 1188mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 790IU | Vitamin C: 41mg | Calcium: 144mg | Iron: 4mg

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