White chicken chili with green chiles and white beans
A pale, creamy chili of cubed chicken, white beans, green chiles, and corn, thickened mainly with mashed beans rather than dairy.
Research-based original adaptation informed by Cooking Classy's mashed-white-bean thickening technique, with a dairy-light formula and Health Canada poultry guidance
Ingredients
Written for a 6 L pot
Units
Temperature
Servings
Chili
- 30 ml olive oil rounded
- 200 g yellow onion, diced rounded
- 3 garlic, finely chopped rounded
- 700 g boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2 cm pieces rounded
- 200 g roasted peeled mild green chiles, drained and diced rounded
- 300 g corn kernels, fresh or frozen rounded
- 720 g cannellini or Great Northern white beans, drained; reserve 240 g for mashing the beans with broth rounded
- 800 ml low-sodium chicken broth rounded
- 6 g ground cumin rounded
- 4 g ground coriander rounded
- 2 g dried oregano rounded
- 2 g black pepper rounded
- 7 g fine salt, divided rounded
- 40 ml lime juice rounded
- 20 g cilantro, leaves and tender stems chopped rounded
Method
- Keep raw chicken and its equipment separate from ready-to-eat food; wash hands and sanitize surfaces. Reserve 240 g beans and blend or mash them smooth with 250 ml of the measured broth.
- Heat oil over medium-high. Brown chicken in two batches for 5 to 7 minutes total and remove; it need not yet be cooked through.
- Cook onion for 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin, coriander, oregano, and pepper for 45 seconds.
- Add green chiles, remaining broth, whole beans, chicken, and half the salt. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Stir in bean puree and corn. Simmer 8 to 12 minutes, scraping the bottom, until creamy and spoon-coating. Check several chicken pieces reach 74°C.
- Remove from heat, add lime and cilantro, rest 10 minutes, and adjust salt. If too firm, loosen with broth in 30 ml increments.
Ingredient substitutions
- Hatch, Anaheim, or poblano chiles are preferred. In Germany, char and peel 170 g green bell pepper plus 30 g seeded jalapeño; it is sweeter and less earthy. In Canada use 200 g drained canned green chiles or roasted fresh Anaheim or poblano.
- Cannellini and Great Northern beans interchange by drained weight. German weiße Riesenbohnen need more thorough mashing. Canadian navy beans thicken more strongly, so hold back 30 to 60 ml broth.
- Chicken breast replaces thigh by equal weight but is leaner; stop cooking at 74°C. It is not identical in juiciness.
Notes
- The core has no dairy, but do not claim dairy-free or gluten-free without checking broth and packaged chiles. Cheese, sour cream, or yogurt toppings add milk.
- Scaling above 1.5 times requires a larger pot and batch browning.
- Cool in shallow containers within 2 hours, refrigerate at 4°C or below, and use within 3 days. Freeze cooled portions for up to 3 months. Reheat only what is needed to a rolling boil and 74°C throughout; store toppings separately.
Sources consulted
- Cooking Classy: White Chicken Chili
- Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner: Beef Chili
- Health Canada: Safe internal cooking temperatures
- Health Canada: Food safety tips for leftovers
Sources consulted
From Christoph Mayer