This Spicy White Chicken Chili is made with roasted poblano peppers, chunks of chicken, beans, and a blend of spices.
A smokey spice gives this creamy white chicken chili life and brings out the hint of lime juice. This is just the meal that you want on a cold winter day.
You might be wondering what the difference between chili and white chili is. First, white chili is white in color because it doesn’t have any tomatoes. Secondly, white chicken chili tends to have a soupier consistency than chili.
This Spicy White Chicken Chili is almost like a cross between a chili and a corn chowder. It’s equal parts creamy and spicy. The soup gets it’s creaminess from a combination of cream cheese and pureed beans. Adding pureed beans to a soup is one of my favorite ways to thicken soup while adding a creamy consistency.
I love to roast poblano peppers because it gives them a smokey flavor and it helps to bring out the spice. I added two chopped poblano peppers without seeds to my chili. It has a spice level of about a 7. It is the type of spice that lingers and builds with each bite.
There are a few ways that you can adjust the spice level of this chili. Adding an extra poblano pepper will add more heat. You could also add some jalapeños. Reducing the amount of cream cheese you add to the chili is another way of increasing the spice.
The total active preparation time for this recipe is only about 30 minutes, this recipe it makes enough to feed the entire family. Or if you are a household of two like us, it is enough to eat for dinner and to pack for lunch a couple of times.
How to make Spicy White Chicken Chili:
Spicy White Chicken Chili
A creamy spicy White Chicken Chili with chunks of chicken, corn, great northern beans, and roasted poblano peppers.
Ingredients
- 2 Poblano Peppers
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Yellow Onion, chopped
- Salt and Pepper
- 3 cloves of Garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 5 cups Chicken Broth
- 2 cans of Great Northern Beans
- 8 ounces of Cream Cheese, cubed
- 1 1/2 cups Corn
- 1 Lime, juiced
- 2 1/2 cups diced Chicken
Instructions
First, roast the poblano peppers. You can either place them on a baking sheet under the broiler until the skin is charred, or you can place them directly over a gas burner. Either way, rotate peppers to char as much of the skin as possible. Then place in a covered bowl for 5 minutes to let the peppers sweat off some of the skin.
Then peel off the skin and chop the peppers removing the stems and seeds.
Next, heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper, and saute for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add the garlic. Saute until the onions are translucent, then add the chopped poblano pepper, cumin, and chili powder.
Add the chicken broth and let come to a simmer.
Meanwhile, drain and rinse one can of beans, then use a food processor to puree the beans. Add water (or liqud from the second can of beans) if necessary to get the beans to churn in the food processor. Then add these beans to the chili.
Drain and rinse the second can of beans and add to the chili.
Once the soup is simmering, add the cream cheese. Stir to combine and stir frequently until the cream cheese melts.
Then add the corn, chicken, and lime juice to the soup. Let slowly simmer for 10 minutes before serving.