My Mom used to make this white chicken chili recipe when we were little all of the time. We have a little book of quotes that she has recorded all of our funny kid mispronunciations and comical phrases. When I was reading through it recently, I found an entry for “White Chicken Silly Soup” that made me laugh! I thought I would try this recipe again to see if I still thought it was still silly.
White Chili for Non-Tomato Fans
Although red chili can be very cozy in the winter, I am not a huge fan of tomatoes. I want to like them, but I just do not. This white chili is not spicy but has a very nice-tasting broth that is kid-friendly
As with most soups, the only hard part is getting all of your ingredients ready!
Once our chicken was cut into small pieces, we added it to our stock pot with a bit of oil. We then added the onions, which we going to skip, but Mom wouldn’t let us. Someday we are going to find a soup recipe that does not have onions.
At this point, we added the green chilies. I want all of the kids who are reading this to not be scared. Although we were terrified of this ingredient, I promise we didn’t taste anything spicy or yucky in the final soup. But it did look a bit gross to us kids at this point.
After adding the spices, this soup started to smell really delicious!
Thickening the White Chicken Chili
As we have said in our Butternut Squash post, we tend to like a thicker soup. Since there are no potatoes, or fancy Roux to thicken this chili, we decided to take a cup of the white beans and blend them together with some broth. This worked to make the soup seem creamier and I think next time we would blend even more.
Finishing the Chili
We have to admit, that this chili made the house smell so good! After it was done simmering, we added the cilantro and the lime. But we have to be honest and say we only added the cilantro to the bowl for the pictures because Mom said we had to. We prefer to keep the greens to a minimum, so all of you kids can feel free to skip it if you prefer.
Forget the Spoon
The best part about this chili is skipping the spoon and just using tortilla chips instead! Or you can pair with our cheese biscuits.
Easy White Chicken Chili Kids Can Make
We used to call this easy white chicken chili, "white chicken silly soup." This is a kid friendly recipe that is perfect for kids who are not fans of tomatoes.
Ingredients
For the Chili
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 pound boneless chicken, cubed (about 3–4 boneless, skinless breasts)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3–4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cans Great Northern Beans
- 1 3.5-ounce can green chilies
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 lime
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 32 ounces chicken broth
Optional Toppings
- Sour cream
- Avocado
- Tortilla Chips
- Cheesy Biscuits
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add chopped onion and cook for about 2 minutes- just until onion starts to
become translucent. - While onions are cooking, drain beans, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
- Sprinkle chopped chicken with a little salt and pepper and add to pot. Add garlic as well. Cook until there’s no more visible pink on the chicken, probably 3-4 minutes. Then add green chills with all of the juices in the can. Stir to combine and then add chicken broth (leaving a 1/2 cup to blend.)
- Using a hand blender, blend a cup of the white beans with 1/2 cup of the broth.
- Add remaining beans, cumin, oregano, coriander, salt, and a few turns of fresh cracked pepper. Stir to combine and then add the blended chicken broth and beans.
- Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add the juice from one lime and 1/2 cup chopped cilantro.
Notes
Adapted From Our Best Bites