This Weight Watchers White Chicken Chili is a delightful and healthier alternative to traditional beef chili, offering a hearty and comforting meal with a creamy texture. The recipe yields approximately 8 cups, with each serving containing 3 points.
To start, sauté a diced small yellow onion in 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes. Add finely minced garlic and continue to sauté for an additional 30 seconds. Following this, incorporate low-sodium chicken broth, diced green chilies, cumin, paprika, dried oregano, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
Next, drain and rinse cannellini beans, setting aside 1 cup while transferring the rest to the pot. Take the reserved 1 cup of beans and blend them in a food processor with 1/4 cup of broth from the soup until nearly smooth. This puree contributes to the chili’s creamy texture.
Add Neufchatel cheese (light cream cheese) to the pot along with frozen or fresh corn, the whole and pureed beans, and stir well. Allow the mixture to simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes. Finally, stir in shredded cooked rotisserie or leftover chicken, fresh lime juice, and chopped cilantro. The chili is now ready to be served.
Garnish the dish with Monterrey Jack cheese, additional cilantro, avocado slices, and optional tortilla chips or strips for added texture and flavor. The recipe notes suggest using pre-cooked shredded chicken for better flavor, avoiding overcooked chicken breasts. If you don’t own a food processor, you can skip the pureeing step for a slightly less creamy consistency in the soup. Overall, this White Chicken Chili promises a delicious and satisfying dinner option, perfect for warming up on a chilly evening.
White Chicken Chili
This White Chicken Chili is hearty, warming, creamy and perfectly comforting. It’s a
great alternative to traditional beef chili and makes a simple, yet completely
delicious dinner! Makes about 8 cups. 3 points per cup
Servings: 8 servings
Ready in: 50 minutes
Prep
15 minutes
Cook
35 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 (7 oz) can diced green chilies
- /11/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 (8 oz) pkg Neufchatel cheese (aka light cream cheese), cut into small cubes
- 11/4 cup frozen or fresh corn
- 2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cooked rotisserie or left-over chicken*
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
- Tortilla chips or strips, monterrey jack cheese, sliced avocado for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute 4 minutes minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer.
- Add chicken broth, green chilies, cumin, paprika, oregano, coriander, cayenne pepper and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture just to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes.
- Drain and rinse beans in a fine mesh strainer or colander then measure out 1 cup. Set whole beans aside, transfer 1 cup beans to a food processor along with 1/4 cup broth from soup, pure until nearly smooth**.
- Add Neufchatel cheese to soup along with corn, whole beans and pureed beans and stir well. Simmer 5 – 10 minutes longer.
- Stir in chicken, fresh lime juice and cilantro. Serve with Monterrey Jack cheese, more cilantro, avocado slices and tortilla chips if desired.
Notes
*Recipe updated to use pre-cooked shredded chicken (previously used 1 Ib raw chicken in this recipe and cooked at
the beginning). I like the flavor of rotisserie chicken better plus this way you don’t end with over-cooked chicken breasts.
wilf you don’t own a food processor you can skip the pureeing step, soup just won’t be quite as creamy