Michelle's Blonde Chicken Chili

I hate the reviews that state: this was a great/awful recipe, but I didn't follow any of the directions or use any of the right ingredients. That said, I love this recipe. However, I use about 4-5 cloves garlic in place of the powder, double the chilies and add celery. I also saute the garlic, onion, celery, and chilies, add the broth and boil the chicken in the broth. (Because of this, I usually add a few cups more broth.) When the chicken is cooked, I shred it and put it back in the broth and add the beans. I also mash up some of the beans for a thicker soup. I've made this the night before, refrigerated and heated in a slow cooker the next morning. It's very yummy. This is excellent for left overs also.

I submitted this recipe years ago, looked it up on a whim and WOW! I can't believe so many people have tried this recipe. Just a few notes on how I have changed it over the years: Now I use a combination of navy beans, pinto beans, and great northern beans. I use a lot more broth than 2 cups, I periodically add broth to cover the ingredients as I add them. If I have time, I boil the chicken breast whole and then shred it by hand, it really adds good texture. I no longer use the bean juice. Instead I take a can of beans, drain, rinse and food process or mash by hand and it makes the broth thicker. I'm so glad so many people have enjoyed this chili. Chili can be a comfort food and healthy at the same time. Enjoy!

This was a really good chicken chili. My family loved it! I always read reviews and make a few changes based on what I read. Here is what I did: I made this in the crock pot so I used whole chicken breasts. They were easy to shred at the end which gave the chicken the texture I wanted. I also added more garlic, cumin and oregano. I find that any dish with beans often needs more spice when it cookes so long. I added a can of Rotel Tomatos (spiced up chopped tomatoes) to it as well. Before adding the beans, I drained them and rinsed them. I always drain and rinse canned beans before using them. I served this with white rice (my husband and son like chili on rice) and grated cheddar cheese.

Excellent Recipe. I replaced one can of green chili's with a can of jalepenos instead, and it added even more spunk to this recipe. I added garlic as well.. because I love it! This was great, and it sat in my crock pot for 6 hourss on low and maintained perfectly all day. Great as a leftover too. One recommendation *** drain the beans so the slimy consistency is gone, replace liquid by using the remainder of the chicken broth(I used a whole can of fat free chicken broth), then use your blender or a fork to mash the last 2 cans before adding them in.

This is a great recipe.I do mine with a few changes,instead of browning the chicken,I start with a quart of chicken broth and cook the chicken breasts in it until opaque.Then I remove the breasts and shred the meat,continue boiling the broth until reduced by half.Everything else is the same.A nice garnish is sour cream and seeded and minced fresh jalapeno chilies

I've been searching for a chicken chili recipe. I've tried others that bored me to tears because they were so bland. This one is wonderful! I did poach then shred the chicken. I used one can of diced chili peppers and one can of Rotel tomatoes with green chili peppers because this was what I had on hand and because another member did the same and said it worked. Great recipe! Thank you!!!

This is a favorite receipe at our house especially on Christmas Eve. I cook it in a crock pot add 8 oz of sourcream and 3lb. of Monterey Jack cheese just before serving.

This was very delicious. I followed other reviews suggestions to poach the chicken breast and shred them rather than cubing them. Definitely worth the extra effort..YUM..love shredded chicken. This receipe has a very generous amount of chicken in it and could make do with less. In fact I didn't put all I had in. The seasonings were just a touch to heavy for my taste and probably would use a little less next time...cumin is a very potent flavor. I substituted dried cilantro as I didn't have fresh and was surprised to find it tasted pretty good. Fresh cilantro would be better, though. I would add something to give it a little heat next time as we like spicy foods.

I was excited to make this because of all the stellar reviews and because I've never had chicken chili and it sounded pretty healthy. This is a TON of chicken and a TON of beans. I wish I had cut recipe in half. I did poach and shred the chicken (which took a while - 3 pounds of chicken!!) and then mashed the last 2 cans of beans. Also, added more broth. This stuff might be the most unappetizing looking recipe I've ever made. The little pink wormy things from the great northern beans don't help. :-( And, this was very bland to me. This is edible, but won't make again.

DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELISH. This is one of the foods I mark as "better the second day." I placed the leftovers in the fridge and when I ate them for lunch all of the spices and delishiousness had blended together even more. I served this with whole wheat chips. YUM!

This is great chicken chilli!! I added two cans of white corn (drained) and it was even better. Highly recommended!! David

I won the Celestial Chili Award at our first annual chili cookoff at church with this recipe. I wasn't even planning to enter till a couple of hours before, and so this was literally thrown together at the last minute. I threw in a bunch of cheese (it was actually the kids' cheese sticks, cut up into small pieces) to melt into the chili, and think it added a great depth. Not to mention a lot of sinful calories... so I don't do that every time. But I do sprinkle some low fat mozarella cheese on my serving most times, and it's just the ticket. This is such an easy, forgiving, and delicious recipe, and I love telling those who beg for the recipe how easy it is to just dump several cans and a few spices into the pot. I don't have to be an amazing cook (which admittedly I'm not) to make scrumptious food! YAY! Thank you Michelle!

This white chili rocks! However, me being who I am, I did play with the recipe a little...melted 3 tbsp butter , whisked in 3 tbsp flour, stirred in the chicken broth and 1 c half and half and brought to a simmer for a thicker "base" before adding the other ingredients. Didn't cube the chicken; cooked it whole and then pulled it into pieces with two forks (turns out exceptionally tender this way). Also cheated and used a pack of McCormick White Chili Seasoning instead of the dried spices called for (still used the fresh cilantro). My entire family is nuts about this stuff...in fact, my son took the last bit to work with him today and my daughter (who works at the same place) called and asked if I would make more to send with him tomorrow for her lunch! Thanks Marshmom!

This is a very good base recipe, and I'm giving it 4 stars for that. I am giving 5 stars to the recipe I made, based on other reviewers' advice. I didn't want to make quite so much so I used about 1-1/2 lbs of chicken breast, 4 cups of chicken broth to start, 1 can of chopped green chilies, and 3 cans of great northern beans (drained). I took the advice of some and mashed one can of the northern beans before cooking, then cooked everything together for about 8 hours on low heat in the slow cooker. Afterwards, I took out the chicken and shredded it, then mixed it back in the chili. We were planning to eat the chili that night, but got invited out to dinner instead, so I stuck it in the fridge until the next day. In the morning, I put the chili back on the crockpot for about 10 hours on low. By dinnertime it was really ready! The flavors had really mixed together by then, and everything was so delicious! I had it topped with sour cream and a side of cornbread. I will definitely be making this again!

This was just what I was looking for. I used to buy the "chicken chili" packets from the store, but no longer. This was great and gone in a couple sittings with just 2 of us eating it. I added chopped red, yellow and orange bell peppers and used a store bought roasted chicken. YUMMY. I'll definately be making this again once the weather turns colder.

I tied for first place in my company's chili cook-off with this recipe. I did boil and dice the chicken breasts. Otherwise, I followed the recipe to the letter. Thanks, Michelle.

My family loved this meal, it was so good and my family is very picky. of course I did change a few things that just enhanced it all the more - 2 TBS fresh cilantro, 1 can of mexican style diced tomatoes,I did use 4 garlic cloves instead of powder. I used rotisary chicken already cooked. Made it a lot easier and faster to make. I topped with sour cream, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, chopped green onions, and shredded mexican cheese. Yummy,Yummy, Yummy It was simply the best meal and I will definitely make it again and again. Thank You

Oh, this WAS so good. I'm convinced that the green chilies and cilantro makes this recipe stand out. I changed it up a bit just because I've gotten use to having certain ingredients in my chili. I include cooked brown rice, green papper and hot turkey sausage in mine and I toppped with sharp cheddar. I also added chopped tomatoes. Very hearty and yummy.

I wasted lots of food on this recipe. It was very bland and was totally missing something...too bad I didn't know what was missing cause I would have tried to fix it before tossing it out. I guess its not for me, or my kids, they wouldn't eat it either.

This is pretty good - just a touch on the bland side though. I did only have one can of chiles, but I'd like more flavour rather than more spice. Perhaps more garlic powder or more coriander (which I used in place of fresh cilantro). Not bad though, makes a nice dish to portion out and freeze for lunches or quick dinners!

I like this as a base, but found it needed to be brothier. This may be because I shredded the chicken instead of cubing, but I liked it better this way. I will just add more broth next time. I also accidentally bought a can of tomatoes with green chilis, but I actually liked it this way, so will continue to make it with those. :)

My wife makes this about once a month. It's very good. She uses fresh garlic rather than the powder and puree's some white beans to thicken the receipe. It's always a hit with the family and guests.

This was ok, but really lacking flavor. I ended up layering this chili with tortilla chips and cheese and baking as a casserole, then topped with sour cream and jalapenos. Now that was good!

I've tried several variations of white chicken chili & this is the best by far. I never follow recipes exactly but I think I stuck pretty closely this time. This will definitely be my go to recipe. Thanks so much for sharing. As far as my changes, that I can remember, I added some chopped celery, more cumin, oregano & garlic powder (I'm not a huge fan of measuring spices) & more chicken broth. Yummy!

Made a double batch of this for the crew at work. I did tweak it a bit by adding some black beans and frozen corn. Can't wait to have it for dinner with my friends from work. They're gonna love it! Thanks for sharing the recipe :)

This was very so-so for me. I followed the recipe and it just came out very bland. I tried adding more spices but it didn't do much for it.

I made this chili for a Super Bowl tailgate party at my church. It was amazing and I didn't change anything except to cook the chicken in my crock pot prior to adding into the chili. It took 2nd place in the chili cookoff. Loved it!!!

This recipe was great. A little spicy, but I added a can of cream of chicken soup to help thicken the chili and take away a little of the spice. But overall I recommend this recipe and will make it again !!!!!!

LOVE IT!!! I used leftover baked chicken and used 1 can of green chilis and one can of green enchilada sauce that I had sitting in my cupboard. I served it with grated cheese, sour cream and tortilla chips. It is awesome. My husband even raved over it - his part of the review is to crumble up the chips into the chili just like crackers. Thanks a bunch!

My kids live this chili. great with fried cornbread!

This was so good. I make chili all the time for my kids, usually the beef variety, and it's always lacking, and someone always has a complaint. This time, everyone ate it, and loved it. It was super easy, and sooooo good. I will definately make it again. I did tweak it abit, i didn't have oregano and no red peppers so, i didn't add them. I did add Frank's red hot sauce though. Absolutely amazing. Thanks for sharing. My kids and me thank you!

Great great!! We really loved this chili.

Changes. Drained/rinsed the beans, used 2 cans of broth, and simmered about 1 hour. In my recipe box. Enough said?

Delicious. We can not tolerated hot sauce, we put 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce in it.

Fantastic! One of the best white chilis I have ever had. My son and my husband ate it all!

This is a great recipe to use for soup or even a dip for tortilla chips. I usually add roasted red peppers and it gives the soup an boost of color. Be sure to sear or evenly brown the chicken-it makes a difference in the taste.

Excellent!

delicious

I made this for lunch and followed recipe. However it didn't look like "chili" to me, so I took another can of beans and a small amount of chicken broth and made a smooth paste in food processor. I also poached my chicken tenders in water and chicken broth mixture. I then shredded my chicken. I was worried it would be too spicy for my family, so I didn't add the entire can of green chili's.

I printed this recipe over three years ago but just found it in my recipe folder. I whipped it up and can I say WOW! Until this one, I had yet to find a great WCC recipe. But this one is my fav now -- I just love the green chili flavor! Also, the second time I made it, I accidentally added too much chicken broth and realized it also would make a flavorful chicken soup. Just replace the beans with any bite-size pasta or rice. Thanks for posting this great recipe!

Great recipe. Added some homemade pintos to thicken it.

We love this at our house.

Great receipe! Easy to prepare and my family loved it. It is now a regular around our table.

Delicious! My husband loves this one, too. We often use a mixture of pinto and great northern beans.

I have been making this recipe for years and it's AMAZING. I've made it for many potlucks and always get compliments. It's nice to have an option other than traditional chili. The main change that I make is how I prepare my chicken: I place all of the chicken in boiling water for a few minutes. It cooks pretty fast-- seven minutes, maybe. I take one out and cut it in half to make sure there is no pink remaining. Once done I cut each breast in half and shred with two forks. This sounds like a pain but is really quite simple and quick. I prefer shredded chicken in a chili versus cubed. Also I always play how much Great Northern beans I need by ear-- add a can at a time until it's the consistency you like. I never need as much as this recipe calls for. Garnish wish shredded cheese, sour cream, and the colored shredded tortilla chips are yummy with this too! Enjoy!! :)

this is almost too ugly to eat...but please do because it is wonderful.

I had to remind myself that I was making chili, not tortilla soup because that's what it reminded me of... And it's a great chili! Mexican/monterey jack cheese is huge in adding to the flavor of this. A little sour cream helps too! I made this in the slow cooker. I put in everything on med/med high, let the chicken cook, then shredded it and put it back in to cook longer. I halved the recipe as well and still had dinner for four and lunch the following day. I used 1 1/2 lbs of chicken, 2 T dried onion, 1 cup broth, 1 can chiles, 2 cans beans, 2 t. minced garlic, 2 t. cumin, 1 t. oregano, 1 t cilantro, 1/2 t. red pepper and 1/2 t. chili powder. I also added a can of mexican style tomatoes- added flavor and eye appeal! My husband loved it too- as many have said, better the second day!

I had ground chicken and used that, it was good, but I do think a shredded chicken would work best with this recipe. My 9 year old loved it and wanted it the next night! We also skipped the cilantro as this is not a flavor we care for.

This was excellent & so easy!

Fabulous!

This was so quick, easy, and good! I only made one change -- boiled the chicken breasts in water and then shredded them. We decided that if we ever opened a restaurant, this will be on our menu. Thanks Michelle!

really nice flavor. i used 4 cans of beans. 5 may have made it too bland with so many beans. also added more onion and garlic than suggested and added some chili powder as well.

Great white chili recipe!

This chili is always a huge hit at my office's annual chili cookoff. I add 1 habanero pepper to kick it up.

I have been making this chili for years and it is always a big hit. Especially at our annual bon-fire party in October. This recipe triples and quadruples very well. Robbi M.

This chili was pretty darn good! The only changes I made were to sub 1 can of the green chilies for 1 can of diced jalapeños, add fresh minced garlic in addition to the garlic powder and I only used 3 cans of the beans instead of 5. If you add the beans right into the chili without rinsing and with their canned juices, there is no reason to add anything to thicken the chili up. The starchy juice does that for you automatically without compromising taste (I know we're always told to rinse canned beans, but trust me!). I also just used chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken I got at the market, which I shredded. Was wonderful and easy this way. I topped with the monterey jack cheese as suggested, sour cream and fresh cilantro and served with cheddar garlic biscuits. If I make this again, I don't think I'll add the crushed red pepper if I add the can of jalapeños. Was very spicy with both, almost too spicy. But overall a great recipe which I'll add to my recipe box!

I've tried a few white chili recipes and this one is the best so far. I only had three chicken breast (probably just under 2lbs), so had to cut the beans down to two cans. I cooked my chicken first in a pressure cooker, adding some of the same spices called for in the recipe. I used that broth instead of canned broth and shredded the chicken. I then dumped it all into a stock pot together, keeping the rest of the ingredients including the spice amounts at the ten serving suggestion (I did use fresh minced garlic instead of powdered). I did smash one can of the beans to give a bit of thickness to the sauce and minced one jalapeño pepper and diced two scallions. I simmered it all for an hour on low. Topped it with fresh cilantro, Monterey jack cheese and some avocado slices. The flavor was just right, chicken so tender and the broth had a great flavor. I contribute the flavor to using real homemade chicken broth and simmering longer than 30 minutes. Served four adults and we even seconds. So still quite a bit of chili.

even my picky 4-yo ate it!

O.K. To start, I committed the cardinal sin of not following the recipe exactly as written because, for the life of me I could not find canned great Northern Beans, so I went with white pintos andwhite kindneyu beans. That having been said, I think we can agree that a bean is a bean, and it is the flavourings that really add the taste! Wowsers, this was a spectacular recipe. Toothsome, just enough spice to make it edible, and yummy in my tummy. Oh yes, I did decrease the red pepper to 1/2 tsp, as I don't like things too, too spicy. I will use this recipe repeatedly. It was fantabulous!

Very good. I pulled apart the chicken(after cooking) insted of cubing so it was a little thicker, so I had to add the rest of my 2nd can of broth, then adjusted spices. turned out great, topped with shredded cheese and sour cream(add the dollp of sour cream you wont regret it). will make again, thanks.

This was wonderful! The only thing I had to change was I was out of chicken broth and had to just use water. This will definitely be a keeper and I'll make sure to have chicken broth on hand when I make it again.

Super delicious. Added large jicama (cook with chicken, onions, etc) Add carrots (4 large) Try adding a few pieces of celery After adding the final beans (and liquid) I used the immersion blender to pulse it a few times, this ground up some but not all of the beans/chicken and made it thicker. Was like 222 cal and 25 gram protein/cup.

This recipe always reminds me of Halloween. I don't know if it's the color or because it's when I start making soups and chilis but this recipe is really good. The only changes that I make to it is that I don't use as much chicken as called for and I usually add grated Monterey Jack cheese in it at the end. Very yummy!

Both of my picky eaters (my husband and my 2 yr old daughter) devoured this chili. They loved the melted cheese on top and the warm tortilla. Enjoy - we did!!

This chicken chili is so good, one bowl isn't enough!!

Great recipe. I added a touch more chicken broth. Excellent combination of flavors. I also cooked it in the crock pot--after just browning the meat. The chicken fell apart--fabulous!

Great recipe! I added 2 cans of 98% fat free cream of chicken soup to it to really make it thick. The whole family loved it! Thanks!

I've been making this one for a while now. It's my family's favorite. I get lots of requests for this one! I do use more broth (about 4 cups of the low sodium kind). It's sooo yummy!

Made this for a soup lunch at work. Brought in an 8 quart crock pot full. GONE IN 10 MINUTES. Served with sour cream and medium green salsa.. Yummy !! Anyone who was late for lunch, didn't get any and they were mad !! This is keeper. Poaching the chicken was a great hint since I had 4.5 lbs to do !! Much easier shredding.

Very very good. My first try at chicken chili and it is yummy! I had poached a whole chicken and shredded some, didn't have any green chilis on hand but next time I will use. I made a small batch and adapted the recipe, I will definitely make this again and again.

Great, GREAT white chili! I didn't trust your measurements & only used 2 lbs of chicken but I should've used the full 3 lbs. It would've been a perfect bean to chicken ratio! I used a little less than half the red pepper flakes cuz I'm a wimp. Cooked it all in 1 pan, cooking the diced chicken & onion first then adding the rest of the ingredients. Simmered for 30 min & it was perfect! Thank you!!

I am sure I've had this at a restaurant before and am so happy to have this recipe. This is a definite keeper at our house! Great with monterrey shredded on top, cornbread and a green salad.

This is honestly the best chili recipe that I’ve ever had. Absolutely knocked our socks off! This was a super delicious experience. Since I was only cooking for two, I cut the portions in half. I decided to boil and shred my chicken. I drained and rinsed the beans. To give my broth a little consistency, half the beans were processed. I added 3 times the amount of broth plus 1 tsp of salt for more flavor. Cover and simmer to complete this amazingly flavorful recipe. It was garnished with sliced avocado and fresh cilantro. This will be added to the hall of fame. 5 stars!!!

Add my voice to those who loved this recipe! The only thing I did differently was to add fresh garlic and a can of tomatillos(whirled in the blender). This was great!

The best chicken chili I've had!! I added celery and garlic too! Thanks!!

This was great! We are not cilantro fans and left it out - made no difference. Brought it to a potluck and several asked me for the recipe. I serve it with a flour tortilla lining the bowl, add the soup, and top with any combination of salsa, sour cream, and avocados or guacamole. Very warming - excellent for cold days.

OH MY THIS WAS YUMMY!!!!ADDED MORE BEANS SERVED WITH CORNBREAD.

Bland. Chicken dry and tough. Edible at best.

The only adjustment I made to the recipe was reducing the crushed red pepper to 1/2 teaspoon. Perfect amount of spice for our family. This was very good and different than my traditional chili, so a nice change. I may try draining the beans next time to see if I can get a less "pasty" texture.

very good

YUM! I used a whole fryer chicken, boiled it in onions, garlic powder, s&p and numerous chicken boullion cubes. I shred it and used that broth for the chili. Also cooked onions, chopped garlic, celery and green chilies before adding to chili. Taste got better throughout the day, left in crockpot 6 hours on low. GREAT!!

Awesome with some prep changes! I used the same pot (saving dishes here!) for browning the chicken and cooking the actual soup. Adds alot of flavor with the bits from the bottom of the pot. I also drained the bean juice from the cans as I dont like the taste.

This chili is wonderful! I made it for company and it was a huge hit. One guy even told me that he didn't like white chili, but really liked this one. I boiled and shredded the chicken and used four cans of beans. Definitely serve with shredded monterey jack cheese and sour cream.

Great recipe. I didn't have fresh cilantro and substituted dried, it was still yummy.

Oh my goodness. My family loves this recipes. My husband and brother-in-law beg for this all the time. I did make a few changes. Since I'm not a big fan of cilantro, I just skipped that and then I added just about 1/2 cup half and half at the end. It's a big hit with my family. I make it all the time now.

I made this for dinner on Sunday and it was a BIG hit - even with my 20-year old son who hates it when I deviate from "the norm". I made several small changes: I used olive oil instead of vegetable; the store I shopped at did not have northern beans so I used cannellini; I used minced fresh garlic instead of the powder and I left out the cilantro because I forgot to buy it. The results was still AMAZING and I will be making this on a regular basis! Thanks!!

100% good We had unexpected guests and we all loved it. Will definitly make again.

This chili is awesome, but just needs a little more spice or kick to it.

I don't usually do this but this chili is really good. I needed a recipe that was different form the usual after THANKSGIVING FARE and this hit the mark. everybody was asking me for the recipe, and when I gave it to them , they couldn't believe how easy it was to prepare because it taste as if you spent the whole day cooking.

This is the best chicken chili recipe and a great crowd pleaser. The only thing I would do differently with this recipe would be to start with 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper and add more as needed

This is the 2nd time I've tried chicken chilli and after this one I have decided to give up. Not very good; too mushy and not enough flavor.

Amazing!!!! I couldn't believe how much I liked it. The only things I did differently was nix the onions...I HATE onions and I used ground chicken. When I calculated all the ingredients it actually came out to 315 calories per serving when broken down into six servings. Not sure why my calcs are a lot lower. I am guessing it is because the ground chicken has less calories and fat. Right now I am experimenting with a vegetarian version. Which looks and smells just as good!

This recipe is the best. My family tried it once and now we are hooked. It does not look the best but this is not a beauty contest. EXCELLENT

Awesome chili! My family loves it!

This has become a staple in our house. The kids absolutely love it!

Very good! I only added 1 can of Green Chiles to mine due to my familys personal taste. I do think it was a little to much chicken, so next time I will reduce the chicken. I will make again.

WONDERFUL! and we enjoy it for days to follow. I boiled the chicken, then shredded, then sauteed with the onions. I like the texture of shredded chicken better then cubed.

I made this for dinner tonight and it taste great. I have never had Blonde Chicken Chili before...only the beef with the tomatoes and this tasted really terrific and I will be able to serve the left overs to my friends who are allergic to tomatoes. I will be adding this dish to my repertoire.

Very tasty and very simple. I made some changes recommended by others: poached the chicken in broth, then shredded it; pureed the last two cans of beans to thicken; added a can of Rotel tomatoes w/chili peppers. I did not have any fresh cilantro, though. After mixing it all, I put into a crockpot for a potluck lunch the next day. Delicious.