Instant Pot White Chicken Chili is an outrageously delicious dinner made in one hour with only ten minutes of prep. Pantry ingredients, creamy and WOW your family chili recipe.
Instant Pot chicken and rice, Instant Pot Parmesan chicken pasta and Instant Pot rice and beans are other family crowd pleasers around here.
Table of contents
Instant Pot Chicken Chili
If I had to pick one soup to make year round, it would be this Instant Pot white chicken chili. There is literally a lineup with bowls as soon as chicken is shredded and cream cheese has melted.
This chili is a version of my healthy white chicken chili. It is creamy without too much fat, with hearty cannellini beans, tangy and perfectly spiced for kids and adults. Then topped with diced avocado, lots of cilantro, green onion and tortilla chips. Easy, healthy and out of this world dinner idea!
Chicken chili is a nice change to a turkey chili and is one of the most popular healthy Instant Pot recipes on iFOODreal. Love chicken? Make sure to browse these 20 Instant Pot chicken recipes.
How to Make Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
- Prep: Add meat, veggies and spices to Instant Pot. We will make chili creamy and add fresh herbs after it is cooked. Dairy scorches under pressure, that’s why we don’t add it before.
- Cooking: Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes and allow 10 minutes natural release. Then turn valve to Venting. If you vent right away, stew will splatter all over your counters.
- Seasoning: Shred chicken, I like to do so right in Instant Pot with 2 forks. Then add yogurt, cream cheese and herbs. You can use all yogurt, cream cheese or heavy cream. I like my proportions for balance of health and creaminess.
For more help, check out Instant Pot guide and which Instant Pot to buy.
Tips, Variations and Toppings
- Dried beans: Use 1 cup dried and rinsed white beans with 2 cups of stock and cook chili for 35 minutes.
- Frozen chicken breasts: Just like with Instant Pot frozen chicken, you can add breasts right in, no need to thaw but make sure they are separated. Same cook time.
- Leftover chicken: If you have leftover cooked chicken like rotisserie chicken, or maybe breasts from cooking whole chicken, or even better chili lime chicken, add them whole or shredded before cooking. This will allow for more flavors to develop.
- For 3 Quart Instant Pot: Cut ingredients in half and keep same cook time.
- Make dairy free by omitting dairy and pureeing 1 cup of beans with a bit of chili liquid. Add it back and chili will be naturally creamy.
- No diced green chiles? Mince a whole jalapeno, leave seeds in for spiciness or remove for more mild version.
- Don’t add dairy before cooking: Dairy separates under pressure, so make sure to add it after.
- Toppings: Our favorite easy additions are diced avocado and jalapeno, tortilla chips and more of cilantro, green onion and yogurt to taste. Also shredded cheddar cheese or crumbled cotija (feta) would be great.
How to Store, Reheat and Make a Freezer Meal
Storing: Chili refrigerates well in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Or if you have room in the fridge, right in inner pot with fitting silicone lid. I always do that with large quantities of soup and stew like Instant Pot chicken and rice soup or Instant Pot goulash.
Freezing: Freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
Reheating: Reheat in a small pot desired amount by simmering on low and stirring every few minutes until warmed through.
Make ahead: You can prep all ingredients and refrigerate in an inner pot or container for up to 2 days, then cook as per recipe.
Freezer meal: Add all ingredients minus the broth to a gallon Ziploc bag, let out as much air as possible, seal and freeze for up to 3 months. Cook from frozen with broth as per recipe. Amazing!
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot turkey chili
- Instant Pot beef chili
- Instant Pot beef stew
- Instant Pot mac and cheese
- Instant Pot zuppa toscana
Need more help with dinner? Check out iFOODreal Instant Pot meal plans.
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 x 15 oz cans cannellini white or great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups corn fresh or frozen
- 1 cup chicken broth low sodium
- 4 oz can diced green chiles
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 1 lb 2 large chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
- Small bunch of cilantro finely chopped
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt fat 2%+ (or sour cream)
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 1 lime juice of
- Tortilla chips avocado, more yogurt, limes, for serving
Instructions
- In 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot, add onion, beans, corn, broth, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and lay chicken on top. No need to stir.
- Close the lid, set pressure vent to Sealing and press Pressure Cook on High or Manual for 20 minutes.
- After allow pressure to come down naturally for 10 minutes and release remaining pressure using Quick Release by turning pressure valve to Venting position, which takes 2 minutes.
- Open the lid, remove chicken and shred with 2 forks.
- Return chicken to the pot along with cilantro, 1/2 cup yogurt, cream cheese and lime juice. Stir well.
- Serve hot with your favourite toppings like tortilla chips, diced jalapenos and avocado, more yogurt or sour cream, hot sauce etc.
Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then reheat on a stovetop covered while simmering on low.
Make ahead: Combine and refrigerate ingredients right in inner pot of Instant Pot covered for up to 2 days. Or in a large container if don't have much room in the fridge. Also can add chicken right before cooking. Then follow the recipe.
Freezer meal: Add all ingredients from step 1 minus broth to a gallon Ziploc bag, let out as much air as possible, seal and freeze for up to 3 months. Cook from frozen + broth as per recipe.
Video
Notes
- Dried beans: Use 1 cup dried and rinsed white beans with 2 cups of stock and cook chili for 35 minutes.
- Frozen chicken breasts: You can add them right in, no need to thaw but make sure they are separated. Same cook time.
- For 3 Quart Instant Pot: Cut ingredients in half and keep same cook time.
- Make dairy free by omitting dairy and pureeing 1 cup of beans with a bit of chili liquid. add it back and chili will be naturally creamy.
- No diced green chiles? Mince a whole jalapeno, leave seeds in for spiciness or remove for more mild version.
- Don’t add dairy before cooking: Dairy separates under pressure, so make sure to add it after.
- Toppings: Our favorite easy additions are diced avocado and jalapeno, tortilla chips and more of cilantro, green onion and yogurt to taste. Also shredded cheddar cheese or crumbled cotija (feta) would be great.
Nutrition
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Awesome! I chose to use Jalapeños instead of green chilies. Best flavor ever.
Awesome!
I didn’t have any chicken breasts so I used 1 lb of ground chicken laid on top of the other ingredients and it worked great. I reduced the cook time by several minutes because chicken breasts take longer to cook than ground chicken. I actually thought it was faster because there was no shredding. I also added some of Trader Joe’s Hatch Green Chile Salsa because I like some extra spice.
This was fantastic! My husband asked me to keep this in our Instant Pot repertoire. I had to make a few adjustments because I didn’t have a few of the ingredients in the pantry, but they were close. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
I am so happy your family liked this chili recipe so much, JT! Thanks for letting me know:)
Love this recipe I’ve made it a couple times now and it’s so good.
Woohoo! Thanks for sharing Genise!
This was delicious!!! Even better than second day!! We will make again and again! Served it with avocado and tortilla strips
So great to hear this Allison!
Quick, easy and AMAZING!
This recipe is absolutely amazing! So easy, ingredients are easy to get, little effort required.
A new family favorite! I added lime juice, avocado and cilantro as my toppings, I served the chili over white rice…. YUM!!
So happy to hear this Ivana!
I substituted the cream cheese with Neufchâtel cheese for an even lower fat count and added a dash of cayenne pepper. This was amazing! Definitely a new family favorite!
Yay! So happy to hear this Deanna!
Loved this! Easy and sooo good! I prefer to use Fritos instead of tortilla chips and served with avocado and fresh pico. Yum!!!!
Thanks for sharing your favorite toppings Heather!
Delicious! I used a different type of beans and it still came out fabulous! We added a little bit more chili powder, but this is definitely a keeper. Already printed and in my recipe binder!
Thanks for sharing!
Great flavor and easy to make.
This looks great! I have a question about the dairy free option: do I take out 1 cup of beans mash/purée them and put them back in? Or am I adding an additional cup of beans to the chili?
Hi Sheiny! Thanks for the question. Yes, you take out a cup of beans and puree it.
This was wonderful, and very easy. I made it exactly as written, other than a pinch more cream cheese. 😬. Thank you very much for the recipe!
You are very welcome Stacy! I really appreciate the feedback 🙂
Delicious although I couldn’t find the diced green chilies and realized I didn’t have chili spice in my cabinet so it was a little bland but that was my fault. I’m having the leftovers tonight and looking forward to it. I live in Mexico so we don’t get all of the shopping options that you do north of the border. I go to your site first when I’m looking for an instant pot recipe great job.
Thanks Blue! Too bad you weren’t able to find the diced green chilies!
Deliiiish! As soon as I have space in the freezer I’m gonna freeze prep so I can easily make this again. The only problem I had was I got the dreaded burn message, waaah! It might have been because I mashed the beans for a thicker sauce, a trick I got from when I made your healthy white chili recipe on the stovetop before I got my IP. But I was just going out of memory and mashed a whole can instead of just a cup so I think it made the liquid too thick. I kept adding more broth, scraping the bottom, letting it cool and starting again but it still kept getting burned. After 3 burn messages I just followed your tip, pressed cancel and just let it sit. It was too thick but it was amazing. I’ll do it right the next time around! Was very nice to have this hot bowl of chili after playing out in the snow. :p All of your recipes are in my current weekly meal rotations for my family of 4 with 2 kids under 5. They’ve all been so tasty and exciting (except the green bean casserole lol, that we are unfortunately not a fan of). Can’t wait for more! Thank you so much!!
So happy to hear that!!! Yes, mashing beans could cause Burn. Sensor mechanism detects even slightest lack of liquid and says Burn. It is definitely finicky. You can always add a can of mashed beans after since they are cooked anyways.
Just made it again using dried beans and not mashing this time. Still tastes great. Husband is “upset” that there is cream cheese because that means it’s not “as healthy” and he can’t eat as much as he wants 🤣 he follows a pretty strict diet. I’ll try to omit the cheese next time and see what happens.
It says “jump to video” but there is no video there. I land on this page. I will try the recipe though…it looks yummy.
A video player pops up in bottom right corner. If you have add blocker or pop up blocker installed you will not see any of my videos. Enjoy the recipe!
This recipe was super easy and so delicious! It will definitely be added to our meal rotation.
Woohoo! That’s so great to hear Lynda!
Wow—excellent! You’ve quickly become my go-to for instant pot recipes. I’ve tried several of your recipes and haven’t had a dud yet! Thank you for sharing!
Oh Debbie! You just made my day 🙂
Super easy recipe that tasted great! The spices were just the right amount for us. Not to hot but still has the mild kick in it. I love being able throw everything in my pressure cooker and have a great tasting meal in a half hour. This recipe has very little prep work which will keep me coming back for seconds 😉
Love hearing this feedback. Thanks Jessica!
Hi Olena.
If I use dried beans, is the 2 cups of stock in addition to the 1 cup of chicken broth?
Or is it 2 cups (total) of liquid with all of the other ingredients?
I can’t wait to make this!
Thanks, Marcia
Hi Marcia. 2 cups broth total. Enjoy!
Hi! Can I use ground chicken instead of chicken breasts? Thanks! Can’t wait to make!
Yes, you would have to saute ground chicken first to break into small pieces similar to Instant Pot turkey chili. Enjoy!
If I wanted to double this recipe, how would that change the cooking time?
Same cook time but you need at least 8 quart Instant Pot. I think it will fit but not 100% sure… Make sure it doesn’t exceed 2/3 max line.
Would canned corn work for this recipe instead of fresh or frozen?
Yes it would!
Just made your chicken chili!! Oh my goodness it is awesome!!! So full of flavor! Best one I’ve ever had!! Thanks so much😍🤗
Esther! Thank you for your awesome review 🙂
This recipe is soo good! Our 2 picky teens even ate it!
Glad my recipe is a hit with your family Cari!
Can you make this in a crock pot
You sure can! Check out this link that will provide all the instructions for the slow cooker!
https://ifoodreal.com/healthy-white-chicken-chili/
I made this on 13 Dec 20, minus peppers. After lunch, Husband pushed back his chair and in his best caveman voice said, “Ungh! Good! GOOOD!” This one is on “speed dial” at our house!
Thanks!
So great to heat Jocelyn! This one is on our dinner menu tonight too 🙂
Amazing.
Amazingly easy to make.
Amazingly easy to eat!
Yay! So happy you think so Melanie!
I made this with ingredients on hand. I only lacked a lime. The chili was easy to make and tasted great. We ate the entire pot that night!
Love hearing this Tobi!
Quick and easy to make and tastes delicious.
Awesome to hear Renee!
Loved it!!!
Excellent and incredibly easy recipe! This will be in our regular winter dinner rotation! I also froze half of it and it tasted just as perfect as when I first made it! Yummo
I am so happy reading this Lindsay. Thanks!
Does the cooking time/process change if using rotisserie chicken?! Thanks!
No.
Our family really enjoyed this recipe on a chilly fall day. We used light cream cheese and greek yogurt to keep calories down and cut back on the corn. We will make this again! Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Michele! I agree, this chili is perfect for a fall day 🙂
Thank you, for all the great cooking ideas.
Very much appreciated.
Super yummy! Adding it to our rotation. I skipped the beans and cilantro and it was still delicious. Next time I will double the recipe.
So happy to hear this will be part of your dinner rotation Taylor!
Can I double this with same cook time in a 6Quart instant pot? Thanks in advance!
Yes. Just add that 1 extra cup broth last or after cooking just to make sure there is enough room to come to pressure.
Brilliant recipe, easy to make, and enjoyed by all the family.
So happy to hear this Nick! Thanks for sharing.
I made it on stovetop. I used rotisserie chicken, shredded & it was an easy recipe. Very tasty! I will make again & again.
Can I use frozen chicken?
Yes, just make sure breasts are separated.
Can I substitute broth for better than boullion? Your recipes have all been amazing!
Yes, you can. Just follow the instructions on the jar of Better than Boullion for amounts.
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. Could you give some advice on adapting this recipe using soaked dried beans?
I would add 1 extra cup broth and 20 mins cook time. Then if it’s too thick after can always dilute with broth.
Thank you for the timely advice! I’ll be giving it a try this evening.
You are very welcome!
Very delicious
I made this soup today. OMG, It was so delicious! I have a bunch of tomatoes from my garden so I added those and left out the cream cheese and yogurt, then added a dollop of sour cream to my individual bowl. I also cooked my own beans and roasted anaheim peppers instead of using canned. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!