Instant Pot White Chicken Chili is a quick-and-easy weeknight meal that’s got that “cooked all day” kinda feel. It’s packed full of chicken, corn, beans, green chilies, and a warm, perfectly balanced blend of spices. It’s great on its own, or loaded up with tortilla chips, cilantro, cheese, and a squeeze of lime!
If you’ve enjoyed my Crock Pot Creamy White Chicken Chili but you’ve been wishing for an Instant Pot version, wish no more! It’s here, and it’s totally yummy and so much quicker! Can you believe it only takes 18 minutes in the Instant Pot? Well okay, it does take a little time for the Instant Pot to get up to pressure… so maybe 30ish minutes total. But seriously, Creamy White Chicken Chili cooked to perfection so quickly? Hellooo, sign me up! I still can’t believe how great it came out. I truly didn’t change a thing when it comes to portions or flavor. I just put it all together in the pot, set it to 18 minutes, crossed my fingers, grated some cheese and did some dishes and it was done before I could even finish cleaning the kitchen up! Say what? Yep, not even kidding. Seriously, go make this… tonight. I betcha have all the ingredients on hand!
Ohhhh yeah. Here’s the Instant Pot I use!
Here we go… Let’s get into the kitchen, folks!
Step one: Gather the goods!
- 2 cans Great Northern Beans.
- 2 small cans o’ Green Chiles. Unless you Love spice, make sure they’re mild. Because if you get the hot kind… it’s gonna get all kinds of spicy!
- Chicken Broth
- A variety of perfectly balanced spices: cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, kosher salt, pepper, and Lawry’s Seasoned salt.
Not pictured, but very necessary: chicken breast, corn (frozen or fresh’ll do), half and half, and light cream cheese.
Add everything into the Instant Pot EXCEPT FOR THE CREAM CHEESE & HALF & HALF!
I mean it, y’all. Everything!
Wait wait… Don’t add the Cream Cheese or Half & Half, okay? We’ll add those later.
Give it a good ol’ stir.
Cover and seal the lid. Switch the valve to the “sealing” position, and cook on Manual High Pressure for 18 minutes. When it’s done cooking and the timer beeps, let it naturally depressurize for 10 minutes, then switch the valve to the “venting” position to completely release the steam before opening. I like to throw a towel over the valve and use a wooden spoon to release the steam, but it’s not absolutely necessary. However you release the pressure on your Instant Pot, BE SAFE!
Remove the chicken. Place it in a bowl or on a cutting board, and shred it up with two forks. A mixer also works amazingly well for shredding up that freshly-cooked chicken breast, and it’s really fast! Just remember to keep your fingers away, or else you’re probably gonna have a really bad time. And don’t rev up your mixer too fast, or you’ll find that chicken in the dogs fur 5 days from now.
Add the shredded chicken back into the pot, along with the Half & Half and the chunks of cream cheese. Stir everything well, then put the cover back on, and let it simmer for about 10 minutes to let the cheese melt.
As soon as that cream cheese is nicely melted throughout the soup, grab a bowl and some toppings, and make your bowl of White Chicken Chili. Now strictly speaking, it doesn’t need it… but I just love me some good ol’ fashioned toppings! Things like tortilla strips (you can find these with the salad toppings like croutons), freshly chopped tomatoes and cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. And oh yeah, I almost forgot… cheese!!!
If you’re not feelin’ like a fancy bowl of White Chicken Chili loaded with a bazillion toppings, don’t freak out! It’s all gravy, because they aren’t needed. This chili all by itself tastes like angels made it. I usually chop up just a bit of cilantro (if I have it), and do a squeeze of fresh lime. Because delicious Mexican cuisine and fresh lime go together like tacos and Tuesday!
I hope y’all enjoy! Leave a comment, and let me know how it goes. Or just tag me on Instagram or Facebook. I love to see y’all makin’ up my recipes!
With love from my kitchen to yours,
Star
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Quick and Easy White Chicken Chili made in the Instant Pot. It's loaded with tender juicy chicken breast, corn, beans, spices, and a little light cream cheese.
Ingredients
- 1-½ lbs chicken breast, trimmed, raw
- 2- 15.5 oz cans Great Northern Beans (3 cups) drained, but not rinsed
- 2- 4 oz cans mild green chiles
- 1-½ cups corn frozen, canned (drained), or fresh
- 1-3/4 cup chicken broth low sodium if available
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt reduce by half if using regular table salt or sea salt
- 1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper more or less depending on spice preference, remember you can add spice.. but you can’t really take it out
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 4 oz light cream cheese
Instructions
In the Instant Pot, add all of the ingredients above EXCEPT for the cream cheese and half and half.
Cover the Instant Pot and securely lock the lid in place. Set to Manual High Pressure for 18 minutes. When 18 minutes is up and the timer beeps, let the pressure naturally release for about 10 minutes. Then press the valve down with a wooden spoon to do a quick release.
Remove chicken from pot, and shred with two forks. (A mixer also works well for shredding – watch your fingers!) Stir shredded chicken back into the pot, along with the cream cheese and Half & Half. Put the Instant Pot lid back on, and simmer for about 5 minutes to let the cream cheese melt into your chili.
I meal prepped this for lunches this week and it is AMAZING. Super easy to throw together in the instant pot. Only problem was my kids trying to eat it out of my bowl before I could
I can’t get the cream cheese to melt completely even though I cut it in very small cubes.
It might need a lil longer in the crockpot.
This was fabulous! Easy to pull together and forget . . . . we all loved the flavors and consistency was great. Thanks for the great tip on using a mixer to shred the chicken – I’m going to use this on other meats I need to shred. Enjoy your Instagram feed too. Thanks for the yummy recipe. Definitely a keeper! PS: did use boneless chicken thighs rather than breasts since that’s what I had and added a bit more corn since I had it on hand.
Hi! Do you think this recipe could be doubled and if so should I up the cooking time? My family loves this recipe so much that I want to make it for a crowd tonight!!
Hi Whitney! I think the same time for a doubled recipe would be just fine. I’m so happy you enjoy!
Can you use dried beans and not soak them?
Hi Sara! I’m sorry I haven’t tested this recipe out with dried beans so I’m not entirely sure, but off the top of my head I know it would need more water/broth for dried beans. Let me know if you give it a try!
This recipe is amazing! I put my own spin since I used what I had available. I used a can of Diced tomatoes w/Green chilies and used a whole box of Chicken Stock. I also left out the half and half and Cr Cheese but we added lite sour cream. Have made this several times and even with the mods, I still come back this as the basis of my version. Thanks for all your posts and mostly for the WW Friendliness of them. Look forward to exploring more of your recipes for the Instant Pot which I just got.
Just thought I would share. Last year I took your recipe and made it up for our chili cook off and won 3rd place!!! Haha!!! It’s so yummy! Thanks!
You should try the half and half and cr. cheese, that is what makes it. My husband doesn’t like cr. cheese but he loves this.
This is one of my favorite recipes to have in the fridge for easy low point lunches. I have made it exactly as written, but prefer to leave out the Cream Cheese. I find cream cheese unpleasant in soups, a little too much sweetness. The half and half adds enough creaminess/fat for my taste. Thanks for this tastey recipe!
This is amazing! I made a couple of changes because I’m impatient, my son has food allergies (allergic to milk/eggs), and the Louisiana girl in me has to have her rice! I cooked frozen thighs for 25 mins and quick release. doubled all the seasonings, left out the half and half and cream cheese, used a can of regular corn and creamed corn for the thickness and served over rice. I love it and my kids well they are hopeless. (Heaven forbid I put corn in something…)
This was amazing! My husband does not like white chicken Chili, but I convinced him to try it, and he loved it! I have tried different recipes over the years, but this is by far the best I have ever tried. We loved it!
Holy moly this is delicious! This is only the second recipe I’ve made in my instant pot, but it is certainly my favorite! We didn’t have any seasoning salt so I didn’t add that, but it was really flavorful without it! I will be making this many many more times I am sure.
I can’t find Great Northern Beans in cans here in Ontario, Canada. Can I use dry beans? Or is there a close alternative to great northern?
You can try pinto or black beans too! If using black beans just be sure to rinse them off well.
Has anyone froze this? I’m curious how it’ll turn out because of the dairy.
It freezes just fine!
Soooo delicious! My husband is picky and even he loves this- especially with tortilla chips, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime on top! Thank you Star!!!
This was amazing! Thank you. I made it tonight with left over turkey from Thanksgiving. My hubby LOVED it and even went back for seconds ( which is saying something for him! Ha) thanks again I love many of your recipes but this is for sure one of our new favorites!
I’m so happy to hear!
One of my all time faves!! I could eat it every day!!!! DELICIOUS!!!
Did this tonight & it was great BUT…I did have the BURN occur. So removed the pot & chicken. Put chicken in another pot liner & did it separate. Then put the shredded chicken back into the other pot.
I need to read tsp & tbl better as I did all the spices as 2 Tbl, Vs 2 tsp :-(, but was great.
My fiancé’ and I love this recipe. Thank you for sharing. It’s super easy and delicious. How would I use frozen chicken breasts instead of fresh/thawed?
Hi Wendy! I am soooo happy you enjoy. I would add about 5 minutes to the cook time if you use frozen breasts!
I use frozen chicken breasts and still just do 18 minutes and it is perfect. That’s why I love the instant pot and this recipe! So delicious!
This was SO amazingly good!!! I have 2 teenagers and it’s tough finding meals everyone will like that are also healthy. They LOVED this!!! I think I might take out one can of corn and replace it with another can of the beans. But it was good just like it is!
When I put it in my recipe builder it is telling me it is 3 points a serving, what did I do wrong?
Hi Kaitlynn- I’m sorry, but I can’t look at your tracker/recipe builder so I’m not sure. It’s probably just the specific ingredients that you used. I hope you enjoyed!
Hi! I actually just loaded the nutritional info from your recipe page into the recipe builder as well (no products or anything, just your nutritional value) and it says 5 points per serving for blue, not 3…..
Nutritional info includes beans corn and chicken for people who are not doing WW. On WW Blue Plan those ingredients have zero points making it lower in points. I always encourage double checking because I mess up from time to time, but I would use the Recipe Builder on the WW app and load your ingredients in to get the point value. I hope that helps and I hope you enjoy the chili!
This was awesome! I forgot to buy any “toppings” for it but as you said it really doesn’t need it. Another winner!
This was absolutely delicious.
I’m so happy you enjoyed!
For people like me can you please add to the instructions to drain the ingredients in the cans :(. I’ve made the recipe so many times and it’s always runny and I think why did I put to much liquid in and then I use this instant pot recipe and notice by the picture you drained everything lol. I don’t always look at the pictures
Hi Shannon! I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize I didn’t include that in the instructions. I just updated it! I hope you enjoyed it.
Whoop whoop, I did enjoy it. So well we made it again this week lol. 😉 the moms in our homeschool co-op love this soup 🙂
Are you supposed to drain the cans prior to placing in the pot?
How many servings does this pot make?
Just started WW on Monday and was excited to try this tonight….ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!! So yummy & filling!
Yay!!! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Meg!! Good luck on WW too!
How many freestyle points is this? Sounds delicious!
Two, points and nutritional information is always located in the recipe note section. I hope you enjoy!
One word AMAZING!
Is the cook time the same if your chicken is frozen??!
No, you’ll need to add time for frozen chicken. 5 minutes should do the trick. Make sure the chicken is separated and not sticking together. I hope that helps!
This looks awesome! If I double the recipe, do I need to increase the cook time? I am new to the instapot
Could I make this in the. Crock pot?
Yep here’s the recipe: https://theskinnyishdish.com/crockpot-creamy-white-chicken-chili/
Can this be made in the crockpot? I don’t yet own an instapot it’s definitely on my list!!
Yep! Here’s the link for the crock pot version: https://theskinnyishdish.com/crockpot-creamy-white-chicken-chili/
Fat free half & half? Or regular? Thanks! Looks delicious!
regular
Recipe is super yummy!!
Question… I was wondering about the nutrition info listed – I get the same smart points when I build the recipe in the WW app, but when I try to use the nutrition listed (300 calories, etc.), the points are really high. Are those nutrition facts for the full pot of chili? Thanks!!
the nutritional information includes ALL ingredients in the recipe (like chicken, corn, and beans) those are zero points on WW. So that makes the difference. I’m happy to hear you enjoyed!
I looked up corn on the green plan though and it DOES count. It isn’t zero points. Just made it and it tastes awesome but for 1 1/2 cups it’s now 16 points and that makes me sad 🙁
Hi Emily one and a half cups isn’t 16 points. I’m not sure how you came to that conclusion but it’s 6 points. I hope that helps make you a bit happier! 6 points for 1.5 cups and so filling. good deal to me. =)
I made this and I want to eat it every night! So easy (which I love) and my Latina mother in law is in town and also loved it. Double bonus as my toddler also devoured it! Thank you again for another bomb recipe.
This soup is absolutely delicious! My husband loved it and it’s even better the next day. Love the instant pot version! Had a great meal in very little time and I used my mixer to shred the chicken, done in less than a minute!
Can this be doubled or would it be too full for the IP.
Hi
This is is absolutely delicious and sooo easy!! Do you think the leftovers can be frozen since there is dairy in it?
Thank you for a great recipe!
DELICIOUS! I’ve recently learned of your site and have made a few things, I’ve just not gotten around to writing a review. I’ll start with this chili, it’s the bomb! This will be a regular in my house. Thank you for all you do!
Hi Lisa! Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know. I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipes!
This was absolutely delicious! Putting this recipe in my regular rotation.
So happy you enjoyed!
My favorite soup is White Chicken Chili! I’ve recently joined WW and came across your site and this was the first recipe to pop up. Of course I had to try it because it’s my favorite and the recipe I have is made with heavy cream and sour cream. Not so nutritional or point worthy, LOL. This was so dang good and tasted almost exactly the same as my recipe! I will definitely be adding this to my lunch prep rotation! So dang delicious. And very easy to make. Thank you!
I’m so happy you were able to find something so close to your own recipe and stay on track better! Glad you loved it!
Too funny! This is my favorite recipe of yours but as you know, your previous version of this is fixed this in the crockpot and guess what? This is what I had for lunch today (this week too). Looking forward to your updated recipe using the IP!!!!
I’m wondering if this will work with non-fat yogurt instead of half and half and cream cheese. What do you think?
Hey Amber, I really don’t know since I haven’t tried it. I actually haven’t used non fat greek yogurt in a soup. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes please! I personally prefer the half and half and cream cheese because it gives it a really creamy and indulgent feel without adding too many calories/points since it’s a smaller amount.