White Chicken Chili (Chili Blanco de Pollo)

White chicken chili trades the usual beef and tomatoes for chicken, white beans, and green chiles, and it gets its body from a trick most red chilis never touch: cream cheese, melted in at the very end. No flour, no roux, no cornstarch slurry, just a block of cream cheese stirred through a low simmer until the whole pot turns thick and glossy.

The chicken poaches right in the broth while the base builds, so one pot does double duty: it cooks the protein and turns plain broth into something with real depth by the time you’re ready to shred it. From there it’s beans, chiles, and a finish that makes this taste like it took a lot more effort than it actually did.

What You’re Learning

Bloom the spices before any liquid goes in. Ground cumin and oregano taste dusty and flat added straight into a pot of broth. Cooked briefly in hot oil first, their aromatic compounds, most of which are fat-soluble, actually dissolve into the fat and turn rounder and more fragrant. Thirty seconds in the pot before the broth goes in is the entire difference between a chili that tastes like raw spice and one that tastes seasoned all the way through.

Cream cheese thickens without a roux, but it wants gentle heat. Cut into small pieces and stirred in once the heat is down to low, cream cheese melts smoothly into the broth and brings a thick, glossy body along with a little tang, the same job a flour roux does in other soups, without needing a separate pan or a raw-flour taste to cook out. Added over a hard boil, though, it can break into small curds instead of melting in clean. Low heat and a few extra minutes of stirring is what keeps it smooth.

Ingredients

Serves 6.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 1 poblano pepper, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 (4 oz) cans diced green chiles
• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 (15 oz) cans white beans (cannellini or great northern), drained and rinsed
• 1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened and cut into small pieces
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• Salt and pepper, to taste

For Serving: fresh cilantro, lime wedges, sour cream, tortilla strips

Method

1. Build the base. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and poblano and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 6 minutes.
2. Bloom the spices. Add the garlic, cumin, and oregano and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Don’t let the garlic brown.
3. Add the chicken and broth. Stir in the diced green chiles, then nestle the chicken breasts into the pot and pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
4. Poach the chicken. Simmer, partially covered, until the chicken is cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes.
5. Shred and return. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the pot along with the white beans and corn. Simmer 5 minutes more.
6. Melt in the cream cheese. Reduce the heat to low. Add the cream cheese in small pieces, stirring until fully melted and smooth. Keep the heat low, a hard boil can make it separate into curds instead of melting in clean.
7. Add the cheese. Stir in the shredded Monterey Jack until melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and any of your favorite toppings.

Notes

• Rotisserie chicken works as a shortcut. Skip the poaching step and stir in about 3 cups shredded chicken along with the beans in step 5.
• Blooming the cumin and oregano in oil for even 30 seconds makes a real difference, raw spices taste dusty, toasted ones taste rounder and more fragrant.
• Cream cheese, not flour, is the classic thickener here. Add it off a hard boil so it melts in smoothly instead of breaking into small curds.
• For more heat, leave some of the poblano seeds in, or add a diced jalapeño along with the onion.
• This keeps well and actually improves overnight in the fridge as the flavors meld. Thin with a little extra broth when reheating, it thickens as it sits.
• Freezes well without the dairy. Add the cream cheese and shredded cheese fresh after thawing and reheating for the best texture.