Paleo White Chicken Chili (Whole30) – a cozy bowl of this creamy and delicious chili is all you need this Fall and Winter!!
Paleo White Chicken Chili (Whole30 + Dairy-Free)
It is officially Fall outside (especially here in MN) and I am ALL about the cozy soups, stews and chili’s right now! There is just something about having football on the TV on Sunday with a crockpot or soup pan going in the kitchen with my favorite chili cooking away!
I have another chili recipe I can’t wait to share with you in a couple weeks, but one of the reasons I love white chicken chili is because it isn’t tomato-based and, therefore, is a lot less acidic. Remember me – lady who has to drink cold brew because she is recovering from an ulcer – yeah, super tomato-ey recipes still get me once in a while. So while I love me some classic chili, my stomach prefers white chicken chili!
Stove Top + Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
And this recipe can be made in the slow cooker, stove-top or Instant Pot. Really the same directions either way!
Oh and don’t forget to top it with my Dairy-Free Coconut Sour Cream which is Whole30 compatible!
Here is a good slow cooker and good soup pot if you are needing one!!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Flavor: I looove the chili flavor here! I added plenty of chili powder (feel free ease up on it if you want)/
- Whole30/Paleo: I wanted to make a white chicken chili that was Whole30 and Paleo since I eat that way a lot of the time and I know a lot of you do too! If you aren’t concerned with Whole30/Paleo feel free to add some white beans if you want!
- Leftovers: This is one of those recipes that just gets better and better! I love having it for leftovers the next day!
Why is it Called White Chicken Chili
It is called White Chicken Chili because there aren’t any tomatoes, which are typically found in chili. There is still chili powder, which gives it the red coloring, but there are no diced tomatoes, tomato paste, etc. here. That is there the “White” comes from. And then it is obviously made with chicken instead of beef or turkey!
Paleo White Chicken Chili Ingredients
- chicken broth
- boneless chicken breasts
- coconut milk
- minced garlic
- yellow onion
- olive oil
- green chilis
- mushrooms
- Spices: ground cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, ground black pepper, kosher salt
- Garnish: Dairy-Free Coconut Sour Cream (Whole30), Avocado, Jalapeno slices, Cilantro
Other Recipes You Might Like:
- Irish Beef Stew
- The BEST Classic Paleo Chili
- Whole30 Zuppa Toscana
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup (Whole30)
- Easy Turkey Chili
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Print
Paleo White Chicken Chili (Whole30)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Crock Pot
- Cuisine: American
Description
Paleo White Chicken Chili (Whole30) – delicious and easy to make, this white chicken chili needs to be on your fall/winter menu!
Ingredients
Chili:
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts
- 1 can full fat coconut milk (remember to use immersion blender to fully incorporate first)
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8oz canned green chilis
- 1 pint mushrooms, sliced
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (more to taste)
Garnish:
- Dairy-Free Coconut Sour Cream (Whole30)
- Avocado
- Jalapeno slices
- Fresh Cilantro
Instructions
- Add chicken to crock pot and cover with broth.
- Set to High heat and let cook 1 hour or until chicken is fully cooked and will flake apart.
- Remove chicken from crock pot, shred with fork, and return to crock pot.
- In large saute pan, add olive oil and bring to high heat.
- Add onions and garlic and stir until reduced, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add onion mixture to crock pot along with the coconut milk, green chilis, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, pepper and salt.
- Stir to combine and let cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Add mushroom about 30 minutes before you want to eat.
- Taste and add any additional salt or seasoning, as desired.
- Serve with dairy-free sour cream, avocado, jalapeño and/or cilantro.
Notes
- Stove Top Directions: This can easily be made on the stove-top: you will simply simmer the chicken in chicken broth in a large saucepan for approx. 20 minutes or until fully cooked. Shred and place back in the pot with chicken broth. Follow directions 3-5 and let simmer for approx. 15-20 minutes. Add mushrooms and simmer until they cook down, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
- Instant Pot Directions: On Saute function add olive oil and garlic. Allow garlic to cook about 1 minute. Add mushrooms and onion. Cook until slightly cooked down, about 2-3 minutes. Scoop out onto plate and set aside. Add chicken broth first and use a spoon to scrape the bottom, loosing any onion bits. Add chicken, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper to Instant Pot. Ensure Instant Pot is set to Seal and cook on High Pressure for 20 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes then manually release any remaining pressure. Remove chicken breasts and set on plate. Shred with fork and return meat to Instant Pot. Add the onions and mushrooms along with the coconut milk. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning, as desired. If you feel the chili is not warm enough after adding the coconut milk simply turn on the Sauté function again to bring it back up to temp. Serve with avocado, cilantro, lime, jalapeño and dairy-free sour cream.
- Frozen Chicken: If you are using frozen chicken add 5-7 minutes to the cook time for the Instant Pot method, depending upon thickness.
- Chicken Broth: For Whole30/Paleo double check your chicken broth ingredients.
- Coconut Milk: I always use an immersion blender to reincorporate canned coconut milk that has separated in the can.
- Nutrition Facts: the estimated nutrition facts provided does NOT include any toppings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Approx. 1 cup
- Calories: 273
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 1125.2 mg
- Fat: 14.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 8.1 g
- Protein: 28.5 g
- Cholesterol: 85.2 mg
Keywords: paleo white chicken chili, whole30 white chicken chili
Don’t forget to PIN for later!!!
Mackenzie says
This is a weekly staple in our house! So yummy. I love the mix of spices and diced chiles.
★★★★★
Kristen Maggitti says
Love this chili! Definitely don’t skip a step. If you do it in the instant pot, add the diced green chilis while the chicken cooks). Such a rich flavor and topping with jalapeño and avocado is a must. Not overpowered by the coconut milk at all. So so yummy!!
★★★★★
Erin says
So glad you have been enjoying it, Kristen!
Nancy says
If I am making the chili a day ahead, can I add the mushrooms too or should I wait until before serving?
Erin says
You can go ahead and add them as directed in the recipe – should be just fine!
Jessie says
Hi!! Is there a way to add beans to this recipe?? Thank you 🙂
Erin says
Definitely! I would just add a can or two of like a Great Northern Bean in with everything else!
Gloria says
Hi! I’m completely new to your site and wanted to know if you have any nutrió al information for any of your recipes? I’m particularly interested in calories per serving.
Erin says
Hi Gloria! Welcome – glad to have you here! We are currently working on getting nutritional info into each recipe card, but it is a little bit of a process. Thank you for your patience as we work on bringing that to you!
Allison says
Hi Erin! This looks delicious! But I don’t like mushrooms. Is there anything I could substitute them with to keep it hearty?
Thanks!
Dani Auld says
I made this for the first time for dinner last night and it was AMAZING! My husband absolutely loved it!
★★★★★
Erin says
So happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed it, Dani! And thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback + review – I really appreciate it!
Alison says
Is there a trick to thicken it? Flavor outstanding just didn’t get to the chili consistency
★★★
Erin says
Hi Alison – so glad you thought the flavor was outstanding! As far as consistency – you can increase the amount of chicken and mushrooms to make it more hearty and you could even sub some more of the broth for additional coconut milk. That being said, since this is a white chicken chili, it doesn’t have any of the tomatoes or tomato paste that normally help thicken a traditional chili. Additionally, since this is paleo/Whole30 there also aren’t any beans to help thicken it either. So again, if you want it a little more hearty I would simply increase the amount of chicken + mushrooms you are using or play with how much coconut milk you are using! Hope that helps!
Jamie says
Hello, the recipe looks awesome, but my family does not like coconut flavor at all. Is there anything I can substitute in its place that is still W30 compliant? Thank you
Erin says
Hi Jamie – for what it’s worth I personally can’t taste any coconut with all the chili powder, etc. As for a substitute, I don’t know if there is a great substitute for the thickness of coconut milk that would still be Whole30 compliant. You could potentially try like an unflavored Nutpods or something, but I haven’t personally tried so I can’t really guarantee the outcome. Let me know if you try something!
MANDI says
What would you sub for mushrooms? I have a picky family.
Kathy Palahnuk says
Can’t wait to try this. I just prepared this in my instantpot but didn’t see where to add the green chilies so I added them with the chicken and other spices!
★★★★★
MaryAnn Parker says
Hello Erin. Great recip daughter made it and said it’s wonderful so she shared recipe with me!.Question I have is: did you really mean to add “3 tablespoons” of chili powder? Seems like a lot. Or did you mean Teaspoons? Also when are green chili’s added? Seems like it would be very very hot.
My daughter only used 1Tablespoon of chili powder and left out green chilies since recipes doesn’t say when to add them.
Help!
Thanks
MaryAnn
★★★★★
Erin says
Hi MaryAnn! Glad you enjoyed the recipe! Yes, I really did mean 3 tablespoons of chili powder 🙂 Feel free to add a tablespoon at a time if that works better for you. The green chilis are added in Step 6 where it says “Add onion mixture to crock pot along with the remaining ingredients (except for the mushrooms).” Hope that helps!
molly says
for the instant pot directions, it does not specify when to add the green chilis. I assume with the coconut milk?
Erin says
Hi Molly – oh shoot, sorry about that! Yes – adding them with the coconut milk will work!
April says
Could you please share the nutritional breakdown? Thanks!
Daisy gauna says
Hi made this also color didn’t come out same is it cause I didn’t use hand blender to mix the coco milk?
Amber Claxton says
Making this now! But mine is nowhere near the same color, did I do something wrong? Followed the recipe step by step.
Erin says
Hi, Amber! If you are talking about the red color, that seems to happen after the soup has cooked and then sits for a bit for some reason, due to the chili powder. Maybe it could have to do with the brand of chili powder you used? I have a tutorial on this soup (using the stove-top method) on my Instagram Highlights if you want to double check there as well!
Mel says
That’s alot of chilli! 227g?!? Is this correct? My green chilli’s are hot, I’m in Australia.
Erin says
Hi, Mel! So in the U.S. basically every grocery store sells little cans of diced green chiles that are really quite mild! So the result is just a mild spiciness – sorry that doesn’t translate so well into the Australian market! I would just use your best judgment and add according to your taste and knowledge of how spicy your chili’s are there!!
Mel says
Thanks Erin, I used my fresh green chillies that are super hot, we love a lot of chilli, so I used 4 of them. This dish was sooooo delicious!! I served it with rice. Husband loved it too! I’ll definitely make this again! Thanks xo
Erin says
Yay!! So glad to hear that you liked it! :). Thanks for letting me know how it turned out!
Liza Voges says
Looks yummy! No tomatoes???
Erin says
Nope! No tomatoes! I don’t think a lot of white chicken chili’s have tomatoes in them. There is some chili powder which is where the red color comes from 😊
Liza says
Ah hah…that’s why it’s white! Thank you.
Erin says
No problem!! 😊