White Chicken Chili

If you don’t know this already, I am a huge fan of soup. It started with the ease of dumping ingredients into a pot to learning the importance of building flavors. A good soup can be its own meal or a luxurious side. I recommend making soup for those just learning to enjoy time in the kitchen. Grab a drink, turn on music, and start building flavors. The slower process means you can enjoy the music or conversation without worrying about burning the meat.

We always make extra for lunch you can look forward to the next day. I would make soup all year long but I understand ‘normal’ people don’t feel like hot soup in the middle of July so I have 4-5 months to share all my favorites with you. I will continue to make chili on rainy summer days, just because I’m craving it.

This recipe started with one from my childhood and morphed as I experimented with different ingredients. I love pairing this soup with fresh cornbread. For the two of us, I use a recipe from One Dish Kitchen. It is so good! If you are trying to avoid sugar, sub out the sugar for 1 TBS Honey or use stevia. We always make this with cashew milk and a vegan butter so if you are diary free, it still works! Plus it’s a great excuse to use my cute little cast iron pan. You can get a Lodge 6.5 inch one on Amazon for $8.

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White Chicken Chili

• 2 large Tomatillos

• 1/4 cup cilantro, diced

• 1/2 jalapeno

• 1 large poblano, roasted

• 1/2 TBS Olive Oil

• 1/2 sweet onion, diced

• 1/2 TBS minced garlic

• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

• 1/2 tsp cumin

• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder (divided)

• 1/8 tsp cayenne

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1 can garbanzo beans

• 1 can cannelloni beans

• 3 cups chicken or veggie broth

• Garnish options: cotija cheese, avocado, cilantro

1. Peel skin off 2 large tomatillos

2. Add tomatillos to stock pot and fill with water to cover

3. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes (or until tomatillos are soft and splitting)

4. Dice 1/4 cup cilantro and 1/2 jalapeno while tomatillos cook

5. Drain water from tomatillos (save pot to make soup)

6. Add cilantro, jalapeno, and tomatillos to food processor and blend into a sauce and set aside

7. Roast poblano pepper in oven on broil for 10 minutes, flip and roast additional 5 minutes until pepper is blistered all over. Place in sealed container and let cool for 10-15 minutes. (Roasting process can be done on open flame if you have a gas range)

8. Heat 1/2 TBS Olive Oil in a pan over medium heat

9. Dice 1/2 onion and add to pan and cook for 5 minutes

10. Add 1/2 TBS garlic to onion and turn heat down to med-low.

11. Peel skin off poblano and chop

12. Add 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne, and 1/2 tsp kosher salt to toast

13. Add 1/2 cup broth to deglaze spices (scrape bottom of pot to make sure spices come up)

14. Drain beans and rinse.

15. Add beans, remaining broth, poblano, and tomatillo sauce and bring to a simmer

16. Mix 1/2 tsp chili powder with shredded chicken and toss

17. Add chicken to soup and let slowly simmer (low heat) for 30 minutes to an hour depending on when you want to eat.

18. Garnish and serve with or without cornbread