Recipe: White Chili

This chili is delicious, hearty, satisfying, and good for you! It's also adaptable to what you have on hand and how spicy you want it to be.


White Chili
Serves 8-10


4 tsp canola oil
2 large onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups (32 oz.) chicken broth (less sodium)
3 tablespoons (plus more to taste) green hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco)*
   *alternately, I did not have any Tabasco sauce but I did have a jar of green salsa so I used about 1 cup of that 
1 tsp kosher salt
2 lbs. (approximately) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 19-ounce cans cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup sour cream (or plain yogurt)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
lime wedges, optional
tortilla chips, optional


Heat oil in a Dutch oven (or other heavy-bottomed pot) over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic to pan; cook 5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Add broth, hot pepper sauce, salt, and chicken to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove chicken breasts from broth; cool. 
Add cornmeal and beans to broth mixture, stirring with a whisk; simmer 15 minutes. Mash about 1/4 of the beans against the side of the pan. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and put back into the dutch oven; simmer 5 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Stir frequently to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan. Stir in half the sour cream or yogurt, reserve the rest for people to top their chili with. Serve with sliced green onions, lime wedges, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.


Recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light