The Best White Chicken Chili Recipe - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

How do you thicken white chicken chili? ›

Too much stock: Although chicken or beef stock adds an earthy flavor to chili, it can result in a watery mixture if you use too much. To fix this issue, add more solid ingredients, such as veggies, meat, and beans, or let your chili cook longer.

Elevate with Extra Flavor

Elevate your chili recipe by adding an extra layer of flavor. Cocoa powder, bacon, cinnamon, ground coffee and tomato paste will all add a rich sweet & salty flavors that are sure to surprise and delight.

Add a generous dollop of sour cream, creme fraiche, or yogurt to scorching hot chili or stews, or even a touch of milk or cream. For best results, though, go with full-fat dairy. For tomato sauces and stews that don't want dairy, try shredding some cheese on top. Photo by Meredith.

Chili should be thick and hearty enough to be a meal on its own, but sometimes there's just a bit more liquid than you want in the pot. While you can simply keep simmering the chili, that method risks overcooking softer ingredients like the beans, losing all your nice texture to mushy monotony.

How do you thicken chili without cornstarch? Adding quick oats to the chili is a healthy alternative to cornstarch and all-purpose flour. Add a tablespoon of quick oats to the chili and cook on medium-high heat. In about 3 minutes of cooking, they will absorb the excess liquid, giving you a thick, hearty chili.

Cornmeal is one of our go-to thickening agents for chili. Unlike all-purpose flour, this Southern pantry staple adds a subtle earthy flavor to the chili in addition to thickening it up. You can use white or yellow cornmeal that is fine to medium-grain.

Chili cooks low and slow, so you need enough liquid to tenderize the meat and keep everything from drying out. That liquid should also add flavor to the chili, so use chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, or beer.

Tomato paste. This is probably the easiest and maybe most common addition to add thickness to a chili recipe. Tomato paste is super thick and not only adds texture but adds a richer and deeper flavor to chili.

Cook it long enough

Chili recipes need time for flavors to meld and come together, and collagen-rich meat (like chuck roast or ground beef) needs 90 minutes to two hours to fully break down and become tender. If you don't have time for a long simmer, try using a slow cooker or making it the day before.

What is the most important spice in chili? ›

Most Common Chili Spices. Cumin, Chile Powders, and Paprika are the most common spices in chili followed by garlic, onion, coriander, Mexican oregano, and bay leaves. These ingredients can be combined to create a savory and well-balanced pot of top notch comfort food.

The tomato paste adds color and rich flavor to our chili. Now we have our flavorful base, you are going to finish the chili with pureed tomatoes, beef broth (or chicken broth), and beans. Beans make this chili hearty — I like pinto beans or kidney beans.

The sweet taste offsets some of the spice. I was reluctant to make this because I thought the combination of cinnamon and honey would be bad but it was outstanding. My family has asked me to make this again but to turn up the heat. Excellent chili recipe.

Generally, leftover chili, whether it's a spicy stew of chili con carne, a simple white bean chicken chili, or even a meatless chili with kidney beans, will last for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

Sometimes, despite all the T.L.C. we've put into our chili the whole way through, it can still taste like it's missing something at the end. Chances are good that "something " is actually acid. A splash of wine, cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, or even lemon juice can help perk up the flavors.

Make a cornstarch slurry: Mix together 1 tablespoon each of cornstarch and cold water, stirring well to remove any lumps. Then, stir the slurry into your chili and let it simmer for another 10 minutes to fully thicken.

If you'd like to thicken it up even more, though, try one of these methods: Use a cornstarch slurry: Mix together equal parts cornstarch and cold water, then stir it into the chili.

Add more water or tomato sauce if it's too thick. Keeping the lid on can keep the steam in resulting in thinner chili. Also, if I cook chili in the crock pot it is usually thinner, as the lid collects the steam rather than it evaporating.

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency. Test with a spoon.