Incredible Cream Cheese Chicken Chili
Published 4/24/2023
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This incredible cream cheese chicken chili is thick, creamy, and packed with flavor! This cream cheese chili is made in the Instant Pot and ready in under 30 minutes.
Our cream cheese chicken chili recipe makes for a perfect weeknight dinner and is even more delicious as leftovers!
Our Favorite Cream Cheese Chicken Chili
If you’re looking for a chili change-up, then this white chicken chili with cream cheese is a must!
Made with shredded chicken, beans, green pepper, corn, and a creamy cream cheese sauce, this chili is truly one of a kind and perfect for game day or a cool night.
Cream Cheese Chicken Chili Ingredients
Cream cheese and chicken are the two main ingredients in this recipe, but there are some other tasty ingredients that take this chili up a notch. Here’s what you’ll need.
- Cream cheese – make sure you buy full-fat cream cheese. The partial fat kind loses a lot of flavor.
- Chicken breast- Feel free to use whatever cut of chicken you have! Just be sure you use
- Salsa verde- Adding salsa verde to this chili adds a spicy and flavorful twist!
- Two cans of beans– any kind, but we used pinto and black beans)
- Olive Oil- Any oil will do, but you need a little bit of oil to sauté your vegetables!
- Garlic- Garlic is a great base for chili! You can use cloves or pre-minced!
- Red onion- A little red onion adds onion flavor a bit of sweetness! However, any type of onion will do!
- Green pepper- Adding a bit of veggie crunch is always a good idea!
- Corn- Corn is a great addition to any chili! You can use fresh, canned, or frozen corn.
- Spices (cumin, salt, pepper)- In addition to the salsa verde, we added a bit more flavor with simple spices!
- Hot sauce- Hot sauce adds a little bit of spice and vinegar to this delicious chili!
- Lime juice- Freshen up your white chicken chili with a squeeze of lime juice right before serving!
Try it!
Cream Cheese Chicken
This easy cream cheese chicken recipe takes two things we LOVE: cream cheese and chicken, and combines them into a deliciously creamy, dreamy chicken dish.
Cream Cheese Chicken Chili in the Instant Pot
Chili is a pretty easy meal to make in general, but making chicken chili in the Instant Pot is even easier! It also frees up your stove and you end up with tender chicken and delicious flavors pressure cooked to perfection!
For this creamy cream chili, you use both the sauté feature and the pressure cook feature. Here’s what to do:
Instructions
- First, using the sauté feature, sauté your onions and garlic.
- Next, add chicken breast, cream cheese, and salsa verde to the pot. Cover and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes (yes, only 8 minutes).
- Release the pressure naturally, shred your chicken, and add the rest of the ingredients!
- You turn on your sauté feature at the end and bring your chili to a simmer. Eat your chili when it has heated up to your desired temperature!
How do you make chili creamy?
Did you know you can cream chili with CREAM CHEESE? Don’t believe me? Look at how thick and creamy this chicken chili with cream cheese turned out.
When thickening creamy chili, there are many different ways that you can thicken it up.
- Add cream cheese
- You can make a roux (flour, butter, milk)
- Add heavy cream
- Corn starch
Though those thickening techniques are great for other recipes, this chicken chili is creamed with cream cheese and not only does it make it thick and creamy, it makes this chili recipe exceptionally delicious!
Storage
You can store this chicken chili in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Be sure to let your chili cool completely before placing it in an air-tight container and placing it in the refrigerator.
Freeze Directions
Yes, you can freeze creamy chicken chili! Let your chili cool completely and then place it in a freezer-safe container. You can leave it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Cream Cheese Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large red onion, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 3/4 cup salsa verde, divided
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1 cup chicken broth, divided
- 15 oz. canned black beans
- 15 oz. canned pinto beans
- 1 medium green pepper, minced
- 15 oz. canned corn
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon hot sauce
- lime juice
Instructions
- Turn on your Instant Pot’s saute feature and then add olive oil. Once olive oil is fragrant, add garlic, red onion, and salt. Saute for 3-4 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.
- Turn off the saute feature and then add 1/2 cup salsa verde, 8 oz. cream cheese, chicken breast, and 1/2 cup chicken broth.
- Seal the valve and turn Instant Pot to manual > high pressure and set the timer to 8 minutes. It will take around 10 minutes for your Instant Pot to build enough pressure to start counting down from 8.
- Once the timer goes off, quick release your Instant Pot by opening the valve. Take the top off and then remove the chicken and set aside.
- Add the rest of the broth and salsa and the rest of the ingredients and mix. Then, turn the saute feature back on.
- Use 2 forks to shred the chicken breast into small pieces and then add the chicken back into the Instant Pot and mix to combine. Let chili simmer over the saute feature for 5 minutes.
- Serve immediately with your favorite toppings.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Wondering if I could make this with frozen chicken?
Hi Brooke! You can definitely cook frozen chicken breasts in the instant pot for this chili, and it should take around the same cook time as the fresh breasts used in this recipe. Make sure to check the internal temp. of the chicken after the quick release (it should be 165°F!), and if it’s not, cook for a few minutes longer before shredding 🙂
Hi Can’t wait to try this and many other recipes as I am new to your Blog!
How can I convert this to my Crock Pot? Thank You
So good! At first I was worried the cream cheese would be lumpy, but it smoothed out during the final simmer. Very filling and a big hit with my husband!
This was DELICIOUS and super fast to make! Rave reviews from everyone who ate it. We served it with hint of lime tortilla chips and some shredded cheese for those who like thing extra cheeeesy!
Wow! So glad you guys loved this chicken chili! It’s one of my favs, too!
The flavor was perfect! I also added pinto beans with jalapeños to give it a little kick. I will definitely make this again!
One downside… when I was on step 3, my instant pot read “burn”. It seemed like only a 1/2 cup of chicken broth was not enough liquid. In total, I ended up using 1.5 cups of broth!
Man! Some Instant Pots are so finicky! We are starting to test all of our recipes with 2 Instant Pots…one older and one newer to see if the burn notice happens. Our older one isn’t nearly as touchy as our new one.
Should step 2 or 3 also say add chicken!?? Am I crazy and not seeing it??
Oh Woah, good call! STEP 2!!
This Recipe looks so good. Could you also write how would you do it on the normal stove?
I do not have an Instant Pot und would love to try this recipe.
Thank you!
Probably the best cream cheese chicken chili I’ve ever had. My husband LOVED it too!