This keto white chicken chili is thick, creamy, and unbelievably satisfying. It’s delicious low carb chili recipe that my whole family loves, and yours will too. Guaranteed!
You know those comfort food recipes where you take one bite and think to yourself “Dang, I should have made a double batch!”? This Keto White Chicken Chili is one of those recipes.
And because my whole family loves it, I’ve made it a habit to double the recipe every time. Because then I can guarantee that there is at least a bowl or two leftover for lunch the next day.
Hearty keto chicken chili is just what the doctor ordered to soothe our winter-battered souls. It’s thick and full of flavor, with just enough kick to warm you right down to your toes.
Best of all, it’s insanely easy to make. Just pop the ingredients in your slow cooker and in a few short hours, dinner is done.
Check out more of my Keto Slow Cooker Recipes for easy dinner ideas.
Why you will love this recipe
This keto white chicken chili recipe is from my popular cookbook, Easy Keto Dinners. My husband and I were casting around for an easy meal we could freeze and take on a ski trip. He mentioned chili and I knew this would be perfect.
This is an ideal recipe for your slow cooker (or an Instant Pot). I call it a “dump-and-run recipe”. You simply put all the ingredients in your pot, turn it on, and walk away. It practically cooks itself. All you need to do is shred the chicken and blend the soup at the end. Dinner is done!
And Keto White Chicken Chili is a fantastic one-pot meal. The creaminess and thickness in this recipe comes from cauliflower so you are getting your meat and veggies all in one hearty soup. No need to prep any extra sides.
Did I mention it also freezes like a dream? You can make a big batch and divvy it up for future meals. It’s a great way to get ahead on your meal prep!
Reader Reviews
“I have made this 3 times in 3 weeks, doubling the recipe each time. I have used boneless skinless thighs, bone-in, skin on thighs, 2 jalapenos without seeds, 3 jalapenos with seeds, half coconut oil/half bacon grease, full amount of coconut oil….it comes out AMAZING every single time!” — Kristin
“This is so good! I mean seriously good! So easy and very tasty! My family doesn’t know that the base is cauliflower. They think it is blended northern beans, and it tastes that creamy and rich.” — Alisa
“I made this yesterday and reheated it for dinner tonight. It was delicious! I didn’t have any jalapeños but had a small can of green chilies. It was sooo good. My husband asked for a second bowl. Thank you Carolyn for another great recipe!” — Doris
Ingredients you need
- Chicken: I like to use chicken thighs for a bit more flavor but chicken breasts will work as well.
- Cauliflower: Cauliflower thickens the chili and adds creaminess. It also means you can make it completely dairy-free if you like!
- Green chilies: I like to add a few ounces of fire-roasted mild green chilies. It adds a depth of flavor to the chili that really takes it over the top.
- Jalapeno: This isn’t a very spicy chili as is but you can adjust to your own taste. Leave the jalapeño seeds in for more heat or remove them for less heat.
- Cumin: Ground cumin is a classic chili spice.
- Kitchen staples: Chicken broth, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Step by Step Directions
1. Place all of the ingredients except the cilantro in a large slow cooker (4 to 6 quarts). Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.
2. Remove the chicken to a plate and shred with two forks. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it is mostly creamy. Return the chicken to the pot and mix well.
3. Serve with chopped cilantro, shredded cheese, and avocado, if desired.
Expert Tips
This recipe is so easy that I don’t have too many extra tips for you. But here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Fresh cauliflower works just as well as frozen. I just find frozen faster since I don’t have to cut it into florets.
- You can also make this in an Instant Pot, but I recommend reducing the broth by about a cup. Pressure cookers force a lot of liquid out of vegetables and meat, so it will end up thinner if you don’t reduce the broth.
- This is a dairy-free recipe but you can make it richer and creamier by adding half a cup of heavy cream at the end. You could also use coconut cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conventional white chicken chili typically contains white beans, corn, and other high carb ingredients. And it can have 35g of carbs or more per serving. But this Keto White Chicken Chili recipe has only 8.1g total carbs and 2.6g fiber per serving. So it has only 5.5g net carbs per bowl!
A great way to thicken white chicken chili without adding carbs is to add cauliflower. You can use fresh or frozen cauliflower, and simply blend it up with the rest of the ingredients. I use this same trick in my Buffalo Chicken Soup and it turns these soups into full one-pot meals!
Store this soup in a covered container in the fridge in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it for several months.
More hearty keto soups
Keto White Chicken Chili Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb chicken thighs boneless and skinless
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 12 ounces frozen cauliflower florets
- 4 ounces fire roasted canned green chilies (optional, adds great flavor!)
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil or avocado oil
- 1 medium jalapeno pepper, chopped (leave seeds in for extra heat)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients except the cilantro in a large slow cooker (4 to 6 quarts). Cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.
- Remove the chicken to a plate and shred with two forks. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it is mostly creamy. Return the chicken to the pot and mix well.
- Serve with chopped cilantro, shredded cheese, and avocado, if desired.
Dianne B says
Carolyn, you never fail me!! Made a double-batch this week; hubby raved each time I served it. We did s little taste test and decided it was delicious both with and without the optional coconut cream (though “with” was preferred by a slim margin).
Your wonderful, easy recipe is going into regular rotation per hubby request.
Thank you for keeping us keto contented!
Carolyn says
So glad you like it!
Kim says
made this today and was delicious. all 8 family members agreed! very hearty and filling. so simple to throw together before church and was ready to place in bowls when we returned home.
Patrish says
Another 5 star recipe, thank you! I don’t have an immersion blender and I don’t like blending hot liquid in my ancient leaky standard blender so lazy me popped the frozen cauliflower in the soup pot with a cup of broth, cooked it until it was soft and mashed it right in the pot, then added the rest of the ingredients. It came out great, more chunky of course than the smooth texture blending would have given it but I liked it that way. Your flavors are always so good.
Jennifer C. says
Very easy and delicious. The whole family enjoyed this and we will be making it often.
Ros Marshall says
I’ve been a fan of Carolyn’s for well over 10 years now. I got started in Keto baking around 2008. Mostly replacing staples like cookies, pancakes and snacks… but this is by far one of the best recipes ever. I never attempted many cauliflower recipes after the first 5 years because frankly I was sick to death of it. But this was a delightful surprise. And the great thing is you can embellish with your own preferences, it is going to be difficult to wreck. Great job here… kinda looking forward now to the cauliflower soup. BTW I added a ton of bacon to the cheese topping. Fabulous.
Christa McCrillis says
ok, I made this for our annual chili-cook-off. Everyone loved it! It was so good, there wasnt any left and I doubled the recipe. Also so easy!
I’m making 2 crockpots of this today.
5stars
debra krupp says
Excellent!
Cheryl Rose says
I made this for dinner last night. Wonderful to have a ‘throw it all in the instant pot and walk away’ recipe. So easy! Thank you
Cathy McBride says
I made this a few days ago, from the weekly meal plan email, and we loved it! So quick and easy in the instant pot, and so delicious. I didn’t have the green chilies so I used a little more jalapeño. Will definitely make this again!
Carolyn says
Great to hear!
Joe Hess says
Very tasty. I thought it would taste like cauliflower, but it doesn’t. I added a dollop of sour cream along with the cilantro.
Connie says
I’m wondering if cooked chicken can be used and cook a shorter amount of time. I have som plain rotisserie chicken that I need to use.
Carolyn says
Absolutely! Do the rest of the chili as directed and just add the shredded chicken at the end. You probably won’t have to cook things nearly as long.
Lynn says
I made this tonight, it was excellent! The jalapeno with seeds and the roasted green chilies gave the perfect amount of spice. I did serve it with avocado which paired nicely. My husband gave the suggestion of some lime which added a nice flavor as well. I did not have sour cream if I did, I would have added a dollop. I used 12 oz from 16 oz bag of cauliflower, next time I will use it all.