White Chicken Chili! One of my favorite soups. Creamy, smoky, cozy, and spicy with BIG flavor and simple ingredients. SO GOOD.

• 4–5 strips of bacon
• 1–2 jalapeños, ribs and seeds removed
• half of a yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 cups chicken broth
• two 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes with green chiles (with juices!)
• 1.25 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (you can also use chicken breasts – I like it both ways)
• one 14-ounce can pinto beans
• one 14-ounce can black beans
• 8 ounces cream cheese

Instructions

1. Food processor prep: Pulse the bacon through the food processor until it looks like a chunky paste. Remove bacon and do the same with the onion, garlic, and jalapeño.
   
2. Cook bacon and veggies: Add the bacon to a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Once the bacon starts heating up, add the onion, garlic, and jalapeño mix so it all cooks together.
   
3. Build the soup: Add spices, broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer.
   
4. Cook chicken: Add chicken. Bring to a low simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove, cool, and shred.
   
5. Tie it all up: Stir in the shredded chicken, beans, and cream cheese.  The chili will be THICK, especially as it cools. It’s almost like a dip because, yes, we are monsters. Thin it out with water as you like!
   
6. Top and serve: Serve with every good thing under the sun, but mostly tortilla chips, cilantro, green onion, and cheese.
   

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Salt: I didn’t include a salt measurement here, or even a mention of seasoning, because I find that with both the bacon AND the chicken broth, it is plenty salty. But you do you!

Beans: This white chicken chili is also great with white beans, navy beans, and red beans. Mix and match as you like! And for a less chunky soup, use just one can of beans.

Bacon grease: The overall amount shouldn’t be overwhelming as there is no other oil in this recipe, and the bacon grease will work its way into leftovers nicely with really good flavor. That being said, I often just quickly skim the top if / when I start to see some of the grease pooling. If you want, you can drain off the extra tablespoon or so of grease after you fry the bacon with the onion, garlic, and jalapeño in step two.