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Cream Cheese Chicken Chili

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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6

Instructions
 

  • Season chicken with salt and pepper. Sear in hot oil in a large pot for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden. Remove and set aside.
  • In the same pot over medium heat, cook onion for 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeño and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add all spices and cook 30 seconds, stirring, until fragrant.
  • Add green chiles, white beans, corn, and broth. Stir and scrape up any fond from the bottom.
  • Return chicken to the pot. Bring to a boil then simmer on medium-low uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes until chicken is cooked through and tender.
  • Remove chicken and shred with two forks. Return to the pot.
  • Reduce heat to low. Add cubed room temperature cream cheese. Stir continuously for 3 to 4 minutes until completely dissolved and the broth is smooth, silky, and velvety.
  • Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream, lime juice, and lime zest. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  • Ladle into bowls. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, cilantro, avocado, tortilla chips, and lime wedges.

Notes

    • Soften cream cheese to room temperature before adding — cold cream cheese causes stubborn lumps
    • Always bloom the spices in the pot for 30 seconds before adding liquid — it deeply intensifies flavor
    • Stir continuously as the cream cheese melts — 3 to 4 minutes of patience produces a silky broth
    • Add sour cream off the heat to prevent curdling
    • Taste at every stage — after the broth, after the cream cheese, and after the lime
    • Even better, the next day — make ahead and reheat gently with a splash of broth
    • Rotisserie chicken is an excellent shortcut — shred and add with the beans, skip the sear
    • For slow cooker, cook everything except the cream cheese and sour cream on low 6 to 7 hours
    • Freeze in portions — reheat slowly over low heat, stirring frequently, and add broth if needed
    • Thicken by mashing some beans against the pot wall or simmering uncovered for 5 more minutes