Creamy and warm with a little heat from green chiles, and a cream cheese broth that comes out thicker than you expect from a white chili. I built this one around chicken thighs instead of breast because they stay tender under pressure, and cauliflower rice takes the place of beans without thinning the pot. Soften the cream cheese and cut it small before it goes in, or it clumps instead of melting into the broth. 6.5g net carbs and 30.8g protein per bowl.
I make this white chicken chili anytime I'm craving something warm, spicy and creamy. It's always a tough call between this and my keto taco soup, but this one wins when I want something rich and cheesy without the tomato base.
Traditional versions rely on cannellini beans for body. Those beans add 15 to 20 grams of net carbs per cup. My keto version skips the beans entirely and uses cauliflower rice instead. You still get that chunky texture, and the total drops to just 6.5g net carbs per serving.
The real star is the broth. Green chilis, cumin and oregano build the flavor base, then cream cheese melts into everything and creates this thick, velvety sauce that coats every piece of shredded chicken. I've tested this with both heavy cream and cream cheese, and the cream cheese version holds up better as leftovers. Heavy cream tasted great on day one but thinned out in the fridge overnight. Cream cheese keeps its body even after three days.
This recipe works in the pressure cooker (25 minutes), slow cooker (6 to 8 hours), or on the stove top (45 minutes). I use the pressure cooker on weeknights. Toss everything in, set it to cook for 15 minutes, and dinner is on the table before my kids finish homework. The slow cooker version is great for days when I want dinner waiting for me, and it builds a slightly deeper flavor from the longer cook time. If you have leftover rotisserie chicken, skip the pressure cook step and stir it in shredded at the end. Cuts total time to about 10 minutes. I do the same thing with my keto crack chicken leftovers.
You can also turn this into a freezer meal. Bag all the raw ingredients, freeze flat, and cook from frozen when you need it. I keep two or three bags in the freezer at all times for those weeks when meal planning falls apart. It stores for up to 3 months and the cream cheese broth holds together when you thaw it.
Top it with avocado, shredded cheese, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Scoop it up with pork rinds for a low carb chili dip, or serve it alongside my beef chili for a chili bar night. My kids eat two bowls and never notice the cauliflower rice (it disappears into the broth). If you want more creamy comfort bowls, try my clam chowder or chicken noodle soup.
No beans, just 6.5g net carbs per bowl
Traditional
Traditional white chili with beans averages 15 to 20 grams of net carbs per cup. That’s almost entirely from the cannellini beans.
My keto version
I swapped the beans for cauliflower rice, and the carb count drops to just 6.5 grams net carbs per serving. That’s roughly a third of the traditional version. The cauliflower rice absorbs the broth and gives you that same chunky texture without the carb load.
A true dump and go freezer meal
I don’t always have time for full meal prep, and this recipe saves me on those nights. It’s a true dump and go meal for the pressure cooker or crock pot.
Add all the chili ingredients to a freezer safe bag and store it flat in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready, thaw overnight in the fridge or cook straight from frozen (I add about 5 extra minutes to the pressure cook time when cooking from frozen). I usually prep three or four bags at once on a Sunday and I’m set for the month.
Are tomatoes OK on keto?
Tomatoes have carbs, but I use them in a lot of my recipes because the flavor is worth it. One medium tomato has about 4 grams of net carbs, and most recipes only call for a small amount spread across multiple servings. Per serving, the carb impact is minimal.
I use diced tomatoes in this chili because they add acidity and depth to the broth. If you want to cut carbs even further, you can skip the tomatoes entirely. I’ve made it both ways.
My trick for shredding chicken in the pot
I shred the chicken right in the pot using an electric hand mixer. No transferring to a cutting board, no extra dishes. Drop the mixer into the liner, pulse for about 15 seconds, and the chicken shreds while the cream cheese blends into the broth at the same time. That’s how you get the creamy consistency without any extra stirring.
You can use two forks if you prefer, but the electric mixer is faster and gives you a better texture. I’ve been doing it this way for years.
How to store and reheat this chili
I store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days in an airtight container. The chili reheats well on the stove or in the microwave, and the cream cheese broth doesn’t separate when you reheat it. That’s one of the main reasons I use cream cheese instead of heavy cream in soups like this.
This chili also freezes well (both before and after cooking) for up to 3 months. I freeze it in individual portions so I can pull out one serving at a time for a fast lunch.
How to make this creamy chili
3 ways to cook this chili
Pick the method that works for your schedule. I’ve made this all three ways and they all produce the same creamy broth.
Pressure Cooker Method
The Instant Pot is my preferred method for this chili. Everything goes in one pot, and dinner is ready in about 25 minutes.
Add all the chili ingredients and spread the cubed cream cheese on top. Pressure cook on high for 15 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Shred the chicken with a hand mixer right in the pot and stir in the cauliflower rice.
Add all the chili ingredients, including the cream cheese, to the crock pot first thing in the morning. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. When you get home, shred the chicken, and add the cauliflower rice about 20 minutes before you eat. I prefer the taste of the slow cooker version when I have the patience for it. The long cook time builds a deeper, rounder flavor in the broth.
Stove Top Method
Add all the chili ingredients to a stock pot except the cream cheese and cauliflower rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Stir in the cream cheese until melted and creamy, then shred the chicken right in the pot. Add the cauliflower rice and let it heat through for about 2 minutes.
Add chicken thighs, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, green chiles, heavy cream and seasonings to the liner of the Instant Pot. Stir to combine.
For this step
Chicken thighs
Chicken broth
Diced tomatoes
Green Chiles
Heavy Cream
Chili powder
Salt
Dried parsley
Cumin
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Dried oregano
Black pepper
2
Pressure cook
Spread cubed cream cheese around the chicken chili broth mixture. Secure the Instant Pot lid and set the valve to seal. Pressure cook on high for 15 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure manually by turning the valve to vent. Check the thickest thigh with a food thermometer; it must reach 165°F before shredding. Pressure cook a few minutes more if needed.
For this step
Cream cheese
3
Shred chicken
Shred chicken using an electric mixer or two forks.
4
Add cauliflower rice
Add cauliflower rice. Let set for 2 minutes until cauliflower rice is heated through.
For this step
Cauliflower rice
5
Slow cooker instructions
Add the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, diced chiles and seasonings to the liner of a slow cooker. Mix to combine. Add in chicken thighs and cream cheese. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours. Check the thickest thigh with a food thermometer for 165°F. Cook longer if needed. Twenty minutes before you want to eat, add in cauliflower rice.
For this step
Avocado (optional)
Limes (optional)
Cheese (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
Nutrition
Per serving: 1 bowl
Calories
352
Fat
20.2g
Protein
30.8g
Total carbs
8.4g
Net carbs
6.5g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use rotisserie chicken to make this faster?
Leftover rotisserie chicken is a useful shortcut here. Skip the pressure cook step entirely, stir the shredded chicken in at the end, and just heat everything through for about 5 minutes. Total time drops to around 10 minutes. My Instant Pot shredded chicken works for this too if you batch cook on Sundays like I do.
Can I use chicken breast instead of thighs?
I've made it with both, and chicken breast works fine here. The broth has enough fat from the cream cheese and heavy cream that the leaner breast doesn't dry out. You can also use leftover rotisserie chicken. I add it shredded at the end and just heat it through (skip the pressure cook step since it's already cooked).
How do I thicken this chili?
I usually don't need to thicken it because the cream cheese makes the broth pretty thick on its own. But if you want it even thicker, I stir in an extra ounce of cream cheese and let it simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes. You can also add a teaspoon of xanthan gum, but stir it in slowly or it clumps.
Can I use salsa verde instead of green chiles?
I've done it, and it works. About half a cup of salsa verde replaces the can of green chiles and the flavor shifts a little more tangy. I like it both ways. The salsa verde version is slightly thinner, so I add an extra ounce of cream cheese to compensate.
What can I use instead of cauliflower rice?
I've skipped the cauliflower rice entirely and the chili is still thick enough from the cream cheese broth. If you want some bulk without the cauliflower, diced zucchini works. I cut it small so it blends in. Riced broccoli is another option I've tried, though it changes the color slightly.
How long does this chili last in the fridge?
I get about 4 days out of it in an airtight container. It also freezes well for up to 3 months. The cream cheese base doesn't separate when you thaw and reheat, which is the main reason I use cream cheese instead of heavy cream in recipes like this.
How do I make white chicken chili in an instant pot?
I add chicken thighs, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, green chiles, heavy cream and seasonings to the Instant Pot and spread the cubed cream cheese on top. I pressure cook on high for 15 minutes, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then shred the chicken right in the pot and stir in the cauliflower rice. Dinner is ready in about 25 minutes.
How many carbs are in white chicken chili?
Traditional white chicken chili runs 15 to 20 grams of net carbs per cup, and almost all of that comes from the cannellini beans. My keto version swaps the beans for cauliflower rice, so one bowl has 6.5g net carbs and 8.4g total carbs.
Delicious! I had rotisserie chicken meat to use up and was looking for ideas. So glad I found your recipe and site. Based on comments, I used 1.5 tsp of cumin plus I threw in 1/2 a small sweet onion, finely chopped. So happy to have some for the freezer. We will definitely make this again. Thank you!
White chili has a reputation for being watered-down next to a red, and I went in skeptical. What makes this one different is the cream cheese ratio, it thickens the broth without tasting like chicken soup. The green chiles punch through the dairy and keep it tasting like actual chili. I’d push the cumin by a half teaspoon next time, but that’s preference, not a fix.
25 minutes is about right for the IP. I always underestimate how much the cauliflower rice thickens the broth once it softens in there, on top of the cream cheese.
Every time I add cream cheese to a hot liquid it breaks on me, so I went in fully expecting a grainy mess (had a backup plan and everything). Broth came out completely smooth though, thick and even. 6.5 net carbs for a bowl like that. Not bad.
I had that exact thing happen to me for years before I figured out what keeps it from breaking here. I cut the cream cheese into 6 to 8 pieces and spread them around the pot instead of dropping in one block, and the fat from the heavy cream helps hold it together too. The other half of it is the shredding step. When I drop the electric mixer right into the liner, the cream cheese gets whipped into the broth while the chicken shreds, so there’s nothing left sitting there ready to seize. Glad you never had to use that backup plan, Angela!
Work potluck last week and I’m still getting texts about it (one came in while I was sitting here writing this, which, hello). Made it the night before and actually panicked when I saw how thick it got in the fridge, but it warmed back up smooth. The cauliflower rice was the thing, a few people kept saying the texture was different from other chilis in a way they couldn’t quite name, and I ended up explaining the whole keto-no-beans situation to four people over a bowl of soup, which was not on my agenda. My coworker who is very skeptical about anything labeled ‘healthy’ just stood over the pot with her bowl and said ‘what did you put in this’ in the most serious tone. I genuinely didn’t know where to start.
What did you put in this is the best chili review I’ve heard. When it gets thick in the fridge, Lorraine, that’s just the cream cheese thickening as it cools.
Never thought to use a hand mixer to shred chicken but it took 45 seconds and I’ll never go back to two forks. Does the slow cooker version get that same thick broth, or is that an Instant Pot thing?
Same thick broth in the slow cooker. That creaminess is all the cream cheese, not the IP. I add the pieces in the last 30 minutes and stir a couple times until it melts smooth.
My sister’s coming for dinner next weekend with her family, and she’s been dairy-free for about a year now. I really want to make this chili since everyone loves it, but the cream cheese and heavy cream are doing a lot of work in that broth. That’s where I’m stuck.nnI’ve tried dairy-free cream cheese in soups before and it can go grainy once it heats up, which I really want to avoid here. Has coconut cream worked as a sub for the heavy whipping cream? I’m worried it’ll make the whole thing taste tropical. And is there a dairy-free cream cheese brand you’ve had good results with in the Instant Pot? I don’t want to swap out both at once without knowing what holds up, since I really need the broth to stay thick and not watery.
The heavy cream is only 2 tablespoons total, so coconut cream isn’t going to make it taste tropical. That part’s a non-issue. The cream cheese is the trickier swap, and I haven’t done a full dairy-free run myself. From what readers have reported back, Violife and Kite Hill both hold up, but the thing that keeps coming up is adding it after the IP depressurizes, off the heat, and stirring until it melts in rather than letting it sit while the broth is still really hot. That’s what seems to prevent the grainy problem.
Made this Sunday and my wife, who never touches anything I make when I’m ‘eating healthy,’ asked what I put in the broth. I told her cream cheese and she didn’t believe me.
Swapped half the cream cheese for goat cheese and the tang it adds to the broth is something else. It melts a little differently, sharper and more interesting. If you have some sitting around, try it.
My mom used to make white chicken chili every fall, the old-fashioned kind with a can of white beans and sour cream stirred in at the end. I’ve been keto for three years and mostly made peace with not having it. Found this version last week and made it on a rainy Tuesday night without expecting much. The cream cheese broth has that same depth her version had, and the shredded chicken thighs fell apart the same way. I sat with my bowl for a while after.
That rainy Tuesday detail got me. The cream cheese does something to the broth I didn’t fully plan when I first made this, that slow thick depth. Glad it took you back.
My husband has a rule about dinner needing rice or bread with it, it’s not negotiable, so I honestly wasn’t sure how this was going to go. He ate the whole bowl and then wanted to know what I did to the broth (the answer is cream cheese, which he would have said no to if I’d asked first). Something about the way it gets silky and thick got him. Four stars because I think I rushed the seal on my Instant Pot and mine came out thinner than it probably should have been, but I’m making it again this week to fix that.
The cream cheese confession never gets old. Thin broth in the IP is almost always the valve, needs to be fully clicked to sealing before the timer starts.
My mom made white chicken chili every fall and I kind of just stopped hoping for it when I went keto, like it was just something I had to let go. Made this last Sunday and when the cream cheese started melting into the broth and that cumin smell hit, I don’t know, I was back in her kitchen for a second. The chicken thighs came out falling apart tender. Four stars because I let my cauliflower rice sit too long and it got a little soft (totally my fault, not the recipe), but this is the one I’ll keep coming back to.
The cumin and cream cheese moment gets me every time I make this. For the cauliflower rice, I pull mine when it’s still a little underdone because it keeps cooking in the hot broth. Two to three minutes max.
My husband inhaled his bowl and went back for more without saying a word, which from him is louder than any compliment. I’d probably ease up on the cumin just a touch next time, but the cream cheese broth is freaking unreal.
Made this Tuesday when it was brutal outside and I needed something that would actually warm us up, and my son, who has vetoed every ‘healthy’ chili I’ve put in front of him since we went keto, went back for a second bowl without saying anything and then asked me to save him the leftovers for school lunch. That’s the thing with this one, the cream cheese broth is so thick and rich it doesn’t register as diet food to anyone who isn’t looking for it. I used the slow cooker, had it going by 9am, and the chicken thighs were falling apart by dinner, I just shredded them with a fork in about 30 seconds flat. My only note is I’d go heavier on the green chiles next time, maybe a full can and a half, because we like heat and it needed a nudge. Four stars from me but honestly four and a half if that were an option.
When the kid who vetoes every healthy dish saves the leftovers for school lunch, you’re done arguing. Slow cooker thighs are perfect for this. They just shred themselves.
352 calories and 6.5 net carbs for a bowl this filling is hard to beat. I skipped the tomatoes to drop the carbs a bit more and it was still plenty flavorful with the green chiles and cumin.
I made this for the first time today with boneless chicken breasts (only had about a pound) and skipped the green chiles since I didn’t have any. Still turned out so good. Can’t wait to try it again with the chiles next time.
Nice! The chiles add a little kick and some depth, so definitely try it next time. I usually go with one can if my family’s eating it, two if it’s just me and my husband.
Nice! The green chiles add a good kick, but the chili still works without them. If you want that little bit of heat next time without the chiles, I sometimes throw in a pinch of cumin and a dash of cayenne.
Solid recipe. The cream cheese makes it really rich which I liked but my wife thought it was too heavy. Next time I’ll cut the cream cheese to 6 oz and see how that goes.
