This Instant Pot White Bean and Chicken Chili is made in the Instant Pot and uses dried beans and frozen chicken breasts! Can a soup or stew recipe get much easier than dump and start the pressure cooker? Why, yes. Yes it can! No soaking the dried beans.
I've made this classic comfort food for over 20 years with canned beans and leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken and love it! If you have those ingredients on hand try my Shortcut White Bean and Chicken Chili.
But recently, I wanted to make it from some dried navy beans I had in my cabinet and I didn't have any leftover chicken-only frozen chicken breasts and didn't have time to thaw them.
I looked all over Pinterest and found a couple using dried beans in the Instant Pot but not one using dried beans AND frozen chicken. So, I created one and I'm sharing it with you! No thawing and cooking the chicken ahead of time. Dump in the ingredients and Start the pressure cooker.
Why use dried beans?
Three reasons.
- First, they are a pantry staple. They keep a long time in the plastic bag it comes in or transferred to an air tight storage container.
- Secondly, you won't find any preservatives, additives, or sodium in dried white beans.
- Thirdly, they are CHEAP! Excuse me, inexpensive.
What are white beans?
There are three (maybe four) types of white beans. Ranging from smallest to largest, there are Navy beans, Great Northern beans, and Cannellini beans.
Navy beans got their name because they were used by the U.S. Navy in the early 20th century. They are often used in baked beans and become soft enough when cooked to mash agains the side of the pot.
Great Northern beans are medium-size white beans with firmer texture that hold their shape when cooked. The Mandan tribe grew them (as well as Navy beans) in what is now North Dakota.
Cannellini beans, also called white kidney beans, are the largest variety and are often used in Italian dishes like Minestrone.
A fourth variety of white are Baby Lima beans. In my Southern opinion, limas are a variety of bean all on their own but they are technically "white" beans. Baby limas are more starchy than the other varieties and are known to fall apart when overcooked-which is exactly how many Southerners like them! I do not recommend using them in Instant Pot White Bean Chicken Chili-but that's just me.
What is IQF chicken?
Individually Quick Frozen. A thin layer of ice is "glazed" over each piece of chicken when frozen so they move freely about in the package.
If you buy fresh chicken and freeze it yourself (which I love to do when it is on sale) in the package it comes in, it freezes in one solid clump. This is much too large to add to this soup recipe not to mention, you have to thaw it first to remove the absorbent pad under the chicken breast.
The advantage of buying IQF chicken so you can pull out just what you need without thawing the whole package.
Can I use fresh chicken if mine is not frozen?
I don't recommend it. For this recipe, I used frozen chicken because the time it takes to cook dried beans in the Instant Pot matches the time it takes to cook large, frozen chicken breasts. Fresh chicken cooked 25 minutes in the Instant Pot will be overcooked.
If you have large bone-in split chicken breast halves, those should be a closer match to dried beans cooking time.
You could bake or air fry the chicken separately while the bean mixture cooks in the pressure cooker, then shred it and add it after the beans are done. For directions on how to bake chicken breasts, I show you how with step by step pictures in my Shortcut White Bean and Chicken Chili recipe.
How to make Instant Pot White Bean and Chicken Chili
Scroll down to the bottom of this post for the detailed, printable recipe. Pictures below will help guide you as you read the recipe.
Don't forget the garlic! It is MIA in this pic.
Substitutions and Add-ins
- Don't have green enchilada sauce? No worries! Just use a (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chilies!
- Bone-in split chicken breasts (frozen or not frozen) will also cook at a similar rate to dried beans.
- Toppings: cilantro, sour cream, salsa, avocado, sliced radishes, green onions, sliced jalapeno peppers, plain Greek yogurt
Dump and Start. It's that easy.
- Literally add all the ingredients to the inner pot of the Instant Pot, adding the broth last. Stir the ingredients a little to distribute the seasonings.
- Place the lid on the pot and turn to seal, making sure the silicone ring is in place. Turn the steam release handle on the top to "sealing" not "venting".
- Press the "Pressure Cook" button until the mode says MORE. The other modes are LESS and NORMAL. Press the +/- button until the screen says 25. This sets the timer. Do nothing at this point and in about 10 seconds it will say "ON". It will display this for about 18 minutes while the inside of the pot comes up to pressure. Then, it will display 25 and start counting down in 1 minute increments.
Instant Pot Tip:
If you have cabinets above your pressure cooker, you can divert the steam from going straight up by holding a kitchen towel over it at an angle.
Remove the lid when the float valve has dropped. You can shred the chicken right in the pot or remove it to a cutting board to shred or chop. Ladle the soup into bowls and add the toppings of your choice and enjoy!
How to store leftovers
Soup is always better the next day and Instant Pot White Bean and Chicken Chili is no exception. Plan ahead and store it in the fridge for your next get together. Here in Alabama, that means football tailgating!
- Wait for the chili to cool completely.
- To store in the refrigerator, pour into an airtight container or Ziploc bag and store in the fridge up to 1 week.
- To store in the freezer, pour into an airtight container or Ziploc bag (removing as much air as possible, and store in the freezer up to 3 months. (Be careful to make sure the bag is not leaking before laying it down flat. The bag can be stored upright but frozen soup takes up less space if frozen flat, first.)
If you make this recipe I'd love to see it! Tag me on social media with #gritsandgouda or @gritsandgouda. Leave a comment below the printable recipe if you have questions or tell me how you liked the recipe. Don't forget to give the recipe a rating of 5 stars if you love it!
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Be social and share, y'all! Don't forget to sign up with your email so you don’t miss a single post on my Southern shortcut recipes!
Watch the ABC 33/40 Talk of Alabama segment
Other Instant Pot Recipes You May Enjoy:
Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Ranch Alfredo
How-To Guide to your New Instant Pot
Instant Pot Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Instant Pot White Bean and Chicken Chili: Dump and Start Recipe with Dried Beans
Equipment
- pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 3 large individually FROZEN chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 pounds) (or 5 small)
- 1 cup dried navy beans
- 1 10-oz can green enchilada sauce or 4.5-oz can chopped green chiles
- 1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 32-oz carton chicken broth or stock (4 cups)
Toppings
- Sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, cilantro, chopped avocado, tortilla strips or chips
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients except for toppings in the inner pot of a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot. I have the 6 quart Duo. Stir gently to distribute the beans and spices.
- Place the lid on the pot and turn to seal, making sure the silicone ring is in place. Turn the steam release handle on the top to "sealing" not "venting".
- Press the "Pressure Cook" button until the mode says MORE. The other modes are LESS and NORMAL. Press the +/- button until the screen says 25. This sets the timer. Do nothing at this point and in about 10 seconds it will say "ON". It will display this for about 18 minutes while the inside of the pot comes up to pressure. Then, it will display 25 and start counting down in 1 minute increments.
- After the 25 minutes of cooking time. For very soft beans, do nothing and the pressure will naturally release. This will take about 30 minutes. Or, if you prefer the texture similar to canned beans, naturally release the pressure for 15 minutes, then quick release it by turning the steam release handle from "sealing" to "venting". Be sure to keep hands and face away from steam as it releases.
- Tip: If you have cabinets above your pressure cooker, you can divert the steam from going straight up by holding a kitchen towel over it at an angle.
- Remove the lid when the float valve has dropped. You can shred the chicken right in the pot or remove it to a cutting board to shred or chop.
- If you prefer a creamier texture, mash a few of the beans in the pot with a potato masher or large spoon.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and add the toppings of your choice. Note: It thickens slightly in the fridge overnight.
Notes
- To store in the freezer, pour into an airtight container or Ziploc bag (removing as much air as possible, and store in the freezer up to 3 months. (Be careful to make sure the bag is not leaking before laying it down flat. The bag can be stored upright but frozen soup takes up less space if frozen flat, first.)
Can you use thawed chicken breasts for this recipe?
Great question! You can, but I'm afraid boneless, skinless chicken breasts would be very overcooked. The time is set to cook the dried beans and frozen chicken matches that time better. If your thawed chicken breasts were large and bone-in, it would match the time of cooking the dried beans better. If you do try boneless chicken breasts, be sure to let me know if you found they were overcooked or acceptable. For an even quicker white bean chicken chili recipe, check out my Shortcut White Bean and Chicken Chili using canned beans.
I would say Yes if you "pre-soak instant pot style" the beans. Put beans in the pot and cover with one inch of water. Put on high for 10 min and let it vent naturally. Then you have beans that are pre soaked w/o waiting 8 hrs. Adapt you full meal cook time to 20 min.
I have not tried presoaking the beans with that Instant Pot method. I'll have to try it. Let's hear from anyone that does try this method! I'm always in for a shortcut!
Can you use fresh chicken breast and any other beans?
You can use any dried beans the same size. I don't recommend fresh chicken with dried beans because the cooking time is so different for them. Dried beans and frozen chicken cook about the same rate. Fresh chicken would be very overdone and dry if it cooked as long as dried beans. You could, however, use fresh chicken and canned beans and reduce the cooking time to 10 minutes. Let me know if that works for you and I'll add that tip to the recipe!
I don't have an Instant Pot! Would this recipe work in a crock pot?
Yes, although I haven't tried it, I do think it will work! You can cook dried beans in a slow cooker without presoaking them. I recommend trying it with all the same amounts I have here in the recipe plus adding 1 cup water. Cook it on high in a large slow cooker for 5 hours and check the beans for doneness. Let me know if that works and I'll add that version to my blog post!
Am I reading it right that this is 220 calories per cup? Just double checking because it’s a little higher than I would think!
Yes, that is an estimate for one cup. I use a couple of online nutrition calculators. That is actually on the lower end of calorie estimates, but they are just that-estimates. The beans and the chicken are high in protein and there this chili has a lot of chicken in it. You can absolutely make it with just two chicken breasts and it will still be satisfying and fewer calories. To save a few more calories, you could substitute 2 of the 4 cups of chicken broth with water. I'm glad you found my blog and I hope you will try this recipe and love it.