This Instant Pot White Bean Chicken Chili starts with 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 dry 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 I wanted to make Instant Pot white chicken chili with dry beans I had in my cabinet. I didn't have any leftover chicken. I only had frozen chicken breasts and didn't have time to thaw them.
I looked all over Pinterest and found a couple of recipes using dried beans in the Instant Pot but not one using dried beans AND frozen chicken.
So, I created this pressure cooker white chicken chili and I'm sharing it with you! No thawing and cooking the chicken ahead of time. Just dump in the ingredients and start the electric pressure cooker.
Why use dried beans?
Three reasons.
- First, dry beans are a pantry staple. They keep a long time in the plastic bag it comes in or transferred to an air tight storage container.
- Second, you won't find any preservatives, additives, or sodium in dried white beans.
- Thirdly, they are CHEAP! Excuse me, inexpensive.
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 is pulling out just what you need without thawing the whole package.
Can I use fresh chicken instead of 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 might be overcooked.
If you have large bone-in split chicken breasts that are not frozen, 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.
What are white beans?
There are three 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.
Ingredients
What you will need to make this white chicken chili recipe in the Instant Pot.
- Frozen chicken breasts
- Dried navy or Great Northern beans
- Green enchilada sauce or canned green chiles
- Onion or frozen chopped onion
- Garlic or garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- Cumin and oregano
- Chicken broth
- Optional toppings: Sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, cilantro, chopped avocado, tortilla strips or chips
Don't forget the garlic! It is MIA in this pic.
How to make Instant Pot White Bean 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.
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 30. 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 30 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!
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
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.)
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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 Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Instant Pot White Bean Chicken Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 large FROZEN chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 pounds) (or 4 small)
- 1 cup dried navy or Great Northern beans
- 1 10-oz can green enchilada sauce or 2 (4.5-ounce) cans chopped green chiles
- 1 small onion, chopped (or 1 cup frozen chopped onion)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (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 30. 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 30 and start counting down in 1 minute increments.
- After the 30 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". You can also just let it naturally release which means do nothing until the valve drops.
- 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.
- 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.
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.)
Nutrition
Nutrition analysis on GritsAndGouda.com recipes are mostly calculated on an online nutrition calculator. I am not a dietitian and nutritional information is an estimate and can vary based on products used.
Updated February 2023
Craig
Can you use thawed chicken breasts for this recipe?
gritsandgouda
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.
AnneBOnny
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.
gritsandgouda
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!
Denise
Can you use fresh chicken breast and any other beans?
gritsandgouda
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!
Holly
I don't have an Instant Pot! Would this recipe work in a crock pot?
gritsandgouda
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!
Beth
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!
gritsandgouda
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.