Creamy White Chicken Chili

Thanksgiving week. The team had its end-of-season banquet Tuesday — ninety-three kids in a school cafeteria decorated with the Eagles colors, parents and siblings and boosters crowding the chairs. I gave Marcus the team MVP award and when he walked up to get it he said, into the microphone without turning toward me, "This is for Coach's brother." The room was quiet for a moment and then people started clapping and I was standing at the podium and I had nothing left after that but to say thank you, so I said it.

We drove to Las Cruces Wednesday for Thanksgiving. My parents' house. Miguel and his family from across town, Patricia and Gilbert from El Paso, Gabby and Ray from Albuquerque, Marisol and Alejandro from — she's living with her mother in Las Cruces now. This is the first Thanksgiving without Ruben, and everyone knew it, and nobody led with it, and nobody needed to. The table was set with one more place than there were people, which was Gloria's idea, which I didn't know about until I sat down. She set a place for Ruben. She didn't explain it. Nobody asked her to.

I cooked with my mother all day Wednesday — we made posole, red chile, calabacitas, two pies, sweet potato and apple because Gloria considers pumpkin pie an anglicization too far. The kitchen was warm and loud and smelled the way the kitchen always smells in that house and I have never been more grateful for a smell. Alejandro helped stir the calabacitas, which mostly means he ate the corn out of the bowl, which my mother allowed and which I filed in the category of things that are allowed for Ruben's son, which is a long and generous list.

Thanksgiving was full. That's the word. Full. Not happy exactly, not happy yet, but full of the people who are left and the food they make and the table they set together. That's enough. That has to be enough. Some years it's just enough and that is its own kind of grace.

My mother’s posole takes most of a day and I’m not sure I’ll ever make it as well as she does — but when I got home from Las Cruces and the house was quiet and I still wanted that warmth, that smell, that sense of a kitchen working hard for the people inside it, I made this. Creamy white chicken chili with green chiles pulls from the same Southwest pantry we cooked from all day Wednesday, and it comes together fast enough for a weeknight without losing any of that slow-simmered feeling. It’s not posole. But it’s full — and right now, full is exactly what I’m going for.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 large)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (4 oz each) diced green chiles (Hatch-style preferred)
1 can (15 oz) Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 oz cream cheese, softened and cubed
1/2 cup sour cream
Juice of 1 lime
Optional toppings: shredded Monterey Jack, sliced avocado, fresh cilantro, warm tortillas

Instructions

Poach the chicken. Place chicken breasts in a medium saucepan and cover with water or broth. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and cook 15—18 minutes until cooked through. Remove, let rest 5 minutes, then shred with two forks. Set aside.
Build the base. In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 5—6 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
Add chiles and spices. Stir in the diced green chiles, cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Cook 2 minutes, letting the spices bloom in the oil.
Add beans, corn, and broth. Pour in the chicken broth and add both cans of beans and the corn. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
Mash for body. Using the back of a wooden spoon or a potato masher, partially mash some of the beans directly in the pot — about 1/4 of them. This thickens the chili without any flour or cornstarch. Simmer 10 minutes.
Add chicken and cream cheese. Stir in the shredded chicken. Add the softened cream cheese in pieces, stirring steadily until it is fully melted and incorporated into the broth, about 3—4 minutes.
Finish with sour cream and lime. Remove from heat. Stir in the sour cream and lime juice. Taste and adjust salt as needed. The lime is important — don’t skip it.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with shredded Monterey Jack, avocado, and cilantro. Serve with warm tortillas or cornbread on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Creamy White Chicken Chili — The Kitchen That Smelled Like Home