No Bean White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 pieces bacon, diced
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 poblano or green bell pepper, diced*
  • 6-7 cloves garlic, pressed
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon EACH chili powder, oregano, & smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon Morton kosher salt*
  • fresh cracked black pepper
  • 3-4 cups chicken broth or stock
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 15-ounce can sweet corn, drained
  • 1 cup mild salsa verde*
  • 1 4-ounce can mild green chiles
  • 1 Tablespoon hot sauce, optional*
  • 3/4 cup milk or cream
  • 4 ounces full fat brick-style cream cheese, softened to room temperature

Directions:

  1. In a large pot or dutch oven, sauté the bacon over medium low heat until most of the fat has rendered and the bacon is brown.
  2. Remove the bacon from the pot and set aside. Increase the heat to medium high. Sear the chicken breasts for about 4 minutes per side in the bacon grease. The chicken does not need to be cooked through completely.
  3. Remove the chicken and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium. Leave about 1-1.5 Tablespoons of the bacon grease and discard the rest. Add the onion and poblano. Sauté for 6-7 minutes.
  4. Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, oregano, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
  5. Deglaze the pan with 3 cups of the chicken broth, scraping all of the brown bits off the pot of the bottom. Add the chicken breasts and bacon into the broth.
  6. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for 30 minutes.
  7. Remove the chicken. Stir in the corn, salsa, green chiles, hot sauce, and milk.
  8. Shred the chicken and add it back into the soup.
  9. Add the cream cheese and stir until it is completely melted. Add more salt if needed and broth if needed.

Credit to:

https://biteswithbri.com/no-bean-white-chicken-chili