Easy & Delicious 30-Minute Rainbow White Chili

*Photos Added--Finally!!*

I used to hate chili when I was a kid. My mom made it so well, but it wasn't until I was in my late teens that I realized I loved her chili. All those years wasted...

This is actually not a recipe for my mom's chili--it's one that I sort of made up because we had a lot of beans in our cupboard and I wanted to use them. That may make it seem like my effort was only a half-hearted effort to use up ingredients, but it wasn't at all--I looked up several white chili recipes and took pieces from each of them--depending on what I had in my pantry already. I also improvised with the cooking time because I didn't want to wait several hours for my dinner to be ready, but if you are making this for a large group or a cook-off, I'm sure it would turn out just as good in a crockpot.

Even with all of my improvisations, it turns out that the chili was really good! Dalin wasn't home when I made it for dinner so he didn't try it until the next day and that was the best part for me--he loved it on the second day--he said it was the best chili he'd ever had (insert an image of me beaming here). I didn't really believe him (he says that about all my cooking) until he asked for me to make it for him again. I did, and then I had some the next day and discovered--to my surprise--that it is better on the second day! (I imagine the flavors have more time to soak in--either that or magic elves come and do something to it--either way;).

Anyway, the recipe really was too good not to share. And don't be scared by the quantity of ingredients--most of them were things I already had. Actually all of them were--I was supposed to add green chilis but I only had Ro-Tel with green chilis but it turns out that worked great! I also added the ingredients under the optional section below because they sounded good to me at the time.

Quick side note: Also, sorry for the stupid name--it is supposed to be white chili, but because of the extra ingredients I added, it ended up being kind of a rainbow. I have to admit, it's probably the best chili I've ever had (and I'm very picky about and critical of my cooking). 

So here we go--

Ingredients:

1 lb (boneless, skinless) chicken, chopped into tiny bite-sized pieces
1 medium onion (Spanish or sweet), chopped
1 garlic clove, diced
1 tsp garlic powder



1 can northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 can navy or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can chicken broth
1 can Ro-Tel diced tomatoes with green chilis
1 chicken bouillon cube
1-2 sticks of celery, sliced
1/2 (or a whole) bell pepper (yellow, orange, or red works), diced

Seasonings (if you have to skip one or substitute for another spice, don't worry--I was really lax in my measurements and inclusion of various seasonings)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Optional (not optional for me;)
celery
bell pepper
heavy whipping cream

Instructions: 

1. In your largest saucepan, saute the chicken pieces, chopped onion, garlic, and garlic powder until lightly browned. 
2. Add the beans, broth, Ro-Tel with chilis, chicken bouillon cube, and all of the seasonings and stir gently (my saucepan was really full with everything in there--hopefully yours is bigger!). 
3. Bring the ingredients to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. I put the cover on my pan but had to keep an eye on it because it was so full it would occasionally bubble over. 
4. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and cream.
5. Serve with white rice* (I set my timer for the chili for 24 minutes, then started the rice so both would be ready at the same time). 

*I would definitely serve this over 5-minute white rice--it adds so much to the dish, even on the second day! I also add a dollop of sour cream on top and would have sliced up some scallions/green onions if I had had any on-hand.

Enjoy! It is a wonderfully easy dish for anyone to make--including college students and young families like ours! It also seems to turn out well even with substitutions. I would love to hear how this turns out for you if you decide to try it! I would also like to hear what changes you make (whether by necessity or choice).

I hope you like it! Happy cooking!