Easy creamy chicken chili with pinto beans, roasted tomatoes, and green chilies. It’s thick, chunky, and probably one of the easiest chilies I have made!

Love creamy chili recipes? Try our Chicken Apple Chili.

I think it’s safe to say that the chili season is officially here and if you’ve been around here for a while then you know how much we love our chili. This creamy chicken chili is our newest obsession.

It’s made with chicken thighs, pinto beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, green chilies, and spices. You basically throw everything into a dutch-oven and it does all the work for you! 

What Makes this Creamy Chicken Chili so Easy?

The true secret to what makes this creamy chili so easy is actually the chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are quick-cooking and hard to overcook. Not to mention the flavor is so much better than chicken breast. Use boneless, skinless thighs for this recipe.

Another secret ingredient in this easy creamy chili recipe is cream cheese. Cream cheese adds a creamy component to the chili without any added thickeners. Simply cut a block of cream cheese into cubes and stir into hot chili until creamy and blended in.

Ingredients

  • boneless chicken thighs
  • yellow onion
  • pinto beans
  • fire-roasted tomatoes
  • diced green chilies
  • garlic powder
  • ground cumin
  • dried oregano
  • chicken stock
  • cream cheese

Ingredients to make creamy chicken chili

How to Make Creamy Chicken Chili

First, heat olive oil in a large dutch-oven over high heat. Add chicken thighs, and cook until no longer pink on the outside. Next, add onions and cook for a few minutes until soft.

Dutch oven with chicken and onions

After onions, add the beans, tomatoes, chilies, spices, and chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes.

Dutch oven with beans, tomatoes, spices, green chilies, and chicken stock

Lastly, add the cream cheese and stir just until creamy.

Dutch oven with chili and cubes of cream cheese

Toppings for Chili

Piling on toppings is really what makes this creamy chili so fun and delicious! Here are some favorite chili toppings:

  • shredded cheddar cheese
  • diced avocado
  • tortilla chips
  • pico de gallo
  • sliced green onions
  • fresh cilantro leaves
  • quacamole
  • sour cream
  • cornbread

Recipe Tips

  • To get the most flavor out of the chicken thighs – use high heat and make sure the oil is hot before adding the chicken to the dutch-oven.
  • Yes – you can use chicken breast in place of chicken thighs. Cut them into bite-size pieces and proceed with the recipe as written. But I highly recommend thighs! They are just so much more flavorful and hard to overcook.
  • Does it really matter if the tomatoes are fire-roasted? Yes! They add an insane amount of flavor to the chili.
Overheat view of creamy chili in a white bowl

Video: How to Make Creamy Chicken Chili

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Overheat view of chicken chili in a white bowl

Creamy Chicken Chili

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 6 reviews
  • Author: Katya
  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Cook Time: 40 min
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: One-Pot
  • Cuisine: Tex-Mex

Description

Creamy chicken chili with pinto beans, roasted tomatoes, and green chilies. It’s thick, chunky, and probably one of the easiest chilies I have made!


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 lb. boneless, skinless, chicken thighs, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 (15 oz. each) cans pinto beans or Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (14.5 oz.) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 2 (4 oz. each) diced green chilies
  • 1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
  • Kosher salt and fresh black pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil over high heat in a dutch-oven. When the oil is hot, add chicken thighs, and cook until lightly brown and no longer pink on the outside, about 3-4 minutes.
  2. Add onions and continue to cook for few minutes or until the onions are soft.
  3. Add beans, tomatoes, chilies, spices, and chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes.
  4. Stir in cream cheese just until creamy and blended in.

Notes

  • Chicken breast can be substituted for the thighs. Cut the breast into bite-size pieces and follow the recipe as written.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cup
  • Calories: 378
  • Sugar: 5.3 g
  • Sodium: 375.9 mg
  • Fat: 16 g
  • Carbohydrates: 33 g
  • Protein: 26.6 g
  • Cholesterol: 92.5 mg