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My one-pot white chickpea chili is ready in just 30 minutes with mostly pantry staples! Packed with chickpeas for protein and so much of that classic white chili flavor, it’s a hearty and delicious bowl of cozy. Prep ahead freezer instructions included in recipe card notes!
Pair it with a simple Kale Salad, or go all out with some Jalapeno Poppers!
save this recipe!Of course, a classic vegetarian chili is delicious, but we love chickpeas around here. So, I’ve taken the classic flavors of white chicken chili and made it vegetarian and faster (by using canned chickpeas instead of chicken). Let’s cook!
- No Animal Protein to Cook: This might be self-explanatory, but for traditional white chili, you must cook the chicken first or break down a rotisserie chicken. This takes time and energy that chili with chickpeas doesn’t.
- Protein and Fiber: Chickpeas and navy beans are both rich in protein and fiber, and as a nutritionist, I’m always trying to sneak extra nutrients into our meals!
Reader rating
“I made this last night. It was so delicious, and easy! Wouldn’t change a thing. It’s in my cooking rotation now!” —Amy
Key ingredients
It might seem like there are a lot of ingredients in this chili, but you probably already have most of them in your kitchen. Jump down to the recipe card for exact measurements.
- Flavor Base: To start the chili, saute a yellow onion and garlic in olive oil. A white onion will work, too, but yellow onions are a bit sweeter.
- Spices: Uuse spices familiar to taco seasoning like cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, salt, and black pepper.
- Flour: To help thicken the chili. A 1:1 gluten-free flour will work, too!
- Vegetable Broth: I make my own with veggie scraps, but store-bought is a good time saver.
- Chickpeas and Navy Beans: I like navy beans because they are creamy, but any white bean will work.
- Corn & Green Chiles: I keep cans of each on hand so I can always make this chili in a pinch.
- Whole Milk: Whole milk has enough fat to help mellow out the heat while also allowing you to taste the flavor of the chiles. Milk with less fat can also curdle under the heat, so it’s important to use high-fat milk or cream.
Make it dairy-free
It’s uber important to use milk or cream with enough fat to withstand curdling during the cooking process. In this white chili with milk, you can use vegan heavy cream or vegan cream cheese (or regular if not dairy-free) in place of whole milk. You can also soak cashews, blend them, and then add them to your chili to make it creamy!
for Thicker chili
I like to simply blend some of the chili to thicken it! This releases the starches in the beans, thickening the chili without additional flour or cornstarch. You can do this with an immersion blender in the pot or take some out, blend, and then add it back to the pot.
Change it up
- Different Beans: Don’t stop at navy beans! You can use another white bean like cannellini beans or lupini beans. It’s also tasty with black beans!
- Add Extra Veggies: If you have wilting vegetables lying around – toss them in this white chili with beans! I like to use stiffer vegetables like cauliflower, kale, and carrots.
- Make It Vegan: You can keep this vegan by swapping whole milk with vegan heavy cream, blended cashews, or canned coconut milk. Coconut milk can have a strong flavor, but it’s tasty if you like coconut!
30-Minute White Chickpea Chili
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil, 15 mL
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ⅓ cup flour
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp each smoked paprika, oregano, salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 4 cups vegetable broth, 1 L
- 2 15-oz cans navy beans, or any white bean, drained, 425 g cans
- 2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drained, 425 g cans
- 1 15-oz can corn, drained, 425 g can
- 2 4-oz cans diced green chiles, I like to do 1 hot and 1 mild, 113 g cans
- 2 cups whole milk, 475 mL
- To serve: tortilla chips, shredded Monterrey jack cheese, diced avocado, cilantro
Instructions
- Flavor Base: Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add 1 medium yellow onion (diced), and 4 cloves garlic (minced). Cook until onion is soft, about 3 minutes.
- Season: Stir in ⅓ cup flour, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp each smoked paprika, oregano, salt, and ½ tsp ground black pepper.
- Soup-ify: Stir in 4 cups vegetable broth, 2 15-oz cans navy beans (drained), 2 15-oz cans chickpeas (drained), 1 15-oz can corn (drained), and 2 4-oz cans diced green chiles (not drained). Cover and let simmer for at least 5 minutes, up to 30 minutes.
- Serve: Remove from heat. Optionally blend a little bit of the chili to create a thicker texture (either right in the pot with a handheld immersion blender, or by ladling about 2 cups into a countertop blender).Stir in 2 cups whole milk then serve with toppings like crushed tortilla chips, shredded Monterrey jack cheese, diced avocado, and cilantro!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information calculated by Sarah Bond, degreed nutritionist.
did you make this?Leave a comment below and tag @liveeatlearn on social media! I love seeing what you’ve made!Dump & Freeze
To make the meal prep-able dump and freeze version of this chili as described in the recipe notes, watch the video below!
This has been such a staple in our house for the past month or so. It’s such an easy, nutritious meal that doesn’t aggravate my pregnancy heartburn. We’re going to bulk prep and freeze a few batches of it to have on hand after baby comes as well
So happy to hear you love it, Laura! And congrats on the little one! 😀
Can this be made without the whole milk…I am thinking of just adding Greek Yogurt at serving time?
Greek yogurt could work well! Just be sure to add it after removing the pot from the heat because the yogurt can split when overheated.
This chili is so amazing! I accidentally forgot the milk and it still worked out great because I added additional cup of water instead. I also boosted it with some zucchini, bell peppers, and cauliflower, and it was absolutely outrageous.
So thrilled to hear that you loved it, Stephanie. The added veggies are a great idea! Happy eating!
I just made this and it tastes really good!! Comes together so quick and easy. I love this type of meal that makes enough to eat several meals.
Love hearing that, thanks for trying it Denise!
This was delicious!
My local store didn’t have navy beans so I used cannelini and pinto beans instead and it was great.
Thanks for the recipe!
Big smiles over here, thanks for trying it Leslie!
This was a big hit in our house! The recipe is very easy to follow with easy-to-prepare ingredients. We ate this with some shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips on top. Since my husband likes to eat his meals with a little meat, he heated up some leftover rotisserie chicken and added it to his bowl. This is a make again for sure. Next time I will probably double the spices.
Love hearing this Lacey, thanks for being here!