This white bean chicken chili is made very special with Swiss Chard and lots of Italian flavors. The combination makes for a great bowl of chili.
This just may be the best White Bean Chili I’ve ever had – EVER!
The odd combination of the flavors march right up the aisle, all the way to the altar, and to everyone’s surprise, and without much ceremony, join in holy matrimony.
Giada served this up a couple of months ago on Giada at Home. I went to foodnetwork.com, bookmarked the recipe and vowed to give it a try.
First of all, I’ve never seen chard in a White Chili recipe, nor have I seen Parmesan Cheese. But they seemed happy, so who am I to judge.
2nd of all, Chard is about the most beautiful vegetable to prepare. Those deep rich green leaves with the red veins and those luscious colored stalks. It just makes me feel good about adding it. I think my New Year’s Resolution might be to get to know Chard a bit better.
Plus I must say that this Fall I froze a lot of delicious fresh Colorado sweet corn, cutting the kernels off the cob and saving them for special occasions such as this. The only thing I changed with this recipe was to garnish with cilantro instead of parsley. Yum either way. Enjoy! We truly thought this was the best white bean chicken chili we’ve had.
Recipe For Giada’s White Bean Chicken Chili
I hope you give this white bean chicken chili recipe a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating.
Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes. And if you have a favorite white chicken chili recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
More Chili Recipes
- Bourbon Beef and Bean Chili, A unique mixture of flavors that come from a slow cooked chuck roast, bourbon, red kidney beans and lots of roasted Hatch Chile peppers.
- Hatch Green Chili with Pork, This chili is comfort food at its best and one of our favorite Hatch green chili recipes. An award winning recipe.
- Award Winning Beef and Bean Chili, A combination of my Kansas family chili recipe with some unique additions. In the end you’e got a beef, pork, sausage, bean chili recipe which became an award winning chili recipe in Colorado.
- Anthony Bourdain’s New Mexico Style Chili, A richly flavored, hearty beef chili stew featuring beef chuck and New Mexico Hatch Chiles and Poblano peppers.
And don’t miss my soup and stew category, you’ll find a ton of irresistible slurp worthy recipes.
The best white bean chili recipe
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 pounds ground chicken
- 1 teaspoon salt plus more for seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 Tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 2 cannellini or other white beans 15-ounce cans, rinsed and drained
- 1 bunch Swiss chard about 1 pound, stems removed, leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn thawed
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the ground chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, fennel seeds, oregano, and chili powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.
- Stir the flour into the chicken mixture. Add the beans, Swiss chard, corn, and chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Simmer for 55-60 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chili has thickened.
- Add the red pepper flakes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Ladle the chili into serving bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.
Giada’s White Bean Chili…It’s What’s For Dinner
Vickie says
November 13, 2009 at 5:41 amThis sounds so good – I love the spices. Chard grows well up here in Montana and I usually freeze some at the end of summer. What a great winter use. I am adding this to my soup recipes. Very nice post – you made me grin (as usual).
leaannbrown says
November 14, 2009 at 1:33 pmLet me know how you like it. Thanks for stopping by Vic
Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella says
November 13, 2009 at 10:01 amI love hte sound of this chicken and white bean version of chilli. I always associate beef and kidney beans with chilli so this is a nice alternative! 🙂
leaannbrown says
November 14, 2009 at 1:30 pmThanks for stopping by NQN. I think I’ve never met a chili I didn’t like, unless it just too doggone hot.
buffalo dick says
November 13, 2009 at 3:08 pmI make a Wicked White Chili that has 4 1st place trophies, and was in the local( not a chili cook off either!) newspaper for third in a city wide cook off.. If you want the recipe, E-mail me! Key ingredients- cooked cubed chix breast, sweet Italian sausage, Jalapenos, and Alfredo sauce..
leaannbrown says
November 14, 2009 at 1:22 pmYOU BET
kathy says
March 17, 2010 at 4:13 amHi – I’d be very interested in seeing your chicken chili recipe.
Natashya says
November 13, 2009 at 2:27 pmSounds wonderful! I love Giada, I will have to try this soon.
leaannbrown says
November 14, 2009 at 1:27 pmShe puts out some yummy stuff that’s for sure. Thanks for stopping by Natashya
Stephanie says
November 13, 2009 at 6:53 pmThat looks really good. I’ve never found a great white chili – I am going to try this soon!
leaannbrown says
November 14, 2009 at 1:21 pmYou shouldn’t be disappointed. Thanks for stopping by
Wandering Coyote says
November 14, 2009 at 4:46 amGiada rocks my world! I’ve never been disappointed with any of her recipes.
leaannbrown says
November 14, 2009 at 1:10 pmThanks for stopping by. I agree, I’ve saved so many of her recipes. Have only made a few and they are delicious.
Chris says
November 14, 2009 at 1:07 pmThat sounds like a great “black and white” chili. Whenever I hear chard, all I can think about is the move Zulu! because one of the main characters was Lt. Chard. He wasn’t Swiss though, he was Welsh 😉
Kristi says
November 14, 2009 at 6:36 pmI love white bean chili. I’ll be giving this recipe a try!
leaannbrown says
November 18, 2009 at 3:22 pmThanks for stopping by Kristi
Joanne says
November 14, 2009 at 3:04 pmI never would have thought to make an Italian version of chili, but I trust Giada implicitly. And you. These pictures are beautiful! What a great presentation.
leaannbrown says
November 14, 2009 at 3:49 pmI agree Joanne. She’s got great recipes. As always, thanks for stopping by.
DebinHawaii says
November 16, 2009 at 12:12 amSuch a great and unique combination of ingredients, you have to love Giada. Thanks for joining us at Souper Sunday this week! The round-up is now posted.
Aloha,
Deb
leaannbrown says
November 16, 2009 at 1:13 amI love Souper Sunday. Thanks for stopping by Deb.
Mr. P says
November 16, 2009 at 12:53 pm‘I don’t own a Panini press, but I do own a grill pan and a brick.’
The best sentence I have ever read on a food blog! You have put a smile on my face 🙂
leaannbrown says
November 16, 2009 at 7:38 pmThanks for stopping by my blog Mr. P. Always love new visitors
girlichef says
November 18, 2009 at 12:12 amWowza…that is some high praise! And of course, now I wish I had a bowl…. 🙂
leaannbrown says
November 18, 2009 at 3:31 pmIt’s pretty darn easy to make. I’m going to be posting another soon. This just may NOT be the best White Bean Chili. As always, thanks for stopping by