This recipe comes from one of my favorite cook books, Simply Classic – The Junior League of Seattle. Every recipe I’ve tried from this book is a success and is tasty.
Ingredients:
1 pound Great Northern white beans, rinsed and picked over
2 pounds boneless chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
2 cups onions, chopped
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 – 4oz. cans chopped mild green chiles
2 tsp. ground cumin
1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. cayenne
8 cups chicken stock
1 – 12 oz. beer
3 cups Monterey Jack cheese shredded and divided
sour cream
salsa
fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
* Place beans in a large, heavy pot. Add enough cold water to cover by at least 3 inches. Cover and soak overnight.
*Place chicken in a large, heavy saucepan. Add cold water to cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool. Remove skin and cut chicken into cubes.
* Drain beans into large colander. Heat oil in same pot. Add onions and saute over medium-low heat until translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, green chilies, cumin, oregano, cloves and cayenne. Saute 2 minutes. Add beans and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 3 to 4 hours. Add additional water if necessary. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and bring to a simmer before continuing.) Add chicken, beer and 1 cup of cheese. Stir until cheese melts. Ladle chili into bowls. Serve with remaining cheese, sour cream, salsa and cilantro leaves to sprinkle on top.
Serves twelve to fourteen…
Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and demanding a ransom for me to access them. I’m slowly cleaning up many of my posts where PB have added ugly black and grey boxes where my photos used to be. So frustrating!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
I love white chilies. I’m still messing around with the spices to get just the right zip of flavor for us.
Ellen,
I have made quite a bit of the regular chili lately that I am sick of it. Your “white” chili looks appetizing – might try that this weekend. It’s been cold over here – so, chili is always good warding off that cold.
I’ve never made a white chili – it looks good. I may give it a try for my Christmas Eve after service get-together – I always make a seafood chowder and then one other dish for the non-fish eaters. Your chili would be nice I think.
Ellen, it sounds fantastic! I’ve made a white chili before and the recipe sounds very familiar.
Oh, this one does look good, Ellen. It might be just the ticket for our next prayer meeting. The next one hosted at our house, that is.
Oh yummy! Can one use canned white beans and skip the whole long cooking of the beans?
I’m sorry, but that just does NOT look like chili!
maybe it should be called Mt Rainer Soup.
What happens if the beer is left out and the dairy pieces because i am cooking for a guy who is gluten-free & dairy-free?
A while ago I made up my own recipe and attempted with the white beans and chicken stock. I love the combination of these spices and plan to try it, leaving out the other ingredients my patient refuses to eat. Let ya know!
I was scouring the internet for this recipe this morning. I made this 11 years ago wen I worked at a lodge in Alaska. I had long-since lost the recipe and have looked for it on and off for years! I think this originally came out of the Junior League of Seattle’s cookbook. Thanks for posting! After all of these years, I haven’t had a white bean soup this amazingly yummy.