Green Chili Chicken Soup (Stovetop or Crockpot)

Cozy up with a bowl of flavorful chicken green chili soup, made with hearty ingredients and lots of salsa verde. This easy, healthy, gluten-free, and dairy-free recipe is made in the CrockPot or on the stovetop and is perfect for cold weather meals, game nights, or football food spreads. Packed with bold Mexican flavors, it’s the best green chili chicken soup for a keto-friendly, low carb meal. Don’t miss this top saved recipe—your family will love it!

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Why this is the best green chile chicken soup recipe

This is a healthy green chicken chili recipe. Chicken soup on its own is so good for you - it's even been scientifically proven to help you recover faster from viruses like the common cold. This particular chicken soup is made with whole, healthy, mostly unprocessed ingredients and nothing weird, so it's about as healthy as you can get.

This is a simple recipe. It has more than 5 ingredients, but the ingredients are very common and easy to find. You probably already have them all in your pantry.

This recipe is very easy. There are a few steps, but nothing is complicated or requiring special techiniques. Sauté the onion, dump everything else in (gradually), and then simmer for a few minutes. That's all there is to it.

This soup is a whole meal. It's very hearty and filling, so you won't need more than one bowl. If you really wanted to add something, you could serve it with some cornbread or dinner rolls, and that would be plenty.

This recipe is allergy friendly and good for special diets. As written, this recipe is soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and nut-free. This recipe is also low carb, high protein, and keto-friendly. You can easily make it vegan by substituting chick peas for the chicken and vegetable broth for the chicken broth. As always, please check the labels on your unique ingredients to ensure they fit with your dietary needs and preferences.

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What's the difference between traditional chili, white, and green chili?

Traditional chili, like my famous bacon chili, has a tomato sauce base and then adds beef broth to make the soup. (You can get traditional chili that's made with chicken and uses chicken broth, too.) The key here is the tomato sauce that gives the chili its famous red color.

White chili starts with a butter and flour roux, and then adds chicken broth to that. My version adds heavy cream, and you can also add cream cheese or sour cream for an even thicker, creamier, whiter chili. (I've never seen white chili made with beef, but I suppose that anything is possible.)

Green chili is similar to white chili but made without a roux. The base is still chicken broth, but instead of cream, green chili is made with salsa verde and different spices.

What you'll need to make green chicken chili

Equipment

• Dutch oven - Or any pot larger than 6 quarts.
• Instant read thermometer - You will only need this if your chicken is uncooked. If you are using the CrockPot method, you can start with uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts (or heck, any chicken, bone-in or boneless) and put those, raw, right in the chili in the slow cooker. Place the probe of your Temp Spike into the thickest piece of chicken and set it to 165ºF. (This is the poultry setting on the app.) Once the chicken has reached the correct temperature, the app will beep, and you can pull the chicken out of the chili, shred it, and then add it back to the soup. (This is not sponsored. I bought my Temp Spike myself with my own money, and I use it every single day.)
• Garlic press - I use my garlic press almost every time I cook. It makes fresh garlic cloves into a thick paste with no big chunks of garlic, and that paste is easy to distribute into the soup. If you don't have a garlic press, mince the garlic as small as you can with a sharp knife, but understand that there are probably going to be some chunks of garlic in your soup. You're going to cook them, so it's not the end of the world, but it will be more pleasant with paste than with chunks.

Ingredients

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See the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page for all measurements and nutritional information.

• Olive oil or butter - This is the sauté the onion at the very beginning. I personally would use butter, but if you are dairy-free, it's going to taste just as good with olive oil.
• Onion - I like Vidalia onions, so I would just use half of one instead of one small yellow onion. You could also throw some diced celery in if you felt like it.
• Fresh garlic - I love the pungent flavor of fresh garlic and use it whenever possible.
• Cumin - This is going to give you the warm chili flavor you're expecting.
• Oregano - I was surprised to learn that a lot of Mexican recipes include oregano. I had always thought of it as an Italian herb, but it shows up a lot in spicier dishes like my southwest chicken marinade.
• Table salt - Or kosher salt. Use more or less to taste.
• Black pepper - Use more or less to taste.
• Salsa verde - Salsa verde is usually made with tomatillos, chile peppers, and cilantro and is an excellent flavor base for a Mexican-inspired soup like this. You may find it labeled as green enchilada sauce. The amount I suggest is a minimum. Feel free to use more, up to the whole jar.
• Diced green chili peppers (Missing from the photo above) - It wouldn't be green chile chicken without peppers, right? These are sweet and flavorful but not hot.
• Shredded chicken - Feel free to use chicken breasts or chicken thighs, as you like. If using canned chicken, use three large cans, drained and shredded with a fork. If using rotisserie chicken, shred the chicken as you pull it off the bones, and use two heaping cups of shredded chicken. If using raw chicken breasts or thighs, start with 2 pounds of chicken, cook it to 165ºF using your desired method, then shred it and measure three heaping cups. If you're making this chili using the crockpot method, you could throw your chicken into the chili raw and let it cook in the slow cooker. If you do that, measure the temperature of the chicken to ensure it has reached 165ºF, and once it has, pull it out, shred it, and put the shredded chicken back in the slow cooker. Mix it up, and let it cook for another 30 minutes to blend all the flavors.
• 3 cups chicken broth - - You can use as much chicken broth as you want, so if you like your chili to be soupier, feel free to add extra. We like our chili to be more like a thicker stew consistency, so I use even less than the recipe calls for.
• 15 ounces pinto beans - These are optional, but I like having beans in my chili. You can really use any beans you want, from white beans like cannellini beans or Great Northern beans to black beans or kidney beans. Make sure you drain and rinse the beans before adding them to the soup.

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Toppings, as desired

• Shredded cheddar cheese - This is the old standard for chili toppings, and what most people use.
• Shredded pepper jack cheese - Pepper jack gives a mild heat to the chili that some people really love.
• Sour cream or plain Greek yogurt - This is another old standard. Most people put sour cream in their chili, myself included. Sour cream in this recipe makes the chili even creamier, which I find to be very nice.
• Fresh or pickled jalapenos - For some heat.
• Avocado slices - Who doesn't love avocado? I think all chili begs for avocado.
• Gluten-free tortilla chips or corn chips - My daughter will not eat chili without tortilla chips. And when I say she eats them together, what I really mean is that she fills her bowl with tortilla chips, crunches them down a bit, and then pours the chili over the top. Then she adds more cheese than I think is appropriate and mixes it all up and devours it.
• Fresh cilantro - Some people love cilantro, and some hate it. If you're a lover, it would be great as a garnish on your chili.

How to make green chili chicken soup

On the stovetop

1. Heat oil (or butter) in a dutch oven on the stove over medium-high heat.
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2. Add diced onion. Sauté until soft and translucent, about 3-4 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. 
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3. Add cumin, oregano, salt, and black pepper and mix well. Add salsa verde and mix well, cooking for about 2 minutes. 
4. Add shredded chicken, chicken broth, and beans and stir. Bring soup to a boil then reduce to medium heat and simmer for 20 minutes to an hour or pour into a crockpot on low until ready to serve.
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5. Serve soup hot with desired toppings.
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In the CrockPot

1. This is a dump-and-go CrockPot meal. Pour everything into the slow cooker, stir it up, and turn it on. Cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours.
2. If you are starting with raw chicken, use an instant-read thermometer to ensure your chicken is cooked through in the time allotted, then shred it and return it to the CrockPot for 15-30 minutes to soak up some of the juices from the chili.

Variations & substitutions

You can use any kind of chicken for this recipe. I have made with with boneless skinless breasts and boneless skinless chicken thighs, but you could just as well use bone-in meat. You can use canned chicken, rotisserie chicken, leftover roast chicken, or cook your own chicken just for this soup.

You could also use leftover roast turkey for this green chili recipe, or even ground beef. If using beef, I would use beef broth instead of chicken broth.

Make this soup heartier by adding a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas, a cup of green lentils, or half a cup of white or brown rice. Or, of course, some noodles. Everyone loves chicken noodle soup, and green chicken noodle soup is just as tasty!

This recipe is tasty with veggies thrown in like a couple handfuls of frozen corn, diced green bell peppers, or diced celery. You could also add a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles, such as Rotel or a similar brand. If the veggies are raw (such as the celery and bell peppers), I would suggest cooking them with the onions prior to making the soup.

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As written, this green chili chicken soup is a broth-based soup without a creamy texture. If you want your green chicken chili soup to be creamy, you could add a cup of heavy cream, a block of softened cream cheese, or 8 ounces of sour cream, or a combination of the three. In either set of directions, add the dairy all at the end, about 15 minutes before serving.

If you want to make the chili spicy, you could add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper or dice a jalapeño (or a different variety of hot pepper) and cook that with the onions in the first step. If you want some heat but not too much, remove and discard the inner membrane and seeds and just use the flesh of the pepper. Use caution when working with hot peppers as the oil will burn whatever skin in comes in contact with. (For example, if the oil gets on your fingers and then transfers to your eyes and nose, it will hurt like heck. Ask me how I know.) I recommend you always use disposable gloves when chopping hot peppers.

I like to squeeze fresh lime juice over this chili when I serve it. Cut lime wedges and allow your diners to use them or not, as they desire.

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How to serve green chili with chicken

You can top green chili with your favorite toppings you would use for any regular or white chili:

• Sour cream
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Shredded pepper jack cheese
• Sliced avocados
• Diced tomatoes
• Diced red onion
• Green onions
• Fresh cilantro
• Fresh or pickled jalapenos
• Avocado slices
• Gluten-free tortilla chips or corn chips
• Lime wedges

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Storing leftover green chicken enchilada soup

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.

As written, this recipe can be frozen. Allow it to cool completely to room temperature before transferring to freezer-safe containers or zippered freezer bags. It will be fresh for up to 3 months. To serve frozen soup, allow it to thaw completely in the refrigerator overnight and then heat as desired.

I do not recommend freezing this chili if you put dairy in it. Creamy soups such as this one typically separate when you take them out of the freezer.

Try these other delicious soup recipes:

• Taste of Home Cheeseburger Soup - This is the stovetop recipe.
• Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup - This is the same recipe as above, but adapted to the CrockPot.
• Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup
• World's Best Chili with Bacon
• Zuppa Toscana - Creamy Italian Sausage and Potato Soup
• Cheesy Vegetable Soup
• Slow Cooker Potato Soup
• Crockpot Corn Chowder
• Simple & Easy Cheesy Cauliflower Soup
• Hot and Sour Soup - Uses ingredients found in a traditional grocery store
• Crockpot Beef Stew
• Instant Pot Cheeseburger Soup
• Easy Black Bean and Beef Chili
• Gluten-Free White Chicken Chili - Stovetop and CrockPot instructions included
• Green Chili Chicken Soup - Stovetop and CrockPot instructions
• Black Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Soup

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