This easy vegan white chili with vegan chicken is a cozy meal that's full of flavor! Corn, white beans, and chicken seitan make this a hearty soup packed with protein in a creamy white broth.
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❤️ Why make this recipe
This creamy dairy-free white chili is flavorful comfort food. It's delicious when served with some vegan cornbread, jalapeno cornbread, or vegan cheddar bay biscuits for a full meal.
We love spicy plant-based soups and stews at my house like vegan pozole, vegan green chile stew, and coconut curry soup, but this creamy white chili is one of our favorites.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Seasonings - chili powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and cayenne pepper
- Olive Oil - or any neutral flavored oil or vegan butter.
- Yellow Onion - you can use white onions or sweet onions too.
- Jalapeno Pepper - you can leave this out if you don't like it spicy, but it adds a lot of flavor.
- Garlic - for flavor
- All-Purpose Flour - to make a roux and thicken the chili
- Vegan Chicken Broth - or any vegetable broth.
- Oat Milk - or plain soy milk are the creamiest, but you can use any plant-based milk that you want.
- Cannellini Beans - aka white kidney beans. You can also use navy beans, pinto beans, or any beans you like.
- Hot Sauce - Frank's Red Hot or any spicy hot sauce that you like.
- Green Chilies - you can use canned or freshly roasted.
- Shredded Vegan Chicken - you can use my homemade vegan shredded chicken or frozen store-bought vegan chicken strips. You can also use Butler soy curls in place of chicken.
- Frozen Corn - or canned corn.
- Vegan Sour Cream - you can use store-bought or my homemade tofu sour cream.
- Garnishes - lime wedges, cilantro, diced avocado, tortilla strips, Fritos, vegan pepper jack, or vegan cheddar cheese.
🔪 Helpful tools
A great thing about this soup is that you don't need any special kitchen gadgets to make it. You only need a large soup pot, a sharp knife, and a large spoon.
🥄 How to make vegan white chili
Step 1 - Combine the seasonings and set them aside.
Step 2 - Add the diced onions and jalapeno pepper to 3 tablespoons of olive oil and cook for 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Step 3 - Add 4 tablespoons flour and toss to coat. Cook the roux for 2 minutes.
Step 4 - Slowly add the vegan chicken broth about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously. Then stir in 1/2 cup of oat milk. (This will become very thick a first, but then thin out.)
Step 5 - Add the seasonings, hot sauce, green chilies, white beans, and vegan chicken. Bring to a slow boil.
Step 6 - Reduce heat to low and stir in the vegan sour cream. Stir continuously until the sour cream is fully melted into the chili.
Step 8 - Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cayenne pepper until the desired spice level is reached.
Serve with vegan cornbread, easy drop biscuits, vegan focaccia, or vegan jalapeno cornbread!
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- The acidity from the hot sauce gives the soup a nice balanced flavor. If you don't have hot sauce, be sure to serve it with lime wedges.
- Once you add the sour cream turn the heat to low and don't let it boil again.
- If you are using soy curls in this chili, use 1 cup of dry soy curls and add an extra cup of broth.
🌾 Make it gluten-free
To make this vegan white chili gluten-free, simply swap out the flour for a grain-based gluten-free flour mix. You can also use 2 tablespoons of cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons of cold water and add it to the broth to thicken the soup instead of using the roux method.
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerate: This vegan white chili will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in an airtight container.
Freeze: Leftover white chili can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating: Reheat a serving of chili in the microwave for about 3 minutes or add a few tablespoons of water and reheat large portions in a saucepan on the stovetop.
🌟 More vegan soups
- Vegan Cream of Chicken Soup
- Vegan Orzo Soup
- Dairy-Free Cream of Celery Soup
- Vegan Italian Wedding Soup
- Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan white chili recipe
Vegan White Chili
Equipment
Ingredients
Seasonings
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Chili
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 large jalapeno pepper seeded and diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 6 cups vegan chicken broth
- 1/2 cup oat milk ( or plain soy milk or any plant-based milk)
- 2 (15.5 oz. cans) cannellini beans (navy beans or any white bean) drained
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 (4 oz. can) green chilies (or 1/2 cup freshly roasted)
- 2 cups shredded vegan chicken (or vegan chicken strips)
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
- 1 (12 oz. container) vegan sour cream
- salt and cayenne pepper to taste
Garnishes
- lime wedges, cilantro, diced avocado, tortilla strips, Fritos, or vegan pepper jack or cheddar cheese.
Instructions
- Combine the seasonings and set aside.
- Add the diced onions and jalapeno pepper to 3 tablespoons of olive oil and cook for 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add 4 tablespoons flour and toss to coat. Cook for 2 minutes, until the raw flour smell is gone.
- Slowly add the vegan chicken broth about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring continuously. Then stir in 1/2 cup of oat milk. (This will become very thick a first, but then thin out.)
- Add the seasonings, hot sauce, green chilies, white beans, and vegan chicken. Bring to a slow boil.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in the vegan sour cream. Stir continuously until the sour cream is fully melted into the chili.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cayenne pepper until the desired spice level is reached. Serve with vegan cornbread or vegan jalapeno cornbread!
Notes
- The acidity from the hot sauce gives the soup a nice balanced flavor. If you don't have hot sauce, be sure to serve it with lime wedges.
- Once you add the sour cream turn the heat to low and don't let it boil again.
- If you are using soy curls in this chili, use 1 cup of dry soy curls and add an extra cup of broth.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
This is a great recipe, very filling and tasty. Also room for a lot of personal adjustments!
I'm so happy that you enjoyed it, Joanne! 🙂