Creamy White Chicken Chili
Canned chicken, white beans, and powdered milk thickened into a chili that stands up on a spoon.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 103
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 600 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Backpacking
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Canned or pouched chicken | 10 oz | drain the pouch style, it packs lighter than cans |
|---|---|---|
| Dried minced onion | 2 tbsp | |
| Chili seasoning mix | 1 oz packet | |
| All-purpose flour | 1/4 cup | this is the thickener, do not skip |
| Whole milk powder | 1/2 cup | |
| Instant cream soup base | 1/4 cup | cream of chicken powder, from the soup aisle |
| Freeze-dried cream cheese powder | 1/4 cup | or an extra 1/4 cup milk powder plus 1 tbsp oil |
| Instant white bean flakes | 3/4 cup | or a 15 oz can of white kidney beans if you are car camping |
| Freeze-dried corn | 1/2 cup | |
| Pickled jalapenos | 2 tbsp | the shelf-stable single-serve packets |
| Hard cheddar | 2 oz | grated at home or cut off the block in camp |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried chives | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Pull it off the heat.
- Whisk in the flour, milk powder, soup base, and cream cheese powder a spoonful at a time. Lumps form if you dump it all in at once.
- Return the pot to low heat. Add the bean flakes, corn, dried onion, and chili seasoning. Stir constantly for about three minutes as it thickens.
- Stir in the chicken, jalapenos, and oil. Simmer another five minutes, stirring often so the bottom does not scorch.
- Kill the heat. Add the cheddar and chives, cover, and wait two minutes before stirring it through.
The home version of this leans on a can of condensed soup, a brick of cream cheese, and a cup and a half of milk. None of that travels. The rebuild uses milk powder, powdered cream soup base, and cream cheese powder to get the same fat and body out of a bag that weighs a few ounces. Flour still does the heavy lifting, exactly as it does at home.
The order matters more than the ingredients do. Powdered dairy hitting boiling water clumps into rubber, so the pot comes off the heat first and the powders go in gradually. Bean flakes and freeze-dried corn rehydrate in the same liquid, which means no draining and no second pot. Add the cheddar at the end with the burner off or it breaks and pools grease on top.
Packing
Flour, milk powder, soup base, cream cheese powder, bean flakes, corn, onion, and seasoning all go in one bag. The chicken pouch, jalapeno packets, cheese, and oil ride separately.
Variations
- A handful of crushed tortilla chips on top gives it the crunch the pot version lacks.
- Swap the chicken pouch for two servings of freeze-dried shredded chicken to drop about four ounces.
- No cream cheese powder? Cut a foil-wrapped wedge of processed cheese in and let it melt at the end.
https://www.thisisnotdietfood.com/creamy-ground-chicken-chili