Sunday Soup #122: The 30-Minute Best Creamy White Bean chicken Chili

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!! As we go cruising into Christmas Week, the weather outside is frightful, and the fire is so delightful... So, don't we deserve a soup to match? I think so!

My mother-in-law arrived Sunday, so I went looking for a soup I thought she'd like. I've made several white bean soups in the past, and some (like #22, #83, and #89) have been close to amazing, so I felt pretty good about this recipe. The pictures looked yummy, it seemed fairly easy to prepare, and (most importantly) everything in it agreed with everyone's palate. So, how did it come out?

This recipe came from: https://www.savorybitesrecipes.com/2019/11/creamy-white-bean-chicken-chili.html

*Pic 1 - https://www.savorybitesrecipes.com/2019/11/creamy-white-bean-chicken-chili.html

Variations from Recipe as Written: This recipe, as written, claimed to make only 3 servings(?!), and I was worried about having enough, so I tripled the recipe. Tripled, the recipe fed five people with enough leftovers for 3 or so more bowls. And, I used regular chicken broth (instead of low sodium or unsalted broth), but then did not add any salt to the pot.

General Thoughts: As I suspected, this recipe did turn out to be fairly easy to prep. But, this was one of those recipes that is a little "fuzzy" in places; meaning, rather than providing exact measurements or directions, it was sometimes vague or not very specific. As one example, a step tells the cook to add the green chilis and "sauté further." Really? "Further"? Does that mean 3 minutes or 15 minutes? I know, I know... a seasoned cook can roll with it, and it didn't cause me much trouble. But, it bugs me when a chef provides a recipe they created but doesn't share their vision for how it should be prepared. How do I know I am eating the version of the recipe the chef envisioned? But, I digress...

*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it

The soup was much brothier than I expected, which is not always a bad thing... But, I expected a chili to be a little thicker. There were definitely not enough beans, and I got more than a few spoonfuls out of my bowl with no beans at all. The texture was fine, overall, offering enough variety to be interesting, and the chicken was tender and flavorful. But, being that the chicken and beans were the only real bulk in this soup, it wasn't very hearty and left me feeling a bit underwhelmed.

The taste was fine but, again, a little lacking. It did turn out fairly spicy; I used 2/3 mild green chilis and 1/3 hot green chilis, which, when combined with the prescribed amount of cayenne pepper, was perfect for me but overwhelmed my diners with a lower spice tolerance. Beyond that, it didn't really have any other flavors that stood out. It wasn't very salty, it didn't taste strongly of green chilis, and none of the other spices (e.g., oregano, cumin, etc.) really shone through. Despite calling for some lime juice to be added to the pot, and adding more via a lime wedge squeezed into my bowl, I still felt it lacked enough acidic bite to adequately cut through the cream and oil/fat.

Potential Improvements? If I make this one again, I need to cut the spice a little bit to appeal to the masses. I would double the lime juice to cut the cream and fat a bit more. And, I would definitely double the beans.

Polling the Fam: I found this one to be fine, but pretty unremarkable, overall. I would definitely eat it if someone served it to me, and I plan to eat the leftovers, but I'm not sure I'd ever look forward to it, and definitely not without the changes I suggested above. Hunter's opinion pretty much mirrored mine. It was a bit too spicy for Debby, and she thought it needed more beans, but she liked the texture. And, it was too spicy for Fox to eat more than a little bit, but he enjoyed the bread I served with it. :-)

Verdict: It was okay. (3 stars)