THM White Chicken Chili – A Pantry Meal

 This THM white chicken chili is a quick and shelf stable meal that you can keep on hand in your pantry for a busy night. 

A couple of months ago, my husband and I both recommitted to staying on plan with Trim Healthy Mama and it has been going great. He of course lost a ridiculous amount of weight in a tiny amount of time – I’m not bitter! I swear. But I’ve also lost the Quarantine 15 that I gained during the craziness of COVID-19!

(No we didn’t have the virus but my day job has been crazy busy plus just the added stress of learning to live through the changes that the pandemic forced on us like virtual school and being stuck at home caused me to make bad choices for many weeks – lots of wine and takeout)

So now that we are 100% back on plan, I have been cooking a lot. And one of the things that I love to preach about THM is that it doesn’t have to be time consuming or expensive. But what have I been doing lately? Making it super time consuming and expensive. It’s like I have lost my THM morals! 

In an effort to cut back spending and even more importantly make life easier, I’ve been trying to find recipes that meet my “I forgot about dinner” criteria. To meet that the recipe needs to be:

• One that I typically have all items needed on hand (Pantry/Freezer preferably)
• Quick to make (Less than 30 minutes all in) 
• Inexpensive
• Family Friendly 

This THM white chicken chili recipe fits all of these criteria and it is a tasty way to get in an E meal that seems to be a struggle for many fellow Trim Mama’s. 

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Other Simple & Quick THM Pantry/Freezer Staple Meals

Turkey Ham & White Beans – THM E

Black Bean Tacos – THM E 

BBQ Kielbasa and Cauli Rice Skillet – THM S

Rotisserie Chicken & Quinoa Southwest Freezer Bowls – THM E

Rotisserie Chicken Lunch Ideas – THM E & S options

THM White Chicken Chili – A Pantry Meal

The THM white chicken chili is filled with healthy carbs, it’s low in fat and full of flavor. Best of all? You just dump everything in! No chopping vegetables or cooking really? Just dump and warm. BAM! Dinner is ready! 

What is a THM Pantry Meal?

A pantry meal is something that all or most of the ingredients are shelf stable items that you can keep in your pantry for emergency meals when you are out of options. It is a lot easier to resist grabbing fast food or ordering pizza if you know that you have some incredibly easy meal options at your fingertips. 

Organizing Your THM Pantry Meals

To make THM pantry meals work even better, I like to organize a few meals separate from my other pantry items. 

Grab a few clear bins (I like these), some chalkboard labels (I wish I could find the ones I just bought ugh!) & create an area in your pantry for pantry meals. 

The next step is to create a THM Pantry Meal Pinterest board. You can check mine out here. 

Add all the canned/pantry items that you need for a meal and write the recipe name on your reusable chalkboard label. When you get into a dinnertime pinch, grab a pantry meal box, pull up your Pinterest board for the recipe and whip up a quick and easy meal.

Then pat yourself on the back for eating on plan & saving some money in the process by avoiding takeout. 

Pantry Meals – What Are They Good For? 

Pantry meals can be a great way to add convenience to your Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle. Here are a few times that they might come in handy!

• When you forgot to thaw anything for dinner 
• Hurricane/Natural Disaster/COVID – Quarantine Disaster Preparedness 
•  Sick Days (prepping easy things to have on hand when you or a family member are sick is key to success)
• Busy Days when you get home late & need dinner quickly 

What You Need for Easy Low Fat Chicken Chili 

You only need a few ingredients to make this THM white chicken chili pantry meal recipe. 

• Canned Chicken (You can sub fresh chicken breast if you want but I like to have the canned to make this completely pantry ready)
• Jar of Salsa
• 2 Cans White Beans 
• 1 Can Corn 
• Cumin

Take all of these ingredients and put them in your clear bin, label it THM White Chicken Chili and save this recipe to your Pinterest THM Pantry board here.

*I don’t usually put Cumin in my box and just grab it from my spice rack when I make the chili. You could put the amount needed in a small ziplock bag if you wanted it all in your bin but didn’t want your cumin jar held hostage until you decide to make this Trim Healthy Mama chicken chili recipe.

Cooking The THM Chicken Chili 

Remember that comment about no chopping and no real cooking from above? I wasn’t kidding. Anyone can make this recipe. Drive Thru Sue’s, I’m talking to you! You can do it. 

Here are your super simple, incredibly easy instructions. 

Grab your colander & stick it in your clean sink. Open both the cans of beans and dump them in the colander. Rinse the beans and let drain. 

Open your can of chicken. Dump it right on top of the beans and let that water drain off. Do the same with the can of corn.

Dump the beans/chicken/corn into your pot. Add the jar of salsa and sprinkle in the cumin. 

Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer with lid on for 15 minutes. Stir once or twice. 

Toppings for your Trim Healthy Mama White Chicken Chili 

I have been thinking about adding a couple of Light Laughing Cow cheese wedges to the soup in order to make it a little creamier. If you try it, leave me a comment and let me know how it went! 

As far as toppings, just remember that since this is a Trim Healthy Mama E recipe, your toppings need to stay low in fat so that you don’t go into a XO zone. (Confused by S, E & XO? Check out this post that explains it all)f

Topping Ideas:

• Plain Non-Fat Greek Yogurt (Sour cream Sub)
• A Small Amount of Reduced Fat Cheddar 
• Sliced Green Onions 
• Crushed Baked Tortilla Chips 

Want to save on THM favorites and store bought treats? Join the Protecting Your THM Pennies FB group & never miss a deal!