OMG this chili pie! ❤️ with a cornbread crust. This recipe is another favorite coming out of Ambitious Kitchen. Easy to make, packed with protein thanks to chicken and white beans, and especially good during the cooler seasons when all you want is a little comfort food.
I basically made a thicker version of my beloved white chicken chili, except this time I used white beans, ground chicken and green chiles for a little kick of heat. Plus let’s not forget the sweet corn and of course, the honey pumpkin cornbread that’s baked on top. Top it with a little yogurt, guac and salsa and you’ve got yourself one of the best dinners you’ve had in a while. Basically, this white chicken chili pie is perfection. TRUST YO GIRL.
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Ingredients in white chicken chili pie
This delicious white chicken chili pie is packed with protein thanks to white beans and lean ground turkey, has tons of flavorful spices, and is topped with an incredible pumpkin cornbread crust. You’ll love the sweet & savory elements. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- For the chili mixture: white beans, chicken broth or water, olive oil, white onion, garlic, a can of mild green chiles, lean ground chicken or turkey & sweet corn.
- Spices: ground cumin, chili powder, coriander, dried oregano, salt & pepper.
- For the pumpkin cornbread: one egg, honey, olive oil or melted butter, unsweetened almond milk, pumpkin puree (you can make your own with this tutorial!), whole wheat pastry flour (you can also use all purpose flour, white whole wheat flour or gluten free oat flour), medium-grind yellow cornmeal, baking powder & salt.
- For garnish: jalapeño slices, avocado or guacamole, cilantro, greek yogurt/sour cream, salsa/hot sauce.
Customize this white chicken chili pie
- Make it vegetarian: feel free to swap the ground chicken with another can of white beans or chickpeas. Be sure to also use water or vegetarian broth in the chili mixture.
- Make it gluten free: simply use gluten free oat flour in the pumpkin cornbread crust. Easy!
- Make it in a pan: If you do not have a cast iron skillet or an ovenproof skillet, feel free to transfer the chili mixture to a 9×9 inch pan or something similar and pour the cornbread batter over it and bake as directed. It will still be perfect!
How to make white chicken chili pie
- Blend your beans. Add ½ cup of the drained white beans to a blender along with 1 cup broth or water. Blend on high until well combined and set it aside.
- Cook the chicken. Add onions, garlic and green chiles to a large deep 10-inch cast iron skillet with olive oil and sauté for 3-5 minutes until onions are tender. Add in the ground chicken/turkey, break up the meat and cook it through.
- Add the spices & filling. Stir in all of the spices, then reduce heat to low. Then mix in the corn, cilantro, pureed beans and remaining whole white beans. Simmer it all together for a few minutes, then remove it from the heat.
- Make the cornbread topping. In a large bowl, whisk the egg, honey, oil, almond milk and pumpkin puree together until well combined. Next stir in the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Pour the topping over the chili mixture and spread evenly towards the edges of the skillet.
- Top, bake & serve. Top the batter with a few slices of jalapeños, then bake it up until the cornbread is slightly golden brown on the edges and filling is bubbling.
Can I use a regular pan?
Sure! If you do not have a cast iron skillet or an ovenproof skillet, feel free to transfer the chili mixture to a 9×9 inch pan or something similar and pour the cornbread batter over it and bake as directed. It will still be perfect!
Our fav way to serve this chili pie
I love to top my serving of this white chicken chili pie with homemade guacamole, cilantro, sour cream or greek yogurt and hot sauce! Any way you enjoy it is guaranteed to be delicious.
Make it ahead of time
Feel free to save time by making the filling for the white chicken chili pie the day before! Simply store it in the fridge in an airtight container. When you’re ready to complete the pie, add it back to your skillet, top it with the cornbread mixture, and bake as directed.
How to freeze white chicken chili pie
- Before baking: cook the chili mixture and add the cornbread topping. Wrap the entire pie in tinfoil and place in the freezer for up to 2 months. When ready to cook, re-wrap the pie with new tinfoil and bake it covered in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees F. Remove the foil and bake the pie for an additional 35-40 minutes uncovered.
- After baking: you can either bake the entire recipe, cool it to room temperature, scoop it into servings, place in freezer safe containers and then freeze. Or you can bake it, bring to room temp, and then freeze the entire pan. Just be sure to wrap with tinfoil. Once ready to reheat, thaw it out. Then bake, covered at 350 degrees F for 30-45 minutes or until heated through.
Storing tips
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days. Simply reheat portions in the microwave when you’re ready to enjoy it.
More pumpkin recipes to try
- Spinach Bacon Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
- Spicy Black Bean Chicken Enchiladas with Pumpkin Sour Cream Sauce
- Saucy Baked Pumpkin Pasta
- Slow Cooker Black Bean Quinoa Pumpkin Chicken Chili
- Vegetarian Spinach Pumpkin Lasagna
Get all of my pumpkin recipes here!
I hope you love this white chicken chili pie! Be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe below if you make it. Thanks for being here — I appreciate you! xo.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
White Chicken Chili Pie with Pumpkin Cornbread Crust
Ingredients
- For the chili mixture:
- 1 (15 ounce) white beans, divided
- 1 cup chicken broth or water
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (5 ounce) can mild green chiles
- 1 pound lean ground chicken or turkey (at least 93% lean)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup fresh or frozen sweet corn
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- For the pumpkin cornbread:
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or melted butter
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour, white whole wheat flour or gluten free oat flour
- 1/2 cup medium-grind yellow cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- For garnish:
- jalapeño slices
- avocado or guacamole
- cilantro
- greek yogurt/sour cream
- salsa/hot sauce
Instructions
- First, add ½ cup of the drained white beans to a blender along with 1 cup broth or water. Blend on high until well combined. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Heat olive oil in a large deep 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium high heat, add onions, garlic and green chiles and sauté for 3-5 minutes until onions are tender. Next, add in the ground chicken/turkey, break up the meat and cook until no longer pink.
- Stir in the cumin, chili powder, coriander and oregano. Add salt and pepper to taste then reduce heat to low. Next, stir in the corn, cilantro, pureed beans and remaining whole white beans and gently simmer together for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside while you make the cornbread topping.
- To make the cornbread topping: In a large bowl, whisk the egg, honey, oil, almond milk and pumpkin puree together until well combined. Next stir in the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Pour cornbread topping over the chili mixture and spread evenly towards the edges of the skillet.
- Top the batter with a few slices of jalapeños. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cornbread is slightly golden brown on the edges and filling is bubbling. Serve with guacamole, cilantro, sour cream/greek yogurt and hot sauce. Serves 6.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
i know this completely changes the recipe but my husband cannot have beans. What would be a thickening replacement for the blended beans? Thanks so much for any help!
I just added 1/2 c of pumpkin to the broth and it worked perfectly! Really love it!
Amazing!! So happy to hear that worked out. Glad it was a hit!
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Super tasty and easy to throw together. Is there anything I’ve tried of yours that I didn’t like? Pretty sure no! Kids ate it, husband ate it. It was really cozy and nourishing on our first cold weather night. I really enjoyed the pumpkin flavor in the cornbread. Superb!
So happy to hear that! Love this one for fall and winter 🙂
Mmmmmmm…..this is SOOOO good! Thank you Monique!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed!
I’ve made this a few times now and it’s always a hit. I follow the direction pretty directly, except for the cornbread I use Bob’s 1:1 GF flour and half the amount of honey. I also add 1 tbs of New Mexico green chili powder.
Perfect! So glad it’s a hit!
This recipe is so good!!! It almost reminds me of a southwest-style shepherd’s pie and it’s a fantastic way to use up leftover pumpkin that isn’t another pan of pumpkin bars! The puréed beans make this so creamy and the chilis add just the right amount of heat. This recipe also works really well for meal prep as the topping stays nice in the fridge!
Absolutely! Such a fun fall dinner 🙂
can I use a rotisserie chicken?
Yes, great idea!
This was absolutely delicious!!!!! My kids devoured this. Next time I’m making 2 of these at 1 time so we can have leftovers because after 1 meal the entire thing was gone!
Amazing!! So happy to hear that. It’s a hit with my family, too!
Can I use almond flour instead of GF oat flour? Thanks.
Hi! I haven’t tried it and I’m not sure the texture would be great. If you don’t have oat flour but have rolled oats, you can simply blend the oats to turn them into flour. Hope that helps!
Just amazing, full of flavor. Love the pumpkin corn bread topping, definitely a keeper!
This was a great meal! We really enjoyed it! I was wondering if you think it would be ok to add about 4 oz of softened cream cheese at the same time as adding the corn/cilantro/beans etc? Would I need to make other adjustments because of that?
Thanks!
So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. I have not tested this recipe with cream cheese so I am not sure what other adjustments would need to be made. If you give it a try, let me know how it works out for you.
I made it the second time around with 4 oz of Kite Hill cream cheese. It definitely created a thicker chili, but that was what I was hoping to achieve. I also doubled the cumin and chili powder spices and used 1 tablespoon of olive oil with 1 tablespoon of applesauce to make the cornbread. Topped it with Trader Joe’s Organic Spicy Honey sauce. Delicious again!!
Yumm this sounds amazing! SO glad you are loving this recipe ❤️🙂
The turkey and bean base is absolutely fantastic! But that’s the only part of the recipe I’ll be taking away. I followed the cornbread recipe to a T and it came out overly dry. Something was off about the mixture, too, even though I used all new ingredients. I felt a little sick after so I only saved the base and took off all the cornbread.
Oh, so sorry to hear that. Happy you enjoyed the base though!
I’m curious about the calorie count. When I post the recipe to MyFitnessPal it calculates the recipe at a much higher calorie count. Do you know why?
So good!
YAY! Happy you’re a fan of this recipe ❤️
I am from Az so spice for me is a part of my blood. This was good, the bones of the recipe were great, but it needed much more heat. kids and those who do not like spice would love it.
Thanks so much, Karey!
I’m so excited to make this! What if you don’t have or can’t find medium grind cornmeal?
I haven’t tested this with a different grind of cornmeal, sorry! You can order it online, HERE.
As usual your recipes do not disappoint! Loved this chili cornbread pie, as did the rest of the family. For me it was a bit time consuming to prep but well worth the effort! I doubled the recipe and cooked it in my 12” skillet. With doubling it I added 3x the spices rather than 2x for added flavor. The meat mixture looked a little watery to me so I added a little corn starch slurry to thicken it up a bit before adding the cornbread topping. Delicious, especially with sliced avocado on top!
Yess! So happy you are loving this recipe
This was absolutely delicious! My family all loved and devoured it. Thanks for another fantastic recipe!
Yay!! So happy you all enjoyed it 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
I followed the recipe exactly other than subbing dried cilantro for fresh, and OH MAN it’s amazing. It’s deceptively easy to make. Definitely bookmarking this one. Thanks so much!
Perfect! YES this one looks like a huge project but ends up being much easier than you think. Glad you loved it!
Day 3 of eating this cozy fall dish and not tired of it! Especially love the pumpkin cornbread topping!
I have to start by saying the pumpkin got lost in this dish. I tasted it before adding any garnish and the pumpkin flavor just did not come through. That being said, it was delicious! We loved it and will make it again for sure. It was easier to throw together than I thought it would be and just have a nice flavor profile. Plus I love any dish that includes cornbread and isn’t a million calories. Win win.
Thanks so much for the feedback! So glad you still loved it 🙂
Just got home from the store and my daughter said “look at this amazing recipe!”. I only bought ground beef. What would you change to make this work?
You can do everything the same, simply subbing the ground beef in for the ground chicken. Enjoy!
Update…I used the ground beef and substituted in a seasoned black bean I had on hand. It was delicious! The dogs also want to thank you as they get to enjoy the rest of the can of pumpkin
Nice!! That sounds fabulous. And haha glad they enjoyed it!
I love the fact that you also include the alternative to make it vegetarian! Thanks for this hearty recipe of white chicken chili pie! The pumpkin cornbread crust is a delightful addition,
My husband loves cornbread, and this dish did NOT disappoint.
Oh I’m so glad!! Thanks, Gina!
This is so good! Super easy but feels special. Even my toddler loved it. It is a little spicy but I mixed a bunch of sour cream into her serving. She ate as much as I did!
Delicious! I love that this has everything I need in one pan.
Totally, me too! Happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Help! Want to make this tonight as it looks delicious. However, I’m just not a pumpkin fan (I know……everybody loves it but me!). Could I just top it with regular cornbread? I’m sure the pumpkin does add a nice fall flavor, but I truly don’t like it.
Hi, Karol! Totally fine to do regular cornbread on here 🙂
Help! Want to make this tonight as it looks delicious. However, I’m just not a pumpkin fan (I know……everybody loves it but me!). Could I just top it with regular cornbread? I’m sure the pumpkin does add a nice fall flavor, but I truly don’t like it.
Update – worked well leaving the pumpkin out and following the recipe as posted. Delicious. Great recipe!
Yay!! Happy that worked well and that you enjoyed it, Karol 🙂
The best! I make this frequently. I’ve even used leftover chili with the cornbread topping, delicious!
I love hot! This chili is delicious. it was perfect for a rainy day. Thanks for the recipe!
Yay!! So happy you enjoyed it, Melissa!
Super delicious and satisfying meal. I made a few substitutions based on what I had in the house: black beans instead of white beans, peas instead of corn, and oat flour instead of regular flour. The flavour was amazing, but the chili was a bit watery and the cornbread was a little grainy. Likely this is because of the subs I used though. Both my boyfriend and I really enjoyed this meal! I don’t think it’ll become a regular in our dinner repertoire, but still extremely yummy!
The swaps are likely what changed the texture here 🙂 but I’m glad you both enjoyed!
Such a great healthier “comfort” food recipe! All of the flavors blend and compliment eachother nicely! You won’t regret trying this recipe!
Absolutely! Love this one for dinners in the winter.
subbed turkey and it was stilllll great!!!
did take longer than most AK recipes though – could definitely be on me, pretty sure I was binging on something on netflix while the bebe was taking a nap,
THANK YOU THANK YOU for this mama!!
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed 🙂
Perfect superbowl dinner! We really liked the mix of the sweet cornbread topping with the savory chili. Definitely recommend!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
This dish is always a winner in my house. I omit the meat and use 2 cans of beans and extra corn as recommended by the recipe notes. Easy, healthy comfort food that can be enjoyed by the whole family!