Crockpot White Chicken Chili Recipe
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This Crockpot White Chicken Chili recipe is perfect to make for dinner tonight!
Chili is perfect for a cold night when all you want to do is warm up your body and soul. This chili recipe is clean eating and easy to make in your slow cooker!
Today, I have a wonderful clean eating chili recipe for you from guest blogger, Vicki Griffin, R.N., B.S.N.
My name is Vicki and I am an avid cook! Sounds like an addiction, right? Well it is!
I’ve been cooking since I could reach the counter top with a stool – helping my mom and grandmothers whenever I could get my hands in. I’m an experimenter in the kitchen, and I find measuring cups are my worst enemies. I try my best to use them, but they only seem to make their way out when I’m baking.
I started my food blog, Falling For Food last August to keep myself busy while searching for a nursing job. It’s been quite an adventure! I am thrilled to have Tiffany’s fans try my white chicken chili crockpot recipe, considering I am such a huge fan of hers!
White Chicken Chili Crockpot Recipe
My mom and I have been making this for as long as I can remember. At this point, I can make it with my eyes closed! I’ve made it for countless friends and family members. It’s always a huge, frequently requested hit, AND it won a chili cook-off. Have I sold you on it yet?
It’s incredibly easy to make with a huge flavor payoff. I don’t eat any red meat, so this recipe really satisfies my cravings for a big, comforting bowl of chili. The best part? The leftovers are even better and it freezes beautifully. So go ahead, make a big batch, and have it ready whenever you need some comfort in a bowl.
Note: The beans above are white kidney beans. I couldn’t find great northern beans. ~Tiffany
How Spicy Is This White Chicken Chili?
The spice is very mild. You can up the spiciness by adding jalapeno peppers if you want. You can also use cayenne pepper if you prefer that.
What To Serve With CrockPot White Chicken Chili
This is great served with one of the following on the side:
- A grilled cheese sandwich or grilled cheese roll-ups.
- English muffins
- Garlic bread
- A green salad
Why Is My White Chicken Chili Runny?
Any time you make chili like this, it will tend to be on the runnier/brothy side because you don’t use the usual chili ingredients that thicken things up. If you enjoy that, great! If not, read on…
How Do You Make White Chicken Chili Thicker?
You have a couple of options if you want to thicken this chili. You can add starch during the cooking process, or you can reserve some of the beans for blending (or use extra beans just for this purpose).
If you use starch, you’ll want to make a slurry with cool water or broth first. Use about 2 tbsp. of starch to 1 tbsp. of water. Whisk it until smooth, then stir it into the pot.
If you want to use beans to thicken this, I recommend using extra beans. Blend them with a tiny bit of broth until they are smooth. Then add it to the chili.
You can also use a combo of blended beans and starch slurry to get this super thick. The addition of yogurt will help as well.
Making White Chicken Chili Creamy
To make this chili creamy, simply stir in 2 cups of plain yogurt after cooking. This can be regular yogurt, Greek yogurt, or non-dairy yogurt.
Recipe Variations
- Try adding some corn to this.
- Try adding sour cream if you want this to be truly rich and creamy.
How To Garnish Crockpot White Chicken Chili
Opt for one or more of the following to top things off:
- Green chiles
- Lime juice
- Avocados
- Fresh cilantro or oregano
- Tortilla chips
About The Ingredients
Boneless skinless chicken breasts – you can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
Canned diced tomatoes – no salt or sugar added, or sub with 1 lb. fresh, chopped tomatoes.
Great Northern beans – low sodium if canned. You can use any type of white beans, like cannellini beans.
Canned fire-roasted green chilies
Yellow onions – diced.
Medium garlic cloves – minced.
Olive oil – or any light-flavored oil you prefer.
Chili powder
Ground cumin
Chicken broth (or stock) – reduced sodium, no sugar added.
Grated cheddar – or Mexican blend for a lighter cheese flavor.
Salt and black pepper – to taste.
Yogurt – Optional if you want this to be creamy. You can also try sour cream or cream cheese if you prefer that.
How To Make Crockpot White Chicken Chili
Sauté the onions and garlic in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil until the onions are translucent.
Put the tomatoes, chicken, beans, chiles, chili powder, and cumin into the slow cooker. Once the onions and garlic are cooked, add them as well with 1 ½ cups of chicken stock. Stir well.
Cook the chili for 4-5 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.
About an hour before serving, add the 1 cup of cheddar cheese and salt and pepper to taste (and more chili powder or cumin if you’d like!).
Add optional toppings if you so choose.
Note: If you use cooked chicken, this meal comes together very quickly in a soup pot or large skillet.
Storage
Store this in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Freezing
This freezes better without the yogurt added (if you use it). Pack it well and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheating
Reheat in a microwave or in a pot on the stovetop.
More Healthy Chili Recipes
White Chicken Chili Crockpot Recipe Card
White Chicken Chili Crockpot Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 16 oz. canned diced tomatoes (no salt added, or sub with 1 lb. fresh, chopped tomatoes)
- 64 oz. Great Northern beans (low sodium)
- 4 oz. can fire roasted green chilies
- 3 cups yellow onions diced
- 6 medium cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- ¼ cup chili powder
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock, reduced sodium
- 1 cup grated cheddar (or Mexican blend for a lighter cheese flavor)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Sauté the onions and garlic in a pan with the extra virgin olive oil until the onions are translucent.
- Put the tomatoes, chicken, beans, chiles, chili powder and cumin into the slow cooker. Once the onions and garlic are cooked, add them as well with 1 ½ cups of chicken stock. Stir well.
- Cook the chili 4-5 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.
- About an hour before serving, add the 1 cup of cheddar cheese and salt and pepper to taste (and more chili powder or cumin if you’d like!).
- Add optional toppings if you so choose.
- Note: If you use cooked chicken, this meal comes together very quickly in a soup pot or large skillet.
Notes
Nutrition
Can you eat a side dish with the chili and if so what would be a good one? What amount would you eat?
Sure! A salad would be great.
I am using uncooked ground turkey….does it matter? Thank you!
It’s fine, just be sure it’s completely cooked. You may have to cook a bit longer. Keep an eye on it.
So the chicken is raw going into the cooker, but not diced or otherwise cut up??
Correct.
Made this the other night with 1/2 Rotissari Chicken pulled from the bone. It was wonderful! I only cooked it on low about 2 hours to blend the flavors since the chicken was cooked. I did leave out the green chilis (forgot to get them at the store!) but it turned out perfectly for my mild loving family.
Cassie – Fabulous! So glad everyone enjoyed it! 😀
This turned out wonderfully. I used dry beans in place of canned. I had all the ingredients on hand, I love when that happens! Topped with lime, cilantro, cheese and jalapeno. Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper.
Smack80 – My pleasure! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
I made this a few nights ago and was a bit disappointed. The flavor was great, but it looked more like chili than white. Most white chicken chilis have their own distinct look to them, much like the one in the picture. Mine looked like regular chili except chicken instead of beef. I followed the recipe exactly, but did I miss something?
Erienne – That’s really odd! I’m not sure what could have changed the color. Are you sure you didn’t change anything at all? I’m glad you found it tasty though!
Yes the only thing I left out was the chilies as husband cannot have a whole lot of spice right now. I have tried several recipes here though and love them all! Tonight we had the mushroom rice casserole. So good and so easy!
Erienne – I’m completely stumped. I’m sorry, I wish I had an answer for you! 🙁
Hi! This looks delicious! My husband has some food allergies…dairy being one. Do you think I can leave out the cheese, and had it on the side as a garnish?
Thanks,
Heather
Heather – Sure! That should work fine. 🙂
How long do you recommend cooking it in the crockpot on low if the chicken is precooked?
Rachael – I’m not sure you would want to use pre-cooked chicken in a slow cooker. The meat will dry out by the time everything else gets cooked. You could check it after 2-3 hours, but again, not sure how that would turn out.
I had the same problem as Erienne. The 1/4 cup chili powder is what changes the color. Is there some sort of white chili powder that is supposed to be used instead of regular chili powder?
KC – Not that I know of.
I leave out the tomatoes and the chili powder. Tastes just as great and it will give you a nice white chili look.
Deborah – Great! 🙂
Those of you who got the red chili color, did you drain and rinse your white beans? I did, and I bet anything that contributed to the stronger red chili look rather than white chili. Next time I will try not draining or rinsing them.
Tiffany – Why would that contribute? Was the juice red?
I noticed the serving size is 11….how many cups (or part of a cup) is a serving?
K – It should be 11 cups.
Awesome! Thank you! Your recipes are so incredibly helpful!
K – Thanks so much! I’m so happy to be helpful! 🙂
Where is the nutrition info on this recipe?
Jill – I no longer provide that information because I couldn’t provide accurate numbers. But you can easily plug the recipe into an online calculator. I highly recommend MyFitnessPal.com. They make is super east to import recipes.
I’m making this chili tonight. Can you please tell me the amount of calories and sugar grams.
Thanks,
Kim
Kimberly – You would have to enter the recipe into a recipe calculator. I like the one at MyFitnessPal.com. They make it easy to import a recipe.
could you please show me a photo of a can of great northern beans as I am not sure if I can buy them here Thanks
Treaclee – Any white bean can be used. Cannellini beans or even navy beans will work as well.
Did you drain the juice from your tomatoes before adding them?
Angela – No, use the juice. 🙂
I am making the White Chicken Chili recipe this week. The ingredients list 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese but the instructions say add the one cup of Mexican cheese. Which gives a better chili flavor or can I use either?
Cyndie – Sorry about that! Either one will work. Just depends on the flavor you want. Mexican cheese blends would be lighter in flavor, while the cheddar would obviously give a stronger cheddar flavor. I prefer the Mexican blend, but either way.