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 and easy to make in your slow cooker!
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.
- You can reserve some of the beans for blending (or use extra beans just for this purpose).
- You can drain/rinse the beans so there is less overall liquid in the finished chili.
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.
If you opt to drain the beans, know that the broth itself will still be on the thinner side. So you may want to do any combination of the above suggestions.
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. I used the Kite Hill brand of almond milk yogurt. (Not paid to promote them).
Recipe Variations
- Try adding some corn to this.
- Try adding sour cream if you want this to be truly rich and creamy.
- Some folks may like to add a splash of heavy cream.
What If I Don’t Have Rotel?
This is a relatively simple fix. All you have to do is use a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes as well as one or two, 4 oz. cans of green chilies.
How To Garnish Crockpot White Chicken Chili
Opt for one or more of the following to top things off. I highly recommend using all of them in generous amounts!
- Green chiles
- Lime juice
- Avocados
- Fresh cilantro
- Tortilla chips – We like to crush ours.
About The Ingredients
Boneless skinless chicken thighs – you can also use boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Great Northern beans – low sodium if canned. You can use any type of white beans, like cannellini beans.
Rotel – I used the organic variety that has a very clean ingredient list. However, if you cannot find this, (not all Rotel is clean) you can use the suggestion above.
Red onions – diced.
Large garlic cloves – minced.
Chili powder
Ground cumin
Chicken broth (or stock) – reduced sodium, no sugar added.
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
Prep all your soup ingredients.
Place the chicken in the crock.
Add all the remaining ingredients to the crock.
Stir well. Cook the chili for 6-8 hours on low in a slow cooker, or on high pressure for 25 minutes if using an Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi pressure cooker.
While the chili cooks, prep all the garnishes as needed.
When the chili is done cooking, remove the crock from the appliance and let it cool for at least 10 minutes. Then stir in the yogurt and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Note that adding the garnishes adds tons of flavor, so you won’t need to go overboard with the salt and pepper.
Ladle some chili into a bowl.
Garnish as you like and serve.
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.
Recipe Supplies
For this recipe, you’ll need a slow cooker, an Instant Pot, or a Ninja Foodi. If you need one, you can click any image here to be taken to that product on Amazon. (Affiliate links)
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Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker (at least 5 quarts – Or use an Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi)
Ingredients
Soup Ingredients
- 2½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 medium red onion (diced – approximately 1½ cups of diced onion)
- 8 large garlic cloves (pressed or minced)
- 30 oz. Rotel (no sugar added. If you can't find it, see alternative suggestion in post above)
- 60 oz. Great Northern beans (This is 4 (15 oz.) cans, no sugar added, do not drain.)
- 1 tbsp. ground cumin
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- 4 cups chicken broth (no sugar or dextrose added, low sodium is best)
- 2 cups plain yogurt (see notes in post above)
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnishes
- 2 medium limes (or 1 lime per person)
- 2 medium avocados (or ½ an avocado per person)
- 2 large jalapeno peppers (sliced or diced, with or without seeds)
- 1 cup chopped, fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Prep all your soup ingredients.
- Place the chicken in the crock.
- Add all the remaining ingredients to the crock. Stir well.
- Cook the chili for 6-8 hours on low or 4-6 hours on high. In a pressure cooker such as an Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi, cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.
- While the chili cooks, prep all the garnishes as needed.
- When the chili is done cooking, remove the crock from the appliance and let it cool for at least 10 minutes. Then stir in the yogurt and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Note that adding the garnishes adds tons of flavor, so you won't need to go overboard with the salt and pepper.
- Ladle some chili into a bowl.
- Garnish as you like and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe from the Gracious Pantry® archives, originally posted on 5/17/12.
Recipe updated on 3/24/23.
I'm Tiffany, a writer for MSN and the AP Newswire, a cookbook author, digital publisher, food lover, and mom. I create healthy, clean eating recipes for everyday living.
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.
I love this recipe and have been making for years. But, I made it tonight and checked the recipe to refresh my memory. I’m sure there was more than a tablespoon of chili powder and cumin. The taste was definitely off. Can you let me know what the correct amount should be?
Carolyn – Yes, I updated the recipe. Here is the original:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, raw
1 (16 oz.) can diced no salt added tomatoes, fire roasted or regular, OR 1 lbs. fresh, chopped
4 (16 oz.) cans Great Northern beans, low sodium and/or organic
1 (4 oz.) can fire roasted green chiles
2 medium onions, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 ½ cups reduced sodium chicken stock
1 cup 2% cheddar, grated
Salt and pepper to taste