I’m all about cozy soups, and the White Chicken Chili recipe has always been one of my favorites. This Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili is the perfect example of why people love slow cookers so much. You literally just dump everything in the slow cooker, give it a quick stir, then turn it on and walk away. When you come back you have this hearty white bean chicken chili that’s ready for topping with creamy cheese and diving in with some tortilla chips. And when the sky is dark, the air is cold, and you’ve got the winter blues, easy dinners like this are a total life saver!
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
See this recipe used in my weekly meal prep.
Does White Chicken Chili Have Chili Powder?
Nope! Unlike traditional red chili, this “white” chili does not contain chili powder. It’s flavored using salsa verde, cumin, and oregano. This chili gets its name from the white beans used in place of the red kidney beans used in red chili.
Is This Chili Spicy?
This chili is a “medium” level spicy. If you want to make the chili more mild, skip the jalapeño and cayenne pepper listed in the ingredients, and make sure to use a mild salsa verde.
What Size Slow Cooker do I Need?
You can make this in a 3-4 quart slow cooker, or double the recipe for a 5-7 qt slow cooker and feed a crowd. I have a 5 quart slow cooker (affiliate link) and the recipe, as listed below, filled it about half way.
Can This White Chicken Chili be Frozen?
Yes, this chili freezes very well! As always, make sure to chill your chili completely in the refrigerator first, before transferring to the freezer for long term storage. I prefer to freeze all my leftovers in single portions so they can be reheated one by one whenever I get hungry.
Chili Topping Ideas
I highly suggest topping this chili with something creamy, like the Monterrey jack cheese listed in the ingredients below, some sour cream, or avocado. The creamy flavor is the perfect contrast to the salsa verde. You can also top with some green onion, sliced jalapeño, cilantro, pico de gallo, crumbled cornbread, or pickled red onions.
Easy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Servings 6 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 jalapeño (optional) ($0.11)
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast (about 3/4 lb.) ($3.62)
- 1 16oz. jar salsa verde ($2.59)
- 2 15oz. cans cannellini beans ($0.98)
- 1 15oz. can pinto beans ($0.89)
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin ($0.30)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.10)
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper ($0.03)
- 2 cups chicken broth ($0.26)
- 4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded ($0.85)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Slice the jalapeńo lengthwise, scrape out the seeds with a spoon, then dice. Place the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and chicken breast in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Drain and rinse the cannellini beans and pinto beans, then add them to the slow cooker, along with the cumin, oregano, cayenne, and freshly ground black pepper. Pour the salsa over top.
- Pour two cups of chicken broth over the contents in the cooker and then give everything a brief stir. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours, or on low for eight hours.
- After four hours on high, or eight hours on low, carefully remove the chicken breast from the slow cooker and use two forks to shred the meat. Return the meat to the slow cooker. Stir the chili, slightly mashing the beans with the back of the spoon as you stir. The mashed beans will help thicken the chili.
- Serve the chili topped with shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Other optional toppings include fresh cilantro, diced avocado, freshly squeeze lime, or tortilla chips.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Video
Serve with a side of Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread!
How to Make Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili – Step by Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Slice the jalapeño in half, scrape out the seeds, then dice the remaining pepper. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and chicken breast to the slow cooker.
Drain and rinse two 15oz. cans of cannellini beans and one 15oz. can of pinto beans. Add the drained beans to the slow cooker along with 1 Tbsp cumin, 1 tsp oregano, ¼ tsp cayenne, and some freshly cracked black pepper.
Pour one 16oz. jar of salsa verde into the slow cooker (I’ve used many brands for this recipe in the past, the one in the photo is Kroger’s Private Selectrion brand).
Pour two cups of chicken broth into the slow cooker.
Briefly stir the contents of the slow cooker to distribute the spices. Place a lid on top and cook on high for four hours, or low for eight hours.
After cooking on high for four hours, or on low for eight hours, remove the chicken breast to a clean cutting board to shred (or you can shred directly in the pot with two forks).
Shred the chicken using two forks.
Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir to combine. Use the back of a spoon to smash some of the beans against the side of the pot. The smashed beans will help thicken the chili.
Top with your favorite ingredients and enjoy!
If I donโt have chicken broth, can vegetable broth be substituted? Would it change the flavor tremendously?
I find vegetable broth to be a bit heavier in flavor, if that makes sense. I think it will definitely change the flavor (and color). Whether it tastes good, though, will just be a matter of personal preference. :)
FYI, this works really well in the Instant Pot!
How did you do it in the instant pot?
It doesn’t seem like chicken breasts work very well in the slow cooker. Turns out really dry. I’m either going to try thighs instead, or cook the chicken separately and add at the end.
I make this but since my boyfriend has the cilantro soap gene, I make my own tomatillo salsa to include without cilantro and just top my own bowl with cilantro. Itโs still delicious and the tomatillo salsa is fairly easy to make. The chicken is delicious and I think the smashed beans really make this recipe.
Just superb! I took this to a potluck at work and my co-workers devoured it! Although I have a chicken intolerance I am able to substitute for ground beef. My kids won’t eat anything that is green so I used tomato sauce/paste for the soup. My wife’s grandfather makes a really nice chili seasoning so I put tons of that in there.
Lol, so you made regular beef chili.
Very easy to make
For me, this one was just okay. I think it just tasted too much like store-bought salsa. Maybe it would’ve been better if I’d used a higher quality salsa with less sodium.
I used Frontera tomatillo salsa, my family loved it. Plenty of kick and flavor, doesn’t scorch your tastebuds.
Can we do this in the instapot?
I haven’t done it myself, but slow cooker recipes usually convert to IP very well.
Super easy in the instant pot! I dump everything in and then use the soup button. It does take awhile to come up to pressure because the amount of liquid so plan accordingly.
My husband and I love this recipe! Simple, easy, delicious!!
This recipe is delicious! Everyone loved it! I will definitely be making this again.ย
Can you use this recipe with frozen chicken breasts?
Only if you fully thaw them first. It’s not a good idea to place frozen meat in a slow cooker because it takes way too long to heat up to a safe temperature.
If you do this recipe in an instapot you can use frozen chicken breasts. That’s the perk of instapots.
This chili was the perfect cold night easy meal for my family. My husband and 12 year old LOVED IT! We will be incorporating this recipe into our rotation along with several other recipes from this site!
So good!! My whole family loved it and there were no leftovers. Definitely would make it again!
I have already cooked shredded chicken from previous meal prep, could I just saute the aromatics and then heat and eat the rest and add the chicken at the end?
Yep! No need to slow cook if the chicken is already cooked. I would use the exact method you described. :)
This was soooo good. I took it to a chili potluck and multiple people told me it was their favorite. I froze a portion of it and it heated up really well, too! Thank you for the recipe.ย