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!
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.
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Equipment
Nutrition
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 agains the side of the pot. The smashed beans will help thicken the chili.
Top with your favorite ingredients and enjoy!
This chili was delicious. I was a little short on time, so I cooked it in my instant pot. I sauteed the onion and garlic and then added it to my IP. I used pinto, kidney and cannellini beans.. I also used a skinless bone in chicken breast for added flavor. I omitted the jalapeno. I used the pressure cook setting on high for 12 minutes and it came out perfectly. I topped the chili with cilantro, lime and avocado.
I’ve made this recipe dozens of times with a few key changes:
1. Chicken thighs instead of breasts. Lightly season and sear them in a cast iron pan before adding them to the crock pot.
2. Double or even triple the amounts of spices, and able sure to add salt to taste.
3. Triple the amount of garlic.
4. I put about 4-5 jalapeños in and do not remove the seeds.
Making these changes I believe leads to a much more flavorful chili with a bit of a bite.
My mother just served this for a family dinner. It was a huge hit, everyone loved it. I made her text me the recipe and I can’t wait to try it!
Love this recipe! I use two chicken breasts instead of one, and one can of cannellini beans instead of two. I did what others suggested and cooked the onion ahead of time. I put the two chicken breasts in the crock pot frozen and they were fully cooked when I got home from work. I put the cooked breasts in the mixer for easy shredding. I served this with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, dollops of sour cream, and tortilla chips. It tasted even better on the 2nd day! My husband is a VERY picky eater and he loved it.
This might be my favorite recipe on this website. I’ve started making this chili about once every 2 weeks and has been my go-to slow cooker meal!
I pretty much always use 4 chicken thighs instead of one breast since I think thighs taste better when heated up for leftovers. Also use 1 15 oz can of pinto beans and 2 15 oz cans of black beans since it’s a little cheaper.
Well darn.
I just made this recipe in the slow cooker for tonight or tomorrow. But messed up and put 1 tbsp of smoked paprika instead of 1 tbsp of cumin. 😢
Went back and added the cumin anyway so we’ll see. I should really finish my coffee before trying to follow recipes on my phone.
Love your site and have followed it for years and shared with family.
Yea, several people have mentioned that the onions aren’t getting done. Me too. Next time I’m pre cooking the onions and garlic.
I’ve made this recipe twice. Won second place at the church chili cookoff and had to throw the second batch out. DON’T put the onions and peppers in a blender!!!!!
Love this recipe, so easy and tastes like it takes a lot more effort.
Can you do this with lentils? Will they soften enough over 4 hours in a slow cooker?
Quick-cooking brown lentils should soften in that amount of time. But different lentil varieties can require different cooking times.
I’ve got this going in my slow cooker right now. I love this recipe! It is perfect and so tasty. I have made it quite a few times. Once I made it with a large can of posole instead of beans and that was really great too!
Really nice, flavorful, easy meal. If you have any frozen corn laying, it would add a nice texture and sweetness to compliment the spice if you use jalapeños. As others have mentioned, it’s really nice when served with tortilla chips atop.
This was so simple, tasty, and satisfying. I didn’t have time to use the crockpot, so I just tossed everything in a pot on the stove and considered it done once the chicken was shreddable. We had guests who were not fans of spicy food, so I just made sure to get a mild salsa verde. I also subbed paprika for the red pepper. Everyone liked it. The best part is that my husband, who has never liked white chicken chili, loved it and had two bowls. Thanks for the great recipe!
This is the comment I was looking for since my crock pot is too small for this recipe (only 1.5 quarts 😅)
Can’t wait to try this tonight!
Can you make it with chicken thighs?
Yes, thighs are great in recipes like this. :)
I just made this for a weekend outdoor get-together and it was a hit. You know you’re onto a good recipe when several people request the recipe as they eat it. I was more than happy to oblige!
I was worried it was going to be too thin but once I shredded the chicken and let it soak a few more minutes, the consistency either thickened or the chicken shreds balanced it out.