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!
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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
- Slow Cooker
Nutrition
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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!
First time visitor, learning to cook for myself. This shit right here…omg its SO GOOD! And I got enough left over to bring to lunch for the rest of the work week.
I made this for the first time last night. It was delicious. I had to make a few minor changes. I used Trader Joe’s salsa verde which was only 12 ounces so I added about 2 ounces more chicken broth. I used chili powder instead of cayenne pepper (1/4 tsp).
The night before, I chopped the onion and garlic (put in bowl). I drained and rinsed the beans and mixed with seasoning (put in the bowl). Put these bowls in fridge. The morning before I went to work I assembled, then cooked it on low for about nine hours. I took the chicken out to shred and mash the beans and then added the shredded chicken back and cook it for about 30 minutes more. Delicious!
My boyfriend and I have made this probably a dozen times now. We make it on Sundays and by Wednesday, it’s all gone. I’m going to make two batches this week just to have enough for lunches.
Are the pinto beans in this recipe whole or refried? I’m afraid things are different here in Canada.
They are whole. :)
Hi Beth, I made this and it turned out quite watery. I omitted the pinto beans because I couldn’t find them in 3 different Canadian grocery stores. Is there a different name we might use or a substitute? Could I have added in more white beans after 4 hours on high to thicken it up. I know I’ll love it if I can get it right. Thank you for everything < 3
You could use more white beans to replace the pinto, yes. Also, try mashing up some of the beans to help thicken the liquid part. :)
Hey Jenn! I’m in Nova Scotia and I find canned pinto beans in the organic section of Sobeys :)
I made this a few nights ago and it was fantastic! The house smelled wonderful, too, and it was so easy to make. I had to add more water after it was done to make it more soupy. I think the type of salsa verde and chicken broth you buy could make a huge difference in the taste, so use high quality on sale.
This recipe was a huge disappointment for my family. It tasted gross, and none of us could eat more than a few bites. Overpowering cumin flavor. Into the garbage disposal it went.
Hey Beth, have you ever used slow cooker liners? I’m wondering if I should buy some and whether they affect the cooking at all…
I haven’t, no. Sorry!
What does “high” mean? I tried to make this a few weeks ago, and after 4 hour the fluids were completly gone, and it was burned as hell. I think I took the term “high” a bit to literal. :)
Most slow cooker have just two settings, low and high. Every slow cooker will be a little different, but most are around 200 degrees for low and 300 degrees for high. Slow cookers can vary a bit in how much moisture they let escape during cooking, too, so that could cause it to dry up a little faster.
I have made this 3 times because WE LOVE IT! We had company over and I was upset because we had only one bowl leftover and I want to eat this every day!
Made this again this morning, and there was enough for my husband to have lunch today, dinner for both of us tonight (2 helpings), and lunch for my husband again tomorrow. He loves all of your recipes, but says that this is his favourite. Was out of salsa verde, so used a can of petite diced tomatoes and can of green chillies. Nope…no Rotel here either., so I have to substitute and make do. It was delicious.
I made this chili last night exactly as instructed and it was delicious! The chicken was perfectly tender and the spices gave it a nice flavor. However, my chili turned out insanely spicy (I added the optional jalepeno). The spiciness was so unbearable that I had to cool it down by adding loads of sour cream and of mozzarella cheese.
Next time I try this recipe I will add more chicken and maybe skip the jalepeno pepper.
How long would this take on low?
About eight hours.
I got up bright and early this morning to make this recipe. I have been salivating over it since you first posted it, but never seemed to remember to pick up the beans that it required. Well, this morning I threw it all together and doubled the recipe so that I wouldn’t have to cook for a few days. It has gotten us through lunch and dinner today, and will do the same for tomorrow. My husband, Mr. Picky Pants, even liked it, and he has a man-cold on top of it all. That’s saying a lot, Beth! Oh, the only changes I made was to cut each chicken breast into 3 pieces and add the beans for the last 30 minutes or so. Before the beans are added, I was able to “mash” the chicken with a wooden spoon, and it shredded perfectly without any of the super long pieces. YUMMY!!! There is a little less of it left over (could be to a certain picky person having thirds), so I will bulk up the remainder of it will a small can of diced tomatoes tomorrow. Beth to the rescue AGAIN!
I made something similar and used a can of hominy instead of pinto beans. I’ve also pureed cannelini beans and added them which thickens it up nicely.