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!
I made this to have for grab-and-go lunches this week. I subbed 1lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs for the breasts and portioned it out into 5 servings instead of 6. At 516 calories, 35g of fiber, and 42g of protein per serving this is a delicious, healthy, and VERY hearty meal.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was excellent–seriously great flavor and so easy to throw together. I added the optional jalapeno and it had a perfect amount of heat. This got two thumbs up from my husband, and I just forwarded the recipe to my dad. This is a great change of pace from a classic chili while still hitting the mark for winter comfort food.
I just made this and it was fantastic! Beyond yummy when topped with grated cheese, crushed tortilla chips and fresh cilantro. The salsa verde was the critical “magic” ingredient. Doubled the recipe (except kept it at a single jalapeno) and it was just the right amount of heat. I had never shredded chicken like that so it was fun to learn to do that. I had bought 4 chicken breasts in bulk and in hindsight wished I had cooked all four and then saved out half to use in something else later because the chicken was so tender and flavorful from slow cooking in that broth.
I have made this recipe about three times – came back to get the recipe again for dinner tomorrow. So yummy. Full of flavor and deliciousness. I usually cook some boned chicken in the oven for a bit (350 for 30 minutes on each side), debone it and then throw it in the pot – saves me some $$ so we can buy some sour cream and French bread. Thank you!
If I use pre cooked chicken and beans, is it possible to make this in a skillet or large pot if I don’t have a slow cooker? I love all of your other skillet/one pot dishes and want to give this a try but can’t justify buying a slow cooker. Thanks!
Yep, if everything is precooked, you can just let it simmer on the stove top for 20 minutes or so to heat through and let the flavors blend a bit. It might not be quite as scrumptious as the slow cooked version, but I bet it would still be good.
Thank you! Can’t wait to try it. ๐
I left out the pinto beans, used a pound of ground turkey and a chopped Butternut squash. Still super yummy!
Made this yesterday. Really good!
Will navy beans and pink beans work for this recipe…Ty…I am excited to try this recipe…
I think they will still work. :)
I couldn’t find salsa verde, but I have a large can green enchilada sauce. Do you think that could work?
Hmmm, that’s quite different. I’m not sure how the enchilada sauce would stand up to the slow cooker.
I made it yesterday with enchilada sauce. Left out the jalapeno grated a zucchini in (to up the veggie factor :-)) It turned out to be delicious!
Could these be cooked longer on low? I am going close to 10 hours for the day and would really like to make this but don’t want to burn it before it even get started.
Yes, I think ten hours on low would still work. :)
Thanks so much! Making it today:)
I highly recommend this recipe — who knew salsa worked so well in soup?! Prep was short & easy and it tastes great for days. This will definitely be a staple recipe for fall & winter.
Made this tonight and it was very yummy! I put too much cayenne pepper in it though. (Thats what I get for free pouring and not using measuring cups) It was still very delicious! My husband loved it! I don’t like beans either, but I used a hand blender to blend it in the soup while I shredded the chicken and put it back it. It did thicken the soup up and it was yummy!!
Oh, man! The Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili is absolutely DELICIOUS!!! I cooked the chili on low for six hours, and the chicken breast was super tender. I served the chicken chili with shredded Monterrey jack cheese, sour cream, and corn chips (which sounds unusual, but so good!!). I’ll definitely make this chili again later. Thank you so much Beth, for the awesome recipe!! :-)
This recipe is SO good! I tried it on a whim, and completely loved it. I’ve made it at least two more times since then. It’s lighter than red chili, and has a nice kind of vinegary taste to it. Thank you for sharing!
I’m craving white chicken chili, and will be making it for dinner this week.