Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

Cozy and comforting, Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili is loaded with veggies, simple spices and bright fresh flavors! With just 15 minutes of prep time, your house will smell amazing as your crockpot does all the work!

Ingredients & Substitutions

This healthy clean ingredient list boasts lots of fresh vegetables, tons of protein, simple spices and bright fresh flavors!

• Onion, Green Pepper, Jalapeño Pepper, Garlic - This is a bit of a Slow Cooker Green Chicken Chili, loaded with extra healthy peppers, herbs and topped with avocado and lime! I use fresh peppers instead of canned chilis. You can use any amount of jalapeño, depending on how spicy you like things! I used 1 full jalapeño, with the ribs and seed removed, and the chili was fairly mild.

• Chicken - Use about 1 pound of raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can also substitute chicken thighs. Slow Cooker soup is perfect for getting perfectly tender shredded chicken. You could also use rotisserie chicken or cooked leftovers and you wouldn't need to cook the chili as long.

• Seasonings - Lots of spices go into this chili, the most important being salt and cumin for its signature flavor. The oregano and garlic powder can be omitted if you don't have them since we're also using fresh garlic.

• Frozen Corn - I prefer frozen corn to canned corn, but either are fine. You can use corn cut fresh from the cob if it's in season, or if you are one of those fabulous people who cut corn from the cob and freeze it for winter, use that!

• White Beans - I use 2 cans of Great Northern white beans, but cannelini or navy beans would work fine too. A combination of white and pinto beans is a nice variation. I always drain and rinse canned beans in a strainer to remove extra sodium and preservatives.

• Salsa Verde - Salsa verde is a green salsa made from tomatillos. It comes in a jar and adds a big boost of flavor to the chili. I used mild, but you can buy hot for a spicier chili.

• Chicken Stock - Use store-bought or Homemade Chicken Stock for this recipe. I also added 2 cups of additional water, but you can use all chicken stock if you have it. If you are a little short on chicken stock, that's fine too, just add more water totaling 6 cups. If you want your chili super thick, you can omit the water and just add it at the end if you think you need it.

• Fresh Lime and Cilantro - When your chili has cooked away all day in the crock pot, I like to add a big pop of freshness with a squeeze of lime juice and fresh cilantro, just before serving. You can also keep these on the side as an optional topping.

• Toppings - Truly the best part when it comes to chili! Pile on the shredded white cheddar or any cheese you prefer, more cilantro, scallions, lime wedges, avocado, plain yogurt or sour cream and tortilla chips! We also love this white chili served with Cheesy Honey Skillet Cornbread!

See recipe card for quantities.

Recipe Variations

There are a lot of ways to customize White Chicken Chili just to your liking!

• Creamy - As written, this is a broth-based white chicken chili, but you could easily add 3 to 4 ounces of cream cheese in the last hour of cooking time for a creamy version.

• Thickening without Dairy - If you want a thicker chili, puree a few cups of the soup in the blender or with an immersion blender when you pull the chicken out to shred it. This will allow your chili to still have plenty of texture, but feel thicker than just broth.

• Spicy - This chili is fairly mild, but there are several ways to adjust the heat level. You can omit the jalapeño or add extra. You can use spicy salsa verde instead of mild. You can add sliced or jarred jalapeño or a few dashes of hot sauce as a topping.

• Extra Protein - You can add a third can of beans to stretch this recipe. Pinto beans are a nice addition to the white beans.

Instructions

This healthy White Chicken Chili couldn't be easier, just add all your ingredients and let the crockpot do the work!

Step 1 - Chop your veggies. I chop the jalapeño by cutting the green flesh off, working my way around the pepper while leaving the ribs and seeds untouched in the middle.

Step 2 - Add the vegetables to the crockpot and then the chicken breasts. Evenly sprinkle the seasonings over the chicken.

Step 3 - Add the beans, corn, salsa verde, stock and water and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or HIGH for 4 hours.

Step 4 - Toward the end of the cooking time, pull out the chicken and shred it on a cutting board with 2 forks. Add it back to the pot.

Step 5 - You can decide to finish the chili with a big squeeze of fresh lime juice and a handful of chopped cilantro, or just leave them on the side.

Load on the toppings! We love shredded white cheddar cheese, but use your favorite! Add lots of chopped scallions and cilantro, sliced avocado, jalapeño, chips and a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt.

Recipe Tips

• Store extra chili in the fridge for up to 4 days and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop. Leftovers could also be repurposed into a topping for nachos or a filling for enchiladas if you strain out the broth.

• Freezer - Leftover White Chicken Chili freezes well for up to 4 months. Just thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

• Make Ahead - You can add all ingredients to the bowl of your slow cooker a day in advance and keep it in the fridge. Let it sit a half hour on the counter to take the chill off before starting the crockpot. You can also cook the chili a day in advance and then just reheat it throughout the week!

• Kid-friendly - This chili, even with 1 full jalapeño, was not very spicy (although peppers can vary of course!). Piled with cheese and avocado and a dollop of yogurt, 1 of my 2 kids happily dunked chips and finished the bowl!

• Stovetop - Cooking raw chicken all day in a crockpot is ideal for getting tender, pull apart shredded chicken. However, you can make this recipe on the stovetop with raw or leftover cooked chicken. You can start with a bit of olive oil and saute the onion and green bell pepper. Then add everything else and gently simmer until your chicken is cooked through and you can shred it. If using leftover cooked chicken, this soup won't take very long to make at all!

• The Toppings - I can't think of a soup where the toppings are more important than in White Chicken Chili! It's a pretty boring bowl without them! The toppings are healthy and add a fresh component to the all-day crockpot texture. I chose not to go with the block of cream cheese, creamy version of white chicken chili, but adding a spoonful of plain yogurt or sour cream as a topping gives you some of that creamy element. It also cools it down if your chili turned out spicier than you like.

What to Serve With White Chicken Chili

• The toppings are enough to make this chili a perfect balanced meal! I always recommend serving chili with my Cheesy Honey Skillet Cornbread!

• White Chicken Chili is the perfect menu for game day or a weekend get together! Ask your guests to bring taco dip, Guacamole, or try it with Cilanto Lime Hummus with veggies and chips to dip!

• Chips and salsa make great sides too! We love Cherry Tomato Pico de Gallo, Pineapple Pico de Gallo, or this food processor Easy 5 Minute Salsa!

Recipe FAQs

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