Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

Name: Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 480 min
Total time: 495 min
Ingredients: 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp cumin; 1 tsp chili powder; 1 tsp oregano; ½ tsp black pepper; ¼ tsp cayenne pepper; 1 medium yellow onion (diced); 2 tsp garlic (minced); 30 oz great northern beans (rinsed and drained); 4 oz diced green chiles; 15 oz corn (drained); 24 oz chicken broth; 4 oz cream cheese; ¼ cup milk; ½ cup cilantro (freshly chopped); sour cream; tortilla strips; diced avocado; chopped tomatoes; cilantro (chopped)

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili is creamy and delicious, filled with shredded chicken, beans, corn, and packed with flavor!

We love to serve this slow-cooker white chili with Homemade Sweet Cornbread or crispy tortilla chips.

Cooked white chicken chili in bowl topped with avocado, sour cream, and tomatoes.

White bean chicken chili in a crock pot is a super easy dinner to start in the morning if you have a busy day ahead! I love this easy crock pot dinner in winter AND summer because it doesn’t heat up the house and it tastes amazing.

White Chicken Chili Recipe

Slow cooker white chili is special because it’s not made like my traditional Slow Cooker Beef Chili Recipe, it’s unique and has it’s own special flavors!

Chicken and white beans are the star of the show here, along with green chiles, corn, and a little cream cheese to really pack in that rich and creamy flavor.

Ingredients Needed

Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need to whip up White Chicken Chili. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients located in the printable recipe card below.

Chicken Breasts – boneless skinless
Great Northern Beans – drained and rinsed
Chicken Broth – regular or low sodium
Cream Cheese – full fat or 1/3 fat is best
Milk – Whole or 2% is best for the added creaminess!
Corn – canned or frozen, thawed and drained
Spices – oregano, garlic, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, all necessary to create the lovely Latin flavor blend.

Ingredients for white chicken chili in ceramic bowls on marble countertop.

How To Make Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

The BEST thing about this recipe is that you can put everything in the crock pot, set it, and forget it. No need to cook any meat beforehand! I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process.

Prepare Chicken

In the bottom of the slow cooker, place the chicken breasts and season with salt, cumin, chili powder, oregano, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

Raw chicken breasts in bowl of slow cooker with seasoning on top.

Add Wet Ingredients

Top the chicken breasts with the white beans, green chiles, and corn, then pour the chicken broth over the top and gently nudge the chicken breasts at the bottom with a spoon to allow the liquid to reach the bottom.

Pouring chicken broth on chicken corn, chiles, beans and seasoning in slow cooker bowl.

Cook The Chili

Cover and cook on LOW heat for 8 hours or on HIGH heat for 3 to 4 hours.

Shred Chicken

After cooking, remove the chicken breast from the slow cooker and use two forks to shred the chicken.

Forks shredding cooked chicken breasts on cutting board.

Add Cream Cheese

To the slow cooker add back in the chicken followed by the cream cheese and milk and cook an additional 15 minutes. Stir the mixture to incorporate the cream cheese into the chili.

Cream cheese in slow cooker with shredded chicken and chicken chili.

Stir in the cilantro just before serving. Top with your desired toppings and enjoy!

Recipe Tips & Substitutions

You can dice the raw chicken before putting it in the slow cooker if you wish, instead of shredding it after it’s cooked.
Want it more spicy? Dice a fresh jalapeño to serve with the chili after stirring in the cilantro!
You can substitute the cream cheese with sour cream or plain yogurt, but the flavor will be slightly different.
Want it less spicy? Omit the cayenne pepper and diced green chiles and instead use diced bell pepper.

Cooked white chicken chili with cilantro in a bowl.

Make Ahead and Storage

White chili can easily be made up to 3 days ahead and reheated before serving.

Refrigerate: Once cooked and cooled, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

To Freeze: Once cooled, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Cooked white chicken chili in white bowl with avocado and tomato.

Common Questions

What is the difference between red chili and white chili?

Red Chili has a base of tomatoes and usually a darker meat and beans such as ground beef or turkey, and pinto or black beans.
White Chili has a base of green chiles, light meat like chicken, and white beans.

How do you thicken White Chili?

This recipe uses cream cheese and milk to help create the creamy texture, but if you like it thicker you can add 2 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour to the liquid ingredients before it’s cooked.

What liquid to add to chili?

This recipe uses milk and chicken broth. If you need more liquid added, add either one of those to add more flavor instead of using water.

Why is my white chicken chili not thick?

Sometimes juices from the cooking chicken and vegetables can cause the chili to become a little more liquid than usual. This is okay! Throughout the day some liquid will evaporate and the chili will become a little thicker.

More Delicious Chili Recipes

There’s more than one way to eat chili! Here are some of our family’s favorite chili recipes.

This White Chicken Chili is one of our favorite ways to enjoy chili. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

white chicken chili in bowl with tomatoes and avocado.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe

No ratings yet