Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Chili (2024)

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4.60 stars (55 ratings)

Oct 2, 201383

This simple and delicious white bean chicken chili, simplified for slow cooking, is practically screaming “Make me!” for the upcoming fall and winter months.

I’ve been making a variation of this slow cooker chili forever now and finally ordered myself to write down the ingredients in amounts (instead of “a bit of this and throw some of that in and add a handful of this”) and get it out here for you to see and to make and to love.

Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Chili (1)

Fairly straightforward, this chili is pumped up with a few savory spices and a hint of fresh lime and cilantro stirred in at the end.

Don’t even think about skipping the garnishes – the cheese and avocados and sour cream and crushed tortilla chips take a pretty good white bean chili and skyrocket it into straight up deliciousness.

Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Chili (2)

Kind of wish I had a slow cooker pot of this simmering right now instead of the leftover night built into my menu plan (leftovers equal a necessary evil especially when your name is Mel and you can’t stand to waste food – do you do leftover nights? love them? hate them?).

One Year Ago: Hearty Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Two Years Ago: Texas-Style Blueberry Cobbler
Three Years Ago: Chili-Rubbed Pork with Apricot Glaze

Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Chili

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 8 hours hrs

Total Time: 8 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

4.60 stars (55 ratings)

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Ingredients

Soup:

1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1 tablespoon oil
½ cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 poblano pepper or large green pepper, diced
32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon chili powder
2 cans (15-ounces each) white beans (like Great Northern), rinsed and drained
Juice of 1 lime
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Garnishes:

Sour cream
Diced avocado
Chopped cilantro
Shredded cheese
Tortilla chips

Instructions

Place the chicken in the bottom of a round, 5-quart slow cooker. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil until rippling and hot. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper and saute for 3-4 minutes. Scrape the mixture into the slow cooker.
Add the chicken broth and stir in the cumin, salt, pepper, oregano, and chili powder.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Remove the chicken and shred into bite-sized pieces. Stir in the rinsed and drained beans. Cook on high for 30 minutes until beans/soup are heated through. Stir in the lime and cilantro and add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with garnishes.
See Also
Classic Slow Cooker Chili My Mom's Classic Chili {Stovetop or Slow Cooker}Creamy White Chicken Chili {Stovetop or Slow Cooker}Hearty Turkey and Bean Chili

Notes

Zucchini Variation: a variation we’ve come to love recently is to add chopped zucchini to the chicken and broth mixture, letting it cook for 6-8 hours with everything else. I scoop out all the zucchini and a bit of the broth and give it a good blend in the blender and stir it back in with the beans. It adds a hint of thickness and creaminess (you can thank this soup for the idea).

Author: Mel

Serving: 1 Serving, Calories: 464kcal, Carbohydrates: 35g, Protein: 35g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 85mg, Sodium: 331mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 2g

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Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

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posted on October 2, 2013 (last updated March 21, 2024)

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83 comments on “Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Chili”

Jolyn — October 12, 2020 @ 5:57 pm Reply
Made this tonight and my family loved it. Taking a hint from several of your recipes, I added some sweet potato chunks. And I made it in the Instant Pot starting with a pound of dry beans. Thanks, Mel!
For any interested, I cooked the beans for 25 minutes, then drained, then sautéed the onions, pepper and garlic, added a couple chunks of zucchini, pressure cooked again for a couple minutes, added sweet potato chunks and pressure cooked for another three minutes. Put the zucchini in the blender with about a cup of beans and enough water to cover, blended, then added back to soup along with beans and chicken. Heated through on sauté function. Next time I will probably only pressure cook the sweet potatoes for two minutes. They were a bit softer than I like. But my son really liked them as they turned out-mushy.
- Jolyn — October 12, 2020 @ 5:58 pm Reply
  BTW, I had precooked chicken.
Kara Bowder — December 5, 2018 @ 12:15 pm Reply
Could you adapt this for the instant pot?
- Mel — December 5, 2018 @ 9:23 pm Reply
  I haven’t tried it yet but I’m sure it could somehow work in the IP…
- Amber Carpenter — January 1, 2019 @ 4:40 pm Reply
  I made this today in my instapot and it worked just fine. Just put the ingrenidents in and used pressure cook setting on high for 25 minutes. Then took chicken out and shredded it and blended up the veggies and then put it on sauté for a little bit for the beans to get warmed through. Pretty easy!
Kristen — November 13, 2018 @ 10:19 am Reply
It is my family’s favorite! So delicious!
Becky Homme — October 10, 2018 @ 9:24 am Reply
We love this recipe! It has become a staple for family and entertaining meals. I usually shorten the process by using rotisserie chicken and it tastes fantastic.
Jamie — June 11, 2018 @ 7:59 pm Reply
Sooo good! I have a recipe similar to this, but this has better flavor and is simpler to prepare. Next time I think I will skip sauteing the pepper, onion and garlic and just add it to the crockpot raw.
Boz — April 20, 2018 @ 2:03 am Reply
I know this is probably left-of-field, but do you just serve with whole corn chips on the side or break them up and sprinkle on top?
- Mel — April 20, 2018 @ 11:32 pm Reply
  Either/or works just fine!
Lacie — March 25, 2018 @ 7:35 am Reply
I love this chili! The first time I made it was a couple years ago and it’s been constantly asked for by my family since. Adding the zucchini (from your notes) is the best! I’d have to say it’s my favorite soup!
Gretchen — January 5, 2018 @ 2:04 pm Reply
So good!! Me and my husband loved it
Stacy — November 18, 2017 @ 6:10 am Reply
One of my family’s favorite recipes. It is printed and placed on the front page of my “favorites” recipe binder.
- Jen — May 21, 2020 @ 8:23 pm Reply
  Have you Frozen this soup before? I’m looking for some easy freezer meals.
  - Mel — May 21, 2020 @ 11:26 pm Reply
    Yes, it freezes great!
Kelsey — November 3, 2017 @ 10:19 am Reply
How can I adapt this for cooking on the stove instead of a slow cooker?
- Mel — November 6, 2017 @ 11:19 am Reply
  I haven’t made it on the stove, but you could try simmering for 20-30 minutes.
Sara — September 25, 2017 @ 4:18 pm Reply
M uy rica la spa de pollo me gustaría otras cremosas y de verduras
Lynn — September 24, 2017 @ 4:08 pm Reply
I make this and freeze it, it works great. I add the cheese, green onions to the top before I freeze it. I serve with all the toppings and included flour tortillas. Just in case a burrito sounds perfect! I heat it on 350 until it bubblies. If heated completely frozen allow 2 hours.
Jeremiah — September 23, 2017 @ 5:39 pm Reply
If someone has just dry beans, they can use the slow cooker to soak the beans overnight. First rinse 16 oz or a pound of beans,. Then add to crockpot and cover with water. Make sure water reaches to the top of the pot. The set pot on low and let them cook overnight. By morning the beans should be done (nice and sift). Drain off all the water, remove the beans and set them aside, then start the chicken. Cooking beans in the crockpot is so much easier than the pressure cooker and after you add all ingredients together and let them cook together for an hour or two, it tastes amazingly better.
Anna — April 13, 2017 @ 8:22 pm Reply
I made this on the stove top (it’s almost finished, yay!) because I just had dry navy beans and didn’t know if they would cook in the slow cooker in the time I had. I subbed a pound of dry navy beans and two big chicken leg quarters (about a pound of chicken total) for the canned beans and boneless skinless chicken meat (and broth). I also stirred in half a cup of brown rice about an hour before the end of cooking to thicken it a bit. The flavor is great and I am excited to eat it. Thank you!
Kate — December 31, 2016 @ 10:15 am Reply
Any tips for adapting this for a pressure cooker like the instant pot?
- Mel — January 2, 2017 @ 9:42 am Reply
  I’d probably throw it all in there and cook at high pressure for 10-20 minutes.
Trish Pines — September 25, 2016 @ 6:35 pm Reply
Made this tonight!!! It’s a keeper! Thanks for a healthy tasty recipe.
Trish Pines