Easy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

Overhead view of a bowl of slow cooked white chicken chili.

4.72 from 190 votes

Easy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

The slow cooker does all the work with this easy, flavorful, and healthy crockpot white chicken chili. This "dump and go" dinner will become a family favorite!

Prep Time15

Cook Time4

Total Time4 15

Total Cost: $9.63 recipe / $1.60 serving

Servings: 1.5 cups each

Author: Beth Moncel

Ingredients

1 yellow onion, small dice (heaping 1 cup, 225g) $0.76
2 cloves garlic, minced $0.12
1 jalapeño, small dice (optional)* $0.33
1 boneless skinless chicken breast (about 3/4 lb.)** $2.00
2 15oz. cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed $1.88
1 15oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed $0.94
1 Tbsp ground cumin $0.30
1 tsp dried oregano $0.10
¼ tsp cayenne pepper* $0.02
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper $0.02
1 16oz. jar salsa verde $2.92
2 cups chicken broth (16 oz.) $0.24

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, remove the crockpot lid and carefully use two forks to shred the chicken meat (you can also remove it, shred it on a cutting board, and then 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 your favorite ingredients, including shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, diced avocado, freshly squeezed lime, or tortilla chips (all optional).

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Notes

*This chili is a "medium" level spicy. If you want to make the chili more mild, skip the jalapeño and cayenne pepper, and make sure to use a mild salsa verde.

**Boneless, skinless chicken thighs will also work (you can brown it in a skillet first if preferred). If you want to use frozen chicken, I recommend thawing it first, as it can take too long to come up to a safe temperature in the crockpot.

***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, and the recipe, as listed here, filled it about halfway.

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