Slow Cooker Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili has great flavor thanks to the combination of ground chicken, bacon, fire roasted tomatoes, and a few other pantry staple ingredients. This chili recipe is absolutely delicious and the perfect meal for a nice chilly day (no pun intended).
If you love making chicken chili, then you’ll enjoy my Sweet Chili Chicken or White Chicken Chili. Or you can find this list of my best chili recipes ever!
Why this jalapeno popper chili recipe works
When you’re tired of canned chili, this takes the guesswork out of coming up with your own homemade chili recipe. Not to mention, it doesn’t call for a lot of ingredients prep and cooking time perfect. Between the great flavor and ease of cooking it, this good homemade chili is one you can put in a chili contest (and win)!
No taste testing is required as each of the ingredients brings so much flavor to the dish, making it the perfect meal to enjoy on a cold winter day. Keep reading to see just how easy it is to make this jalapeno popper chili in your crock pot. You may also want to try my Jalapeno Popper Chicken Sliders!
Recipe Ingredients
- Ground Chicken: This is where the recipe gets its “chicken” which is browned and seasoned with the ranch mix before adding it to the slow cooker. I don’t think ground chicken is used enough in recipes! It’s so good. (Ground turkey can be used in a pinch).
- Bacon: Adds an additional meaty flavor to the chili.
- Fire Roasted Tomatoes: If you’ve never cooked with these, then you’re in for a really tasty treat.
- Tomato Sauce: Helps create the chili base.
- Cream Cheese: Gives the chili a creamy-like texture and cheese flavor.
- Jalapeno: Several jalapenos are diced and used both in the chili and as a topping for serving.
- Onion: Always adds a nice flavor to a dish, especially in chili, where it’s slowly cooked to tender perfection.
- White Beans: These add some heartiness to the chili along with a bean flavor.
- Seasonings and Spices: The ranch mix is cooked with the ground chicken while cumin and chili powder are added with the remaining ingredients into the crockpot before cooking.
Step One – Add the ground chicken to a skillet, brown, and crumble. Then, add in the ranch seasoning mix and stir well.
Step Two – Add the seasoned ground chicken into the slow cooker along with the cream cheese (cubed), half of the bacon (cooked), canned diced tomatoes (fire roasted), tomato sauce, beans, onions, jalapenos, and seasonings.
Step Three – Stir all of the ingredients until well combined.
Step Four – Cover and let the chili cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6-7 hours. Serve and enjoy!
How to serve
- As-is: Jalapeno popper chicken chili can be served as is in a bowl. The flavors are enough to enjoy by themselves.
- Toppings: Of course, chili toppings can always help enhance the flavor. For this chili, consider adding shredded cheese, sour cream, fresh diced tomato, chopped cilantro, drained kernel corn, and extra chopped jalapenos.
- Dippers: Although this is chili, it’s not very runny at all, meaning you can serve it with tortilla chips, corn chips, or even oyster crackers.
Recipe FAQs
Sure! You can substitute the chicken for ground beef, shredded chicken breasts, rotisserie chicken, or ground turkey.
Any kind of bean will go well in this recipe. Red beans, cannelloni beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, and black beans are all great substitutes or additions.
Add extra ingredients such as green peppers, diced acorn squash, or corn.
Of course! You could always add more sliced jalapenos in addition to crushed red pepper, spicy green chiles, or spicy chili seasoning.
Add any remaining chili to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stovetop over medium low heat until warmed throughout.
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Slow Cooker Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili
Equipment Needed:
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. bacon (divided after being cooked)
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1 oz. ranch seasoning packet
- 3 jalapenos diced, seeds and all
- 1 cup sweet yellow onion (a small onion)
- 15 oz. fire-roasted tomatoes
- 15 oz. tomato sauce
- 15 oz. cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 1 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 8 oz. cream cheese cubed (use Philidelphia brand for best results)
For serving (optional)
- cooked bacon (from above)
- sliced jalapenos
- tortilla chips or cornbread
- cilantro
- shredded cheese
Instructions:
- Slice the bacon into inch sized pieces. Cook on the stove top. Drain the bacon on paper towels. Set aside.
- Wipe out your pan if needed and add the ground chicken. Cook until browned then add the ranch seasoning mix and stir.
- Add the ranch flavored chicken, HALF of the bacon (saving the other half in the fridge for serving later), the jalapenos, onion, diced tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin powder, and cubed cream cheese to the slow cooker.
- Stir.
- Cook for 4 hours on high or 6-7 on low. This may seem like a lot of cooking time, but it really takes this long to get the onions tender and all the flavors to meld.
- Stir, serve and enjoy. Top each bowl with the reserved bacon, jalapenos and cilantro if desired.
How to Video:
Recipe Notes:
- For spicer chili, you can always add more sliced jalapenos in addition to crushed red pepper, spicy green chiles, or spicy chili seasoning.
- Any kind of bean will go well in this recipe. Red beans, cannelloni beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, and black beans are all great substitutes or additions.
- Any type of ground meat will work such as ground beef, ground sausage or ground turkey.
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
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