Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
104 CommentsUpdated Jan 30, 2026
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Change up your chili game with this creamy and flavorful Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili recipe. Made from scratch with plenty of spiciness and decadence, this will be the best chicken chili you will ever make!
Featured Comment
This is a keeper! Best white chili I ever had. Thank you very much.
– marty
The first time I had crockpot white chicken chili was at a soup and chili party. A friend brought it, and it was the only pot that disappeared down to the last spoonful! I had to recreate it—and after testing and tweaking, this version is one you’re going to love.
Key Ingredients
Here’s a quick breakdown of the ingredients that make this white chicken chili so hearty and flavorful:
- Chicken & Beans – Boneless skinless chicken breasts and creamy cannellini beans make up the hearty base.
- Corn & Chiles – Whole kernel corn and fire-roasted green chiles add sweetness and a touch of smoky heat.
- Broth & Onion – Chicken broth and diced sweet onion create a flavorful foundation.
- Spices – A bold blend of chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Finishing Touches – Sour cream and fresh cilantro stirred in at the end for creaminess and brightness.
How to Make Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
- Add the chicken, beans, corn, broth, green chiles, onion, and seasonings to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook until the chicken is fully cooked and tender.
- Shred the chicken right in the slow cooker.
- Stir in the sour cream and cilantro before serving.
Tips & Variations
Some ideas to change up the recipe!
Meat Swap: Try turkey breast, ground turkey, or rotisserie chicken for a change.
For more spice: In place of the fire-roasted chiles, use a diced jalapeno or a poblano pepper.
Sour cream swap: For a creamier chili, stir in a block of cream cheese at the end or add a can of cream of chicken soup at the start.
To thicken: add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to 2 tablespoons of water. Add to the cooked chili and cook for 10 minutes longer.
Ways to Serve White Chicken Chili
Here are the toppings and sides we love on our crockpot white chicken chili:
- Enjoy with shredded Jack cheese, lime wedges, sour cream, cilantro, and diced avocado on top.
- For texture, top with Fritos or crushed-up tortilla chips.
- Great sides are warmed flour tortillas, or cornbread with butter and honey (we love the Krusteaz brand).
- To make the recipe stretch into more servings consider serving over white rice!
Instant Pot Directions
Seal the lid on the instant pot. Move the valve to the sealing position. Cook on manual pressure for 20 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. Shred the chicken and add the sour cream and cilantro after the cooking time is complete. (Check your manual for safety instructions).
How to Make This into a Freezer Meal
You can make this recipe into a freezer meal by placing raw ingredients into a freezer Ziplock bag and freezing for up to 3 months. Thaw (in the fridge) and cook when you are ready. Keep the cilantro and sour cream separate and add that after cooking when shredding the chicken.
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili Recipe
How to Video
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. chicken breasts, (chicken thighs work great in this recipe too)
- 30 oz. Cannellini Beans, (two 15-oz. cans) drained (can use great northern beans)
- 8.75 oz. can whole kernel corn, (drained well) or two cups of frozen corn
- 30 oz. chicken broth OR chicken stock, (two 15-oz. cans) or 4 cups water and 2 chicken boullion cubes
- 4 oz. can fire roasted green chiles, or 1 diced poblano pepper
- 1 cup sweet yellow onion, diced
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- ½ tsp. oregano
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- 1 cup sour cream (or 8 ounces cream cheese), (ADD AT THE END OF THE COOKING TIME)
- ⅛ cup minced cilantro, (ADD AT THE END OF THE COOKING TIME)
Instructions
- Add the chicken, beans, corn, chicken broth, green chiles, onion, chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the slow cooker. WAIT TO ADD THE SOUR CREAM AND CILANTRO. Stir.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
- When the cooking time is done, shred the chicken with two forks.
- Add the sour cream and cilantro. Stir.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More crockpot chili recipes
Skip the takeout and try Crockpot Wendy’s Chili, loaded with ground beef, beans, and veggies for that classic flavor at home.
Make fall dinner extra cozy with Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chili or go bold with Slow Cooker Venison Chili, a lean, hearty twist.
For crowd-pleasing flavor, serve up Slow Cooker Chili or use leftovers in Prime Rib Chili—both slow-cooked to perfection. For something with heat, try my buffalo chicken chili.
My family did not enjoy this at all, all the flavors together were not a good combination.
Liked this recipe but liked it better after a couple tweaks. As written it is thin, more like a soup. Second time I made it I cut back on the broth and that helped. I also like a little more spice so used Chipotle chili powder and added some smoked paprika.
Note on beans: if you add them at beginning they will turn very mushy. I always add mine at the end (they just need to be warmed after all) and it gives the chili more structure.
Everyone enjoyed the chili. It is an easy dish to leave as leftovers for busy new parents.
Wow! Needed to make a chile in my crock pot as I was going to be gone most the day. So easy! Threw everything in my crockpot and set on low. Used cannellini beans and cream cheese instead of sour cream. Didn’t add the corn but added some chopped chipotle chiles…OMGOSH! Made this for our pickleball group. Everyone loved it!!! The little bit of leftovers I had, I ate the next day, over a cornbread muffin and topped with cheese and avocado…delicious!
I’ve made this a few times and it’s fantastic! I add extra green chiles and use skinless boneless chicken thighs! THE BEST white chicken chili EVER!
Best white chicken chili recipe I’ve tried so far!
Does this hold up to freezing?
Yes!
Do canned beans get mushy? Has anyone tried with dry beans?
I thicken mine with 2 cans of the beans and an immersion blender. I still used cream cheese and sour cream just not a ton of either. I like the consistency better.
This chili was delicious!! Definitely a keeper. So good on a cold weeknight. I had avocados, tortilla chips, mini corn muffins, extra limes and cilantro. I added a few more spices. A couple different chili powders and it was really perfect. My husband and son added sour cream to their bowls but I try to avoid dairy and mine was really good without the sour cream. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
If you choose to use already cooked chicken (rotisserie), wouldn’t the cook time be reduced pretty drastically?
8 hours (low) for uncooked chicken makes sense, but seems very long if the chicken is already cooked.
You can probably get away with 5 hours. The vegetables take quite a while to soften, especially onions.