This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
This white chicken chili is so easy! I love a good one-pot meal. You basically toss everything into a slow cooker and let it be for half the day. It takes minimal effort and it’s definitely a crowd pleaser!
My co-worker, Amaia, shared this recipe with me after bringing it to a potluck. Thanks Amaia; it was well-loved by my husband ;). I hope your takeaway from the video tutorial is how easy this recipe really is!
Ingredients for white chicken chili:
2 chicken breasts (frozen or fresh)
1 (15 oz)can black beans; drained and rinsed (or cook your own beans!)
1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 (15 oz) can corn, un-drained
1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies, un-drained
1 Tbsp chili powder 1 tsp cumin
1 (o.4 oz) package ranch dressing mix
1/2 bunch of cilantro; chopped
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth (I used Better than bouillon reduced sodium)
1 (8oz) package cream cheese (regular or reduced fat)
Optional (but highly recommended) garnish:
Mixed Mexican cheese, sour cream and chives
The How To (please watch the video for the visual tutorial):
Place everything into the slow cooker in the order that it’s listed above:
1. Place 2 chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot.
2. Drain and rinse (rinse until water runs clear) black and white beans; then add them to the pot. P.S. We’re now cooking our own beans to reduce the amount of BPA in our diet. Click here to learn how to easily make your own beans.
3. Add finely chopped medium onion, un-drained can of corn, un-drained can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
4. Top with 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1 package ranch dressing mix, 1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro, 1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth (I used 1 cup and it does thicken up as it stands; especially after being refrigerated) and finally place your 8 oz package of cream cheese in the center.
5. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. After it’s been cooking 5 hours, break up the cream cheese into the rest of the mix. Cover and continue cooking the last hour (if you forget this step, it won’t hurt anything to mix it at the end).
6. After the 6 hours, remove the chicken breasts into a medium bowl and shred using two forks. The chicken is so tender it just falls apart. Place the chicken back into the slow cooker and stir to combine everything.
Amaia served this over baked potatoes topped with cheese and sour cream. It’s also great with tortilla chips or white rice.
Chicken Cream Cheese Chili (Slow Cooker Recipe)
Ingredients
For the chili, you will need:
- 2 chicken breasts
- 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 15 oz can of corn, with its juice
- 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies, with it's juice
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 0.4 oz ranch dressing mix packet
- 1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth, I used Better than bouillon reduced sodium mixed with water
- 8 oz cream cheese, regular or reduced fat
Optional (but highly recommended) garnish:
- shredded Mexican cheese, sour cream and chives
Instructions
Put everything into the slow cooker in the order that it's listed above:
- Place 2 chicken breasts in the bottom of the crock pot.
- Drain and rinse (rinse until water runs clear) black and white beans; then add them to the pot.
- Add finely chopped medium onion, undrained can of corn, undrained can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
- Top with 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1 package ranch dressing mix, 1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro, 1/2-1 cup chicken broth (depending on how thick you want it; I used 1 cup) and finally place your 8 oz package of cream cheese on top.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours. After it's been cooking 5 hours, break up the cream cheese into the rest of the mix. Cover and continue cooking the last hour (if you forget this step, it won't hurt anything to mix it at the end).
- After the 6 hours, remove the chicken breasts into a medium bowl and shred with two forks. Chicken should be fall-apart tender. Place the chicken back into the slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Serve over baked potatoes topped with cheese and sour cream. It's also great with tortilla chips or white rice.
Nutrition Per Serving
This Chicken Chilli was so delicious and super easy!! My family loved it (including my 4 and 1 year old! 😉
I was missing cumin so I didn’t add that but it was awesome without!
I am trying more of your recipes this week. Thanks Natasha!
Thank you for such a nice review Jessica and you are welcome 😀.
OMG, this was amazing! Another favorite that I will be putting in the dinner rotation from one of your recipes. You rock. Love your recipes.
5 Stars – for some reason your site is only letting me give 3, which is sooooooo wrong, it’s 10 stars!
Thank you for the awesome review! That’s odd about the stars. Were you trying on a mobile phone? What browser were you in? Thanks again! 🙂
My mac laptop. I hate that it looks like I gave it 3 stars, but now it’s letting me give 5, so hopefully this makes up for that!
Thanks Kelly! 🙂
Hi Natasha!
Is it okay to cook this meal on high for 4 hours instead of low to save some time?
It should still work on High for 3-4 hours. 4 might be a little too long on high. Check it at 3 hours for doneness.
I’m not a fan of cilantro. Can it be substituted with parsley? Thanks
Hi Tanya, I haven’t tested this with parsley but I imagine it would work fine although I think the flavors would compliment cilantro better.
I’m making this for work, but can I refrigerate it after its done cooking and then warm it up next day? Or should I just leave it on counter overnight
I wouldn’t leave it out since it has dairy and chicken in it. Let it cook to room temperature or just slightly warm, then refrigerate and reheat the next day.
Hi Natasha,
I am planning on making this chili for a work chili cook-off contest. I was wondering how your friend brought it in to work.. Did she make it the night before and then just keep it on “warm” all morning? I am trying to figure out which way would be the best way to make this so it still tastes fresh, but so I won’t be shredding chicken in the office lol.
If I recall correctly, I think she did shred chicken at work, but you could probably put everything in before going to bed and keep it on warm in the morning before work. If you’re serving it later in the day, I’d be a little concerned about keeping it on warm for a very long time.
Hi Natasha, quick question – would it be ok to cook this chili together with potatoes (in one crock pot, at once) or will it become a “mess”?
I haven’t tried to combine the two so I can’t really say if it would work, but I don’t think I would recommend that method. I think it’s best to cook the potatoes separately. If you have a second crockpot, you can wrap the potatoes in foil and keep them warm in there after they are baked.
Question…. Would it be ok to do this without the corn? Would I just leave the water in the beans in that case? also for the ranch seasoning…. Can I just use ranch dressing? Don’t have that kind of seasoning on hand…
Sorry I didn’t reply sooner – you can omit the corn and add the white beans with their liquid. Just don’t add the black beans liquid or it will discolor the chili. I haven’t tried with ranch dressing so I’m not sure how it would affect the flavor or texture of the finished chili. Without testing the ranch dressing, I couldn’t really tell you yes or no.
I made this yesterday:) very good!! I omitted the corn and used ranch dressing. Worked out great:) thank you very much for such an easy recipe!
It’s awesome to know it works! 🙂
Made this chili today. Husband loved it, but it was a little too spicy for my kids. So next time will cut the chili powder in half and use regular diced tomatoes without the chilies.
I think it will still taste great even if it’s less spicy. Thanks Inna! 🙂
This turned out incredibly delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe. I wasn’t quite sure about the cream cheese part at first because at the 5 hour mark it still looked firm, and then I put a spoon through it and it just melted away 🙂 thought I was gonna have to pull out the frozen pizza as an emergency backup dinner. Turned out wonderful!
I’m so happy you loved it! I think I totally need to make this tomorrow! 🙂 Thanks for tempting me 🙂
Oh this is БОМБА!!! seriously so good!!
I’m so happy you loved it! That is a very good reaction! lol.
Made this chili twice in the past two weeks. We love it. I would like to make it a little spicy. Any suggestions?
You might add some spicy seasoning to it, or some finely diced jalapeno.
Natasha, I’ve made this a few times already and it’s always a hit!!! (Especially on rainy days!) lol however; today I made it and totally forgot to add the broth ;( ;( just realized it, n it has an hour or so left!!!! Ugh!!
Ohh, I’m sorry to hear that, I have few moments like that before :(. Thank you for the good review :).
I am started to make this and i did whole pack of ranch instead .04oz. I didnt look at the recipe..oops.. I hope its still going to be okay.. What if I make this on high instead of low??
The whole ranch packet is 0.4 oz. If it’s the same size as mine, you were correct to add the whole thing. 🙂 My co-worker cooked it on high for a few hours to speed up the process then turned it down to low to finish it off, just keep an eye on it so it doesn’t scorch on high heat.
Hi Natasha, thx for the great recipe.I have been looking for a chili recipe for a while now and couldnt decide which one will be better but watching your video was very helpful! One question: I have a slow cooker, can i use that instead of hje crock pot?
Yes the crock pot is a slow cooker. Same thing 🙂 I hope you love the chili. It sure is tasty and super easy!
Thank you Natasha! I just didnt know if there was a difference since both have diff names lol i feel silly! 🙂 thx again!!!! 🙂
No problem. You’re funny 🙂
Hey Natasha,
I don’t eat meat, so do you think I can make it without it or it will kill the taste? Maybe, substitutions ideas? Mushrooms?
Thanks dear.
Hi Natasha,
Great recipe. I made this overnight (mind you, I had to get up at 6 am to turn it off). It tasted really good. I omitted the chili powder, after reading some comments of families with kids. And it was just right. I like spicy, but this was perfect for the entire family. Even the baby ate corn, beans and tiny pieces of meat from this. I had to actually take down and dust off my slow cooker, now I know its for those type of recipes that I bought it in the first place.
I’ll just have to make this for our next big family gathering and just impress everyone 🙂
I’m so glad you all enjoyed it. That’s the best when the children enjoy what you make 🙂 I love that feeling!
Natasha,
Also finally got your Russian Crepes recipe Featured on my website. Please check it and make sure the way I did it is to your liking. If not I can change it.
While your where check out my daughter in law in Germany recipe for “Falscher Hase” (False Hare).
“ArizonaBill”
Thank you for featuring me on your site Bill and I look forward to checking out your daughter in law’s recipe :).
Natasha,
Beginning to think I must have some Ukraine blood in me, read your sister Svetlana’s slow cooker Pulled Pork recipe and it’s almost like what I make.
Then I read your Chicken Cream Cheese Chile recipe and it’s almost like a White Chile that I make. Of course I never thought of taking it to a higher level as you have done with the Ranch dressing and Cream Cheese !
Showed this recipe to my Wife as she loves cream cheese and Chile both, so now I have orders from her to get this cooked up by next week even if is summer in Arizona.
Thanks and Best Wishes, Your cooking friend,
“ArizonaBill”
That’s awesome! I hope you both love those recipes; we sure do! 🙂
That’s awesome! I hope you both love those recipes; we sure do! 🙂
Natasha, thank you soooo much for this recipe, it is the best thing Ive ever tried in slowcooker. It is so good, whole my family (six people) liked this chili, (except my 3 year old, she doesnt like beans:)) and everyone loved it.
Great, reading your comment made me hungry for some of that chili :).