Crockpot White Chicken Chili

A bowl full of a chicken chili topped with white cheddar cheese.

4.91 from 10 votes

Crockpot White Chicken Chili

This chili is full of perfectly shredded chicken and creamy stock without using any cream cheese, canned cream soups, or sour cream. Topped off with all the fresh toppings such as cilantro, freshly squeezed lime, jalapeno, avocado, sour cream, and sharp white cheddar cheese to enhance the richness and flavors.

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Total Time8 10

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: People

Calories: 399kcal

Author: Kristin

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Soup

1.5-2 pounds Chicken Breast Can be frozen or thawed. Will cook at different times. See Notes.
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Medium Onion Diced
2 Cloves of Garlic Minced or Pressed
2 15.5 ounce Cans White Cannellini Beans
1 4 ounce Can Diced Green Chilies
2 cups Frozen Corn
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Cumin
½ teaspoon Paprika
1 14.5 ounce Can Chicken Broth

For the Roux

3 tablespoons Butter
3 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Milk
¼ teaspoon Salt

Toppings

Fresh Cilantro
Limes
Shredded Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
Sour Cream
Jalapenos
Fritos

Instructions

Start off by placing the chicken in the crockpot, coating it in olive oil, and sprinkling it with salt and pepper on all sides. Set aside while you gather all the other ingredients.
Add in diced onions, garlic, beans, corn and chilies.
In a small bowl, mix together all the spices.
Sprinkle on top of the chicken, veggie and bean mix. Using a spatula, mix it all together.
Dump in the can of chicken broth.
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. (See notes on cooking time)
Chicken is done when it easily falls apart and shreds. If it doesn't shred easily allow it to cook a little longer.
About a half-hour before you are ready to serve, remove chicken from the crockpot and transfer to a plate or cutting board to shred. Dump back in the Crock-Pot.

Making the Roux

In a small saucepan melt butter over medium heat.
Sprinkle in flour and whisk until it starts to bubble. Keep whisking and allow the flour to cook and even turn a little brown. Be careful not to burn it.
While whisking, slowly pour in the milk. It will start to thicken, but as you pour the milk it will thin out.
Add the salt.
Allow to simmer until it starts to thicken up to a creamy texture. It's ready when you can dip a spoon in and it coats the back of it.

Putting together

Pour the roux into the crockpot along wtih the shredded chicken and stir to mix everything together.
Cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes, or until soup starts to thicken up.
Seve warm and finish with your desired toppings.

Notes

Notes and Tips

1. Don't skip the fresh stuff:

Use as fresh of ingredients as you can. That means fresh garlic cloves, real limes, freshly grated cheese, and cilantro. This really makes a big difference with this soup and brings out a freshness to it.

2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper first:

The first thing you want to do is coat the chicken in olive oil and then sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Set aside (or in the crockpot) while you gather and prepare all the other ingredients.

3. Can use frozen or thawed chicken. Frozen will take closer to the 8-hour mark and thawed will take closer to 6.

4. When shredding the chicken, I prefer to use a plate. It will be juicy so the plate helps catch all those juices so it can be added back to the soup.

Variations

Spicy: If you want your chili to be spicy add in some fresh jalapenos before cooking and some cayenne. Can also be served with some hot sauce of your choosing.
Vegetarian: If you would like to leave out the chicken just substitute for more beans and vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
Add More Veggies: This soup could handle extra veggies if that is your goal. Peppers would be a great addition. I would avoid things such as zucchini as they cook very quickly and could get mushy.
Make it Non-Creamy: Don't want to add flour and milk to your soup? No problem. Just leave out the roux and instead add some more chicken broth in the beginning.
Make it Creamier: If you want it even more creamy, add in about ½ cup of sour cream when you add the roux. This will intensify the creaminess.

Substitutions

Gluten-Free: The roux does call for flour so select a good gluten-free option to use as a thickener. Zest for Baking has 10 alternative Gluten-Free thickening agent ideas.
Beans: This recipe calls for Cannellini White Kidney Beans but I have also used Great Northern Beans and they work as well. I just find the Cannellini Beans hold up a little better. You could also use Pinto or even Garbanzo Beans.

Storage

Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Will keep up to 3-4 days.

Creamy soups do not hold up well to freezing. When brought back to room temp and heating it can cause the milk to separate. If you would like to freeze, leave out the roux and add it after it is thawed.

Reheating

Microwave: Divide soup among individual bowls and microwave for 1 minute. Stir, taste, and return to microwave for an additional 1 minute. Continue until you reach desired temp.
Stove: Pour soup into a saucepot and bring to temp over medium heat. Stir often to prevent burning. If you opted to freeze the soup, this will be when you want to make and add the roux in.

Nutrition