One of my goals this year is to go camping more as a family. We’ve gone camping in the years past, and with three little boys, it can be umm… challenging. I love seeing my boys running wild and free in the wilderness as they were meant to do, but the bugs, meal planning, and freezing cold nights make me think twice.
No one sleeps very well, washing dishes is a pain in the rear, and the boys get dirt in every little crevice! It’s a lot of work to prepare for the trip, a lot of work once you get there, and a lot of work to put everything away when you get home. That’s a lot of work!
But on the other hand, we make memories, spend time with family and friends, become one with nature, and unplug from technology… which is all good and needed.
Last summer when we camped with my sister’s family and some family friends, my sister made this white chicken chili, froze it in Ziplocs and then warmed it up in a dutch oven for dinner.
It was pretty slick for campground cooking. I’m all about doing the prep work at home ahead of time where my dishwasher can do the dirty work for me!
It’s one of my family’s favorite meals in the wintertime, and I’ve made a few changes to make the recipe a little healthier.
The original recipe calls for canned soup and a packet of taco seasoning, and I simply made a white sauce that substitutes for the canned soup, and added the spices one by one. This cuts down on the processed food a little bit, and really doesn’t add too much time to the prep.
It’s convenient because it cooks all day while you do your thing, and then you add the creamy ingredients an hour before serving.
Go crazy with the toppings if you can! Fritos, shredded cheese, avocado, cilantro, and sour cream are my favorite. When we go camping again this year, I’m definitely putting white chicken chili on our menu!
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Creamy Crockpot White Chicken Chili
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Description
A family favorite made healthier, and so easy too! No cream of chicken soup or seasoning packets.
Ingredients
- 3–4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, uncooked
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- dash of cayenne pepper
- 14.5 ounce can chicken broth
- 4.5 ounce can chopped green chiles
- 15 ounce can white corn, drained
- 2 15.5 ounce cans white beans, drained (Cannellini or Great Northern are good)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon Better Than Bullion chicken base
- 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts on the bottom of a crockpot, and add chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chicken broth, green chiles, corn and beans. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- About an hour before serving: In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat. Whisk in flour, and allow to bubble and brown a bit. After a few minutes, gradually whisk in the milk and chicken base.
- Allow the sauce to simmer for 4-5 minutes, whisking frequently until it is slightly thickened. Add salt and pepper.
- Pour sauce into crockpot and mix to combine.
- Add sour cream and mix.
- If chicken has not already shredded with stirring, take out large pieces, shred them with two forks, and return to the crockpot.
- Let the chicken chili cook on low 1 more hour if you can.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 421
- Sugar: 5g
- Sodium: 704mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 7.1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.5g
- Trans Fat: 0.4g
- Carbohydrates: 39g
- Fiber: 7.1g
- Protein: 36g
- Cholesterol: 92mg
Disclaimer: the links in this post for the Better than Bullion chicken base are Amazon affiliate links.
Laura Miller says
I have done your recipe before and it was delicious! I’m planning on making it again this weekend for a get together and I have just about everything but the Better Than Bullion chicken base. Is there something I can substitute for?
Charity Burkholder says
How would you freeze this once since you have to make the sauce on the stove?
Hayley Perdue says
Can this be made on the stove?
Laura Rohrbach says
I am just about to make this but forgot to thaw my chicken! Can I make it with the chicken frozen?
Mel says
Is there a way to make this dairy free? What substitute would you use?
Amanda S. says
Don’t know if you got your answer but a good way to make dairy free is to use a chickpea paste for the roux instead of the milk and sour cream, and adding some avocado for additional creaminess and flavor!
Tara Lain says
This has been on rotation in my home for several years. My family LOVES it. I switched to making it in the instant pot a couple of years ago– same great taste in less than an hour.
Teri Nation says
Hi! I’m wondering if in the instapot you add everything but the sour cream (I’m going to use Greek yogurt) and cook it all together, adding sour cream once done?
Also 7 min cooking time sound about right?
Kathy Noble says
Can you send the recipe directions when using an install instead of slow cooker please
Penny says
You don’t show when to add the white pepper &seasoned salt.I went on & put both in ,in with the rest of the seasoning.Hopefully I didn’t mess this up,cause I’m serving it tonight!
Kelley M. says
I have a confession. I’ve been making this recipe for like 8 years now. I’ve made it probably like 30 times at the bare minimum. I love it, my husband loves it, my friends love it and ask me to make it. I’ve made it for a birthday dinner in the midst of summer. And I spice it up a but more than this recipe, but we do everything else the same. I am someone who tends to tweak recipes quite a bit to my liking, but this one doesnt need it. I will be making this recipe probably for the rest of my life. So thank you for that. I feel that it was time to finally give it the review it deserves.