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.
Destiny says
Could you use something other then sour cream,or can I just leave it out,will it affect the thickness of the chili?
Julie says
No, you can leave it out. Should be fine!
Eva says
I always get requests to make this chili! I started using xanthum gum instead of flour to thicken it and it doesn’t take away any flavor. I throw in a bag of frozen chicken breasts and let it cook with the spices, stock, beans, and corn. An hour before serving, I mix 1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum to the 1cup milk, seasoned salt, pepper, and bouillon. I give it a quick blend with the immersion blender, then add it to the chili. Helps cut out some of the carbs even though I eat the beans and corn.
Stella says
This recipe is delicious. I did not have chicken broth so I used the liquid out of a can of chicken noodle soup that I had and a little wine. I also did not have white beans so I used black I did not have white corn so used frozen yellow corn. May not look as pretty as the original recipe but it is delicious nonetheless. Definitely do not think a dash of cayenne pepper is too spicy for kids I also ended up using about 2 pounds of chicken breast because that’s what I had.
Julie says
Stella, I love that you are resourceful and made it work with what you had on hand. Thanks for letting me know!
Julie Marie Boltz says
We are vegetarian and I made this using morning star farms chick’n strips and vegetable broth/boullion and it was FAN-freaking tastic!! My whole family cleaned their bowls and begged to have it added to regular rotation!
I cooked my chick’n in a pan beforehand so it wasn’t frozen and I could chop it up into bite sized pieces. Then added it to the crockpot exactly as in the directions. I left it to “warm” for 4 hours so the spices and would saturate the “meat” and beans and corn. Then followed the rest of the directions exactly. It’s our new favorite vegetarian chili!! Delish!
Kelly says
Do you happen to have nutrition facts for this recipe?
Margie says
This is my favorite crock pot recipe. I make it often and it’s always delicious.
Tracy says
I have chicken bouillon cubes not the powdered chicken base. How could I make this work?
Natalie says
I used 1 cube and it turned out great. I added it at the same time the recipe said to add in the powdered chicken base.
Sarah says
Hi Julie!
I made this a while ago and remember there being cream cheese involved- is there anywhere I can find the original recipe? My hubs has been raving to our family about how great it was and we were hoping to make it for them..!
Thanks so much!!!
Julie says
Hmmm… Not sure – this chili recipe hasn’t ever had cream cheese. Maybe it was from another site?
Stephanie D'Amico says
Best ever!!! Our go to!
Alyse says
I’ve been using this recipe for quite sometime as it’s one of my favorites. I wondered if anyone has tried it in the instant pot? If so how long do you cook?
Toney says
I make this in the instant pot all the time! 22 min gets the chicken good to go. It’s better if you let it naturally release vs rushing it. Then when you do the rue, just stir in and leave it on slow cook with the top off. Turns out amazing every time.
Kristen White says
I’ve been wondering how to make this in the InstantPot. So do you follow the crock pot recipe exactly but put in the Instant Pot on 22 minutes manual?
Aly says
We love this recipe! We eat it about every other week. It’s so easy to make, I love that I can just put everything in the crockpot. Thank you!
Sherron says
I have made this recipe countless times now, and it’s always delish! For those on WW, this is point friendly and yummy!! Only 4 freestyle points per serving.
Thanks for this wonderful, go-to, recipe!!
Dee says
Wow and double wow. Such a great recipe and amazing & well deserved reviews. I made it for the first – certainly not the last – time yesterday in my slow cooker. Used cornflour to thicken it as am GF and it was perfect. Couldn’t believe everyone saying how easy and delicious it is but now I know😋 Another slow cooker firm favourite. Thank you Julie.
Laura Haisten says
I have used this recipe for years now and still love it. Can you add recommendations for the instant pot please?
Natalie says
We loved this! Will definitely be making this again. I think I will add a little bit more chili powder and maybe another can of green chilis next time. Thanks for the recipe!
Lisa says
Has anyone made this in instant pot and if so how long should I cook it for? Thanks!
Heidi DeLuca says
DELICIOUS! Beyond amazing and easy! Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
Jacob Vieaux says
If I double the recipe. How big of a crockpot will I need. I have a 7 quart.
H Krugman says
You said you froze the chili and reheated it later…I’m thinking of making this for a funeral dinner that’s happening in a week, freezing it and then reheating in the crock pot. Did freezing it create any weird textures?
Nancy says
Can you freeze leftovers?
Julie says
Sure thing!