This flavorful, mildly spiced, and creamy slow cooker chicken chili is a favorite dinner recipe to make again and again. It freezes well, is super customizable, and leftovers keep for days! There’s no pre-cooking or complicated prep required, so it’s a true “set it and forget it” crockpot meal.
I originally published this recipe in 2016 and have since added new photos and more helpful success tips.
I know I’m not alone when I sing the praises of the slow cooker. I especially love and appreciate a tasty slow cooker dinner recipe, where you can toss everything in the pot early in the day, push a button, and dinner is ready when you are! That’s how I make creamy chicken & corn soup, slow cooker turkey meatballs, honey teriyaki chicken, and slow cooker BBQ meatballs, too.
Slow Cooker Chicken Chili: Recipe on Repeat
I can’t even tell you how many times we’ve made this easy slow cooker chicken chili in the past 9 years. Every time a family member, neighbor, or friend has a baby, I take them a batch. (Who doesn’t find comfort in home-cooked chili? Especially new parents!) Every time we have friends over to watch a football game, I make this chili. And every time I want to prep freezer meals, I make another batch. It’s on the top of my list of 30+ back to school recipes and 30 fall dinner recipes.
This easy slow cooker chicken chili makes a big batch that reheats well, making it a convenient and practical option for busy schedules.
Here’s Why You’ll Love It Too:
- Easy: No pre-cooking required, this is a “set it & forget it” one-pot slow cooker meal
- Flavorful: filled with traditional chili flavors and a little spice
- Satisfying: warm, cozy, and comforting
- Adaptable: swap out the chicken, beans, and veggies to suit your taste
- Make-ahead & freezer friendly: so convenient!
One reader, Brigette, commented: “I’ve been on the hunt for the best chicken chili recipe for years. I made this today and I’m pretty sure I’ve found it! Thank you so much for sharing! ★★★★★“
Another reader, Steve, commented: “This recipe has been in my regular rotation every couple of weeks for a long time now. Everyone in my family loves it. I tweak it a bit like most cooks do to suit personal preference, but really this recipe works great even as is… and it’s simple, too. Having it tonight, actually. ★★★★★“
Ingredients in Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
Everything goes into the slow cooker at once. No pre-cooking!
- Canned Diced Tomatoes: Use 2 standard-size cans (or 1 large 28-ounce can) of diced or petite-diced tomatoes. Drain out the liquid first.
- Tomato Sauce: Use plain tomato sauce as the base of this chili. I usually pick up two 8-ounce cans of Hunts tomato sauce, or one 15-ounce can. You can use homemade tomato sauce, too.
- Chicken: You need about 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts. To make it vegetarian, skip the chicken and add another can of beans and/or chopped sweet potato.
- Chicken Broth: Use 1 cup chicken broth. I usually use the reduced-sodium kind. If you have homemade chicken stock or broth, that works too!
- Onion & Bell Pepper: Let’s add a little freshness to the one-pot dinner with flavorful onion and diced bell pepper. I like the color contrast green pepper provides, but you can use red, yellow, or orange bell pepper here instead.
- Black Beans & Corn: I love adding these because the duo brings a southwestern vibe to the whole dish. You can use canned or frozen corn. If you don’t have black beans, swap in kidney or pinto beans. Use what you enjoy and/or have in the pantry.
- Jalapeño: 1 jalapeño adds the perfect amount of spice. Feel free to skip it if desired.
- Garlic, Salt, Dried Oregano, Chili Powder, & Cumin: Each ingredient adds key flavor. I don’t recommend cutting any of them from the recipe. In fact, I usually add a little more of each after I taste the finished chili.
- Cream Cheese: Trust me. See below!
This recipe cooks on low heat in the slow cooker for 7 hours. If you’re looking for a slow cooker and need a recommendation, I have this one and this one, and both are fantastic.
If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can cook this chili on the stove. See detailed recipe Note below.
Besides chopping some ingredients and using a can opener, the only hands-on “work” is shredding the chicken.
Remove the cooked chicken breasts, shred them with two forks (it’s easy because they’re so tender!), then stir the shredded chicken back into the crockpot and cook for 15 more minutes before serving.
Best Ingredient of All
You can make regular chicken chili or you can make the BEST CHICKEN CHILI. Which do you prefer?
Stir in a little cream cheese when you add the shredded chicken. The cream cheese melts and creates a thick and creamy base for all these flavors and textures. It slightly cuts the heat, too. I’m not kidding—everyone I’ve made this chili for has asked me what my secret is—it’s the cream cheese!!
I usually add 4 ounces of cream cheese, but you can use the whole 8-ounce brick if you like it extra creamy. You can use full-fat or reduced-fat cream cheese. Whichever you use, just make sure that you don’t use cream cheese spread. Pick up an 8-ounce brick of cream cheese, like the kind you use to make cheesecake.
After you mix in the cream cheese, the chili will be creamy and lighter in color. Taste it. At this point you can add more salt, chili powder, or additional spices if desired.
Is This Chicken Chili Spicy?
No. The recipe written below makes a mildly spicy chili that has just enough heat to bring flavor without burning your tastebuds. (The cream cheese helps cut the spice, too!)
But the heat level here is really up to you! Add more jalapeño if you like your chili with a kick, or omit it entirely for a very mild chili. The type of chili powder you use makes a difference, too. Have you heard of the Scoville scale? It’s a measurement of how hot/spicy different chili peppers are, rated in SHU (Scoville heat units). It’s a big range! Check the label of your chili powder for a heat rating. Some of the most common ones you’ll find in the spice aisle of the grocery store are ancho chili powder (mild), chipotle chili powder (medium), and cayenne pepper (hot). I typically make this slow cooker chicken chili with a mild chili powder.
You can adjust the spices in my pumpkin chili, sweet potato turkey chili, and cornbread chili casserole, too.
Adapt & Make It Your Own
This slow cooker dinner recipe is infinitely adaptable. This is a convenient base recipe where you can add/reduce pretty much anything in order to fit your family’s preferences. Leave out the corn, or add extra if you wish. If you don’t have black beans, swap in kidney or pinto beans. I’ve even turned it into slow cooker vegetarian chili by swapping the chicken for more beans and cubed sweet potato.
For serving, toppings such as shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, avocado, and/or sour cream pair beautifully with this chicken chili. I also love scooping it up with tortilla chips.
However you make it, my #1 suggestion is to serve this one-pot meal with cornbread or cornbread muffins. You won’t regret it!
Print
My Favorite Slow Cooker Chicken Chili Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours, 10 minutes
- Yield: serves 10
- Category: Chili
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Description
This flavorful, mildly spiced, and creamy slow cooker chicken chili is a favorite dinner recipe to make again and again. It freezes well, is super customizable, and leftovers keep for days! There’s no pre-cooking or complicated prep required, so it’s a true “set it and forget it” crockpot meal. See recipe Notes if you’d like to make it on the stove.
Ingredients
- 2 (14.5-ounce/411g) cans petite diced tomatoes, drained (or 1 28-ounce/794g can)
- 1 (15-ounce/425g) can tomato sauce
- 2 large skinless boneless chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs/680g)
- 1 cup (240g/ml) chicken broth (I use reduced-sodium)
- 1 cup (130g) diced yellow onion*
- 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 (15-ounce/425g) can corn (rinsed and drained) or 1 package of frozen corn
- 1 (15-ounce/425g) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 jalapeño, minced (remove seeds and ribs)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano or Italian seasoning blend
- 2 teaspoons chili powder (reduce to 1 teaspoon for less spicy chili)
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 ounces (113g) full-fat or light brick-style cream cheese*, at room temperature
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients except the cream cheese to a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Stir everything together until combined. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours or on high for 3 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and transfer it to a large plate or cutting board. Using 2 forks, shred the tender chicken. You could also just cut it into bite-size pieces. Return the chicken to the slow cooker and add the cream cheese. Stir everything together until the cream cheese has melted. Taste, then add more salt or seasonings if desired.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook for 10–15 more minutes.
- Serve warm topped with fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, and/or sour cream. And serve alongside cornbread or cornbread muffins. Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze in a freezer-safe container or a few smaller containers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or place the container/bag in the sink filled with warm water. Once thawed, cook in a large pot on medium heat for 30 minutes, or reheat in the microwave until warmed throughout.
- Special Tools (affiliate link): 6-quart or Larger Slow Cooker (like this one or this one)
- Substitutions: The spices like cumin, chili powder, and oregano/Italian seasoning blend are crucial to the taste. However, the following adaptions work well if needed. Homemade tomato sauce works wonderfully instead of canned. You can use ground turkey or ground beef instead of chicken. Brown on the stove first (medium-high heat for 8 minutes), then add to the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients. You can also use vegetable or beef broth instead of chicken broth. You can add more peppers, onions, or beans if you want (sometimes I do!). You can use kidney beans or white beans instead of black beans. Add more garlic or jalapeño if desired. And, finally, for vegetarian chili, you can add 1 more can of beans and swap the chicken for 3 cups uncooked diced and peeled sweet potato.
- No Slow Cooker? No Problem! Chop the raw chicken into bite-sized pieces. Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a very large pot or Dutch oven on the stove over medium heat. Add the diced onion, chopped bell pepper, jalapeño, salt, dried oregano, chili powder, cumin, and garlic. Stir and cook until the peppers have softened and the chicken is cooked. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the cream cheese, to the pot. Cover and cook for 30 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally. After about 30 minutes, stir in the cream cheese until melted and cook, uncovered, for an additional 5 minutes. Serve.
- Cream Cheese: I find that it’s helpful to slightly warm the cream cheese before adding to the hot chili in step 2. Unwrap it, place on a plate, and simply microwave it for 15–20 seconds before stirring into the chili. This helps it combine much easier into the hot chili.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I mistakenly put in 8 oz of cream cheese instead of 4 oz when I made this recipe.
Is there anything I can do to rectify this outside of making another recipe (minus the cream cheese) and adding it to what I’ve already made?
Thanks.
Hi Anne! There’s nothing wrong with extra creamy chili! You could definitely just enjoy it as-is.
This recipe is delicious and super easy. I followed the recipe and made it twice. My family loves it.
Very tasty. Def adjust seasonings at end, we doubled them, added another half chopped jalapeño and some red pepper for mild heat. Also added a glug of Worcestershire.
This was so good! It was easy to throw together and was really tasty. I think I doubled the spices, just because I wanted a bit more flavor, but stayed true to the recipe otherwise. My youngest daughter gobbled this up so fast! Thanks for a great chili recipe!
Do you have nutritional information on this recipe?
Hi Nancy, we don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I made the slow cooker chicken chili last weekend and it was delicious!!! My granddaughter text me from school saying how great it was. So easy,the house had a pleasant aroma all day. I have 3 containers in the freezer and a large bowl in the fridge. Definitely making again.
Please start including nutritional values to recipes.
Many of recipes look good but since they don’t include nutritional
Values, I don’t try them. Many thanks
Hi Ruth, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Made this a few weeks ago for dinner for my Bible study group, and then made it again for a Super Bowl gathering. Everyone loved it! I love how easy it was to make and transport (slow cooker with a locking lid is the best invention!). It’s such a flexible recipe. I added chili beans and chipotle chili powder. I meant to add pre-cut sweet potato cubes for the Super Bowl, but I forgot. It would have been delicious! Cream cheese addition is awesome. And you can feed a crowd for not much money. It’s definitely a keeper!
Can I use ground chicken instead of chicken breasts?
Hi Angela, ground chicken should work just fine, but be sure to brown it on the stove before adding to the chili. Enjoy!
This is our long-time favorite chili! I’ve been making this for years and it never fails to tastes delicious and warm up the family on wintry nights. I like to whip up a quick batch of baked cheese quesadillas to serve with it. Yum.
Thank you, Sally for ALL of your tasty recipes, easy-to-follow instructions, and gorgeous photography.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Betsy!
This is the easiest and absolute best chicken chili recipe I’ve ever made or eaten. We all love it and it is now a part of my dinner and lunch rotation. Thank you!
So delicious! I don’t owe a slow cooker and make this on the stovetop. I like to saute the onions and bell pepper first and then add the remaining ingredients until everything is cooked before adding the tomatoe sauce. I find simmering everything for half an hour is sufficient on the stovetop. Since I like my chili to be thick, I usually use less chicken broth. Perfect to use any leftovers, last batch had some mushrooms in it.
Definitely a wonderful dish, as we are only two, I usually make the whole recipe and freeze the rest. Yum!
I really loved this chili and so does my husband. I made yesterday for the
Super bowl and it was so easy. I would love more slow cooker recipes.
I also loved your cauliflower, potato soup.
I love all your recipes. Thank you for sharing.
Found this recipe in my emails yesterday, and made it today! My husband loved it too! Definitely a keeper! Skipped the cream cheese and salt, as I’m watching what I eat! Didn’t matter, it was delicious! Put all the ingredients into MyFitnessPall, and it’s only 184 kcal per serving AND 14.6 G protein!! That’s awesome! Sally everything I’ve ever made from your site has been a hit! Thank you!!
This recipe is delicious. I was looking for something to use up some black beans and leftover roasted chicken, this hit the spot. Perfect with some cornbread. I’m going to use the immersion blender on some of the leftover chili and make a dip for Super Bowl. It tastes that good. Thank you
My son likes all of the ingredients except tomato’s , tomato sauce.
What can I use to substitute for a white/creamy chicken chili?
Hi Terri, we haven’t tested a white chili version, so it would take some experimenting to find the best substitutes. Let us know if you try anything or find a white chili recipe that you enjoy!
How about green salsa? I’ve had that version before and it’s tasty.
Hi there…wondering if I could used already pulled rotisserie chicken for this recipe. If so, how much 2 cups maybe? When you add it, after the 3 hour cook time along w/the cream cheese??
Hi Dawn, absolutely! You can use store-bought rotisserie chicken and add it in the beginning when you’d add the raw chicken. Cook time can be a couple hours less.
Hello, I love this recipe the week after Thanksgiving, I substitute the dark meat from the carcass of the bird for the chicken. I also like to include as many different kinds of beans as you can fit in the crockpot for texture, the garlic will want to turn the chili sour before the leftovers get all ate up if you like keeping a big batch in the fridge. And finally celery is a fantastic option for a little crunch, sometimes i have noticed that when i add a lot of tomatoes i wont need to add any tomato sauce as it will overpower the rest of the dish. And finally, dont forget to add 2 packets of Mckormicks HOT chili seasoning for that little extra bite. This meal goes great over fresh made corn bread with some grated cheese over the top. Be sure when adding water to your mixture to thin it as it will be very thick from the veggies not reducing yet, that it is bottled water without chlorine additives. This keeps literally for weeks.
Would love to try this! Can it be made in an Instant Pot?
Hi Donna! I’m sure it could. I don’t have one to test it though! Let me know if you try it.
Do you think I could use a few cans of chicken (like tuna fish cans but chicken) I got from Costco rather than the chicken breasts?
Hi Nancy, that would be fine. Since it’s already cooked, I would add it with maybe only 1 hour left in the cook time.
I absolutely love this recipe – it’s always a hit with my family and friends.
My daughter is a big fan of black beans so I throw in two cans of seasoned black beans. The recipe still comes out perfect without changing anything else.
This won me the church chili cook off 3 years running lol
I have made lots of different chili recipes but this recipe was by far everyone’s favorite. So much, that they were taking spoonfuls out of the crock pot before dinner was even served! I used one pack of frozen chicken breasts from Costco and they were only partially thawed by mid-day even though I had put the rest of the recipe together and turned the pot on around 9:30am. I sliced the partially thawed chicken breasts lengthwise and added them to the pot around 12:30pm and then took them out around 4:30pm to shred the meat. It all got returned to the pot with the cream cheese being added 30 minutes before serving. The easiest and tastiest recipe ever! Thank you for this.
This chicken chili was a big hit at my book club meeting…everyone went back for seconds
Loved this recipe for meal prepping post partum meals. It’s easy to adjust to make on the stove top as well! The cream cheese is a fine touch 🙂
I love this recipe and so does my family! I have been making this for a few years now. Sometimes I’m fussy and saute my onions and garlic before adding to the Crock-Pot. Other times, I’m lazy, and just throw them in the Crock-Pot. Either way, it turns out great! I add mushrooms, green pepper, celery.
Sometimes I leave out the broth or only add half a cup so it’s not too soupy.
I usually make it with 4 breasts to up the protein.
Sometimes I add different spices (coriander and paprika) but even if I don’t, it’s great.
I am really glad I stumbled upon this recipe as a healthier way (leaner meat) to make chili! Thanks!
So glad to read this!
I love this recipe so much! I am making this for a friend who is allergic to dairy products. What can I use instead of cream cheese?
Hi Jaise, you can omit the cream cheese if needed, or try a plant-based version. The soup will not be quite as creamy if you omit completely.
Hi I tried the recipe a couple of weeks ago. Was amazed by the taste and easiness of the recipe. However, I was wondering why it comes out very watery? Am I doing something incorrectly? I still loved it that way but would like a thicker consistency.
Hi Maria, did you add the cream cheese? That will help thicken it quite a bit. In the future, if it’s too liquidy you can try cooking for longer – uncovered – so that some of the liquid evaporates out. You can also try reducing the chicken broth just a bit. Thanks for giving this one a try!
To thicken you can blend 1 can of cannellini beans with the broth/stock in a Vitamix before adding to the slow cooker.
This came out so good! I typically don’t like chili but I used rotisserie chicken, and topped it with some cilantro and tortilla chips and it was delicious!
So delicious! I used puréed tomatoes from our garden…worked out very well. Great flavor. I used mesquite flavored chicken