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 made this chili recently and loved it! I am planning on making it again with ground beef. Sally, would you recommend putting it right in the slow cooker or cooking it partially first?
Hi Audrey! I would brown the ground beef first. When I make this slow cooker chili with ground turkey, I always brown it first. Almost fully cooking it on medium heat.
Excellent and easy! I used high setting for 3 hours and turned it to low after shredding chicken . My hubby thought it was as good as my beef chili. First time making chicken chili, but not my last! Thanks for a very delicious recipe!
Hi Sally! I’m thinking about making this chili for a church potluck on Sunday. It sounds delicious!! If I make it all the way through adding the cream cheese and then it sits in the crockpot for 2-3 hours on warm, would that be a problem?
Not at all– I’ve done that MANY times before. You can leave the cream cheese in there for several hours before serving.
Would like to make this and am wondering if I can put the chicken breasts in frozen, or do they need to be thawed?
I recommend thawed, but I’ve used frozen before with no issue
I made this for the first time for my office’s annual chili cook off in November and won. Definitely a crowd favorite and has become part of our recipe rotation at home. Thanks for a quick, easy dinner option!
has anyone ever made a vegetarian version of this?
we love this recipe and have made it often, now we have some vegetarian dinner guests and I’d like to make it but not sure if it will have the same richness of flavour without the chicken.
I have! My SIL is vegetarian, I pre cooked the chicken and shredded it and put it on the side so people (it was a family picnic) had the option of putting it in. I also used vegetable broth and it turned out just as good as the original.
This is delicious!!! I make it all the time. Soooooo good!
So easy to make and sooo delicious!
We enjoyed it for dinner and lunch the next day .
I froze the leftovers and freezes well for a quick meal to grab out of the feeezer on a busy night .
I followed the recipe but added more beans and did not add the cream cheese at the end and it was terrific .
Thanks for the recipe ! It will be added to the dinner rotation .
This was OUTSTANDING! So delicious the night of and the day after. We’re not big fans of corn, so I 86ed that and added another can of black beans. Also, for the chili powder, I did rounded scoops. Same for the cumin. My six-yr-old twins are always great eaters and this was no different. They had seconds. We all loved it. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
Hi Sally!
I recently bought a multi cooker and made this chili last night. I I forgot to add the cream cheese at first and it was still very tasty but then later added the cream cheese, and it was stellar! It definitely adds another layer of flavor.
Second time to make this today. We love this version of chicken chili. Thank you!
Do you think there is an alternate for the bell pepper? Or do you think the recipe will be altered too much without it? I am not a fan of them!
You can simply leave out the pepper. Maybe add mushroom or a peeled and cubed sweet potato instead?
Made this recipe today. The only change I made was the addition of another teaspoon of chili powder. EXCELLENT! Very hearty. I will definitely make this again!
Bland, bland, bland. I had to add hot sauce and more seasoning to give this flavor. Cream cheese was a nice touch though.
This chili was amazing!!! I loved the creaminess from adding cream cheese and next time I think I will add a little more jalapeno for a tad more kick. 🙂
I tried this tonight for the first time – the whole family, including my 3 & 5 year olds, gobbled it up! I did 2 tablespoons of chili powder, rather than 2 teaspoons, and used fire-roasted diced tomatoes rather than plain. Also, a bit more chicken broth and we heaped it on top of sour cream rather than putting in cream cheese. All that to say, this recipe seems easily adaptable and delicious no matter what!
I made this for my husband and this has got to be the best recipe I’ve ever tried! I have shared it with so many people since!!
I made this for dinner last night. It was incredibly easy and VERY good. I felt it needed a little more heat and flavor. Tonight before I reheated it, I added a small can of chopped mild green chiles and about a teaspoon and a half of red pepper flakes and it went from VERY good to AWESOME! Loved it and I will definitely make again.
Just made this and it is DELICIOUS!!! I substituted the cream cheese for a half cup of plain fat free greek yogurt 🙂
Made this for the family- a crowd pleaser. My 8 year old son said best chili ever!
This chili was a perfect meal for this rainy, cold day. Everyone loved it!
Absolutely fantastic! I would have never dreamed to add cream cheese, but, WOW! Delicious. From cooking it in the slow cooker make all of the favors blend together beautifully. Thanks so much for sharing.
This is delicious, like every recipe of yours I’ve tried. Thanks!!
Just made this tonight – it was so easy and delicious, and I love the texture that the cream cheese adds at the end. The heat is fairly mild and cut down further by the dairy, but it would be easy to add some cayenne and black pepper give a little more kick. Love it!
Just made this for dinner tonight and it was wonderful!! My mom even said she thought it was better than her “famous chili”. New dinner staple in our house for sure!!
This is amazing Sally!!! I make so many of your recipes anymore it’s not even funny!!! We had a Sally Thanksgiving, we are going to have a Sally Christmas. Heck I think anymore we have Sally months at our house!!! There aren’t too many recipes that don’t come from your website, your delish.com recipes, your people.com page or one of you two cookbooks. You are truly AMAZING!!! Thank you so much for sharing this my, family and I loved it!!!
I made this today. yum! My family gobbled it up. (I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but my older daughter, in particular, is not generally amenable to my making new recipes even though I make new things alllllll the time because I get bored eating the same stuff all the time, plus there’s so many recipes out there to try. Her first question is always, “Have you made this before?” And when I answer her, she immediately declares that she’s going to hate it. Well, I love when I try any of your recipes because I get to say, “It’s a Sally recipe!” and it’s insta-cred with both my kids. Like, “oh? A Sally recipe? Then it’s sure to be good!” Ah. I love it! hahaha.) This chili recipe reminds me of a very tasty chicken tortilla soup–so much so that I topped mine with tortilla chips. I’ll definitely make it again. It was such a breeze to make and I’m excited to be able to eat some for lunch tomorrow, too.
I made this today and it was very delicious! I followed the recipe exactly except I used full fat cream cheese and it does take it another level. Absolutely add the cream cheese. I used corn tortilla chips to eat this with and was very good. Awesome recipe!!
I made this tonight for company. So delicious! By far my most favorite chicken chili recipe.
Every single recipe I’ve made from your site is ALWAYS a success and huge hit! I made this chili yesterday morning for the afternoon for some girlfriends I was having over for a cookie making party. Everyone LOVED it, and got second or third helpings! Thanks for an easy, delicious savory recipe 🙂