Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

This easy-to-make Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili is perfect for a big gathering, for a make-ahead freezer meal, or for meal prep! With chicken breasts, beans, and peppers, it is comfort food, lightened up. It’s made easily in the slow cooker or Instant Pot and easily customizable by adding on all your favorite toppings. It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and paleo-friendly.

White Chicken Chili (Crock Pot or Instant Pot)

As the due date nears for the birth of our baby girl, I’m planning all the meals to stock the freezer for after her arrival and none is better than this classic LCK recipe I’ve been making for years! Traditional White Chicken Chili has a creamy base using cream cheese or heavy cream. For this recipe, I wanted all the same flavors but keeping it light. This makes it the perfect soup for both summer and winter, while still being great comfort food. Plus, it’s perfect for freezing in large batches. And it’s so easy to make in the slow cooker or Instant Pot. The best part of the chili is you can customize to your liking, some days I’ll add more vegetables based on what’s in season or what I have on hand! You can also make this fit your dietary needs by omitting the beans and making this Whole30 compliant and Paleo.

Ingredients Needed

• Chicken Breasts
• Peppers
• Onion + Garlic
• Canned Green Chilis
• Chicken Broth
• Spices
• Lime Juice
• White Beans (optional)
• Cilantro

Want less heat in your soup?

Remember to remove the seeds from your jalapeño or omit it, and buy mild green chiles!

What to Serve with White Chicken Chili

You can totally add on what you want here! These are some of my favorites:

• Tortilla Chips
• Plantain Chips
• Avocado
• Scallions
• Pickled or Fresh Jalapeno
• Cilantro

How to Freeze

This soup is perfect as a freezer meal. Before you freeze, make sure the soup is fully cooled to at least room temperature. Then, when cool, place in your choice of storage container. We either freeze in mason jars (making sure to leave at least 1″ of room for expansion) for individual portions or plastic freezer bags. When placing in the freezer bags, initially lay them flat when freezing, then once the soup is frozen solid, you can move it around for long-term storage.

How to Reheat this Soup

To reheat, fully defrost the soup in the refrigerator overnight. Or, if you don’t have time to defrost it fully, you can place the container in a bowl of warm water until the soup can easily pop out of the container. Once you can get it out, place the soup in a pot with about 1/4 cup water. Cover the pot and cook over medium to medium-low, while stirring semi-frequently. Once the entire meal has defrosted, bring the contents up to a boil to make sure it’s fully reheated.

If you love chili, check out these other recipes:

• Sweet Potato Chili
• Healthy Turkey Chili
• Buffalo Chicken Chili (Instant Pot or Stove Top)

For more soup recipes, check out these:

• Easy Taco Soup
• Instant Pot Lentil Soup
• Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Instant Pot Chicken Parm Soup

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI

5 from 2 votes

This easy-to-make Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili is perfect for a big gathering, for a make-ahead freezer meal, or for meal prep! With chicken breasts, beans, and peppers, it is comfort food, lightened-up. It’s made easily in the slow cooker or Instant Pot and easily customizable by adding on all your favorite toppings. It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and Paleo-friendly.

Servings 4 -6

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Total Time 6 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

  

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• 3 chicken breasts
• 1 large red bell pepper or 2 small diced
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 jalapeño diced (for less spicy, make sure to remove seeds or omit)
• 1 can green chiles for less spicy, buy mild
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• Pinch freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lime juiced (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves chopped
• 1 15- ounce can white beans optional

Serve with

• Non-GMO Tortilla Chips
• Plantain Chips
• Extra Cilantro
• Sliced avocado
• Diced scallions
• Chopped white onion
• Additional jalapeño slices
• Lime wedges
• Shredded cheddar

Instructions

Slow Cooker Directions:

• Place all ingredients into your slow cooker except for the lime juice
• Give one good mix to combine spices into the broth
• Set it on low for 8 hours or high for 6 hours
• Once done, use two forks to shred chicken, and add in lime juice
• Mix to combine
• If serving for the game, let the soup stay warm in the slow-cooker
• Garnish and serve!

Instant Pot Directions:

• Combine all of the ingredients in a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot. Set the pressure valve to sealing. Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes with a natural release of at least 10 minutes. Once opened, shred the chicken with two forks.
• Garnish as desired.

Notes

1. Want to make it in on the stove? Follow the same instructions, but simmer the soup in a stockpot over low heat for about an hour, until the chicken easily shreds apart.
2. Recipe was originally published in 2015 and republished with new photos and additional instructions in 2020.

Nutrition

Calories: 209kcalCarbohydrates: 10.6gProtein: 24.8gFat: 6.6gSaturated Fat: 1.8gSodium: 883mgFiber: 1.3gSugar: 5.3g

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Tex Mex

Author: Lexi

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