Crockpot White Chicken Chili with Cream Cheese

Rich, creamy crockpot white chicken chili with cream cheese, tender chicken, white beans, corn, and green chiles. Just 5 minutes of prep, then the slow cooker takes over while you attend to more important things. Like not cooking.

Total time for the recipe to be finished.Total Time 8 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

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This crockpot white chicken chili with cream cheese is thick, rich, and ridiculously creamy, with tender chicken, white beans, corn, and mild green chiles in every spoonful. It takes about 5 minutes to toss together, then the slow cooker handles dinner while you go live your life. Pepper Jack on top is technically optional, but so is good judgment.

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🥰 Is this crockpot white chicken chili recipe for you?

• You want dinner with almost no prep. Everything takes about 5 minutes to get into the crockpot, then you can walk away and let it earn its keep while you finish that book you've been reading.
• You like your white chicken chili thick and creamy. Cream cheese, sour cream, and half-and-half make this one unapologetically rich.
• You need something mild enough for the whole family. Green chiles and Pepper Jack add plenty of flavor without setting anybody's eyebrows on fire.
• You're feeding hungry people. Chicken, white beans, and corn make this hearty enough for dinner, game day, or a houseful of feral children who keep wandering through the kitchen and eyeing the dog hungrily.

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🧾 Ingredients

You'll need simple grocery-store ingredients for this white chicken chili, but this is not the place for fat-free cream cheese and sad little substitutions. Full-fat dairy gives the chili its rich, creamy texture and helps keep the sauce smooth.

• Boneless chicken breasts or thighs - Use whichever one is on sale. Thighs are a little richer and more forgiving if your slow cooker runs hot.
• Cannellini beans - These are my first choice, but Great Northern, navy, or pretty much any white bean will do. We're making chili, not negotiating a treaty.
• Onion - Chop it and toss it in. Eight hours in the crockpot will take care of anyone who claims they don't like onions.
• Corn - I like white corn because it's a little sweeter, but yellow corn isn't going to ruin anybody's childhood.
• Green chiles - Don't drain them! Dump the whole can in, juice and all. They're mild, so you get plenty of green chile flavor without needing a fire extinguisher.
• Pepper Jack cheese - A little creamy, a little spicy, and exactly right on top. Cheddar is fine if that's what you've got. White Cheddar works better than orange for aesthetics.
• Butter - Three tablespoons. This is creamy chicken chili, not a cry for help.
• Chicken stock - Stock or broth both work. Use whichever is already lurking in the pantry.
• Cream cheese, half-and-half, and sour cream - This is why we're all here. Use the full-fat stuff. If you're looking for light and virtuous, there's probably a salad around here somewhere. You "could" use milk instead of cream but it won't be as rich or thick.
• Cilantro - Entirely optional because apparently cilantro has enemies. Sprinkle it over the top if you're on Team Tastes Like Cilantro rather than Team Tastes Like Dawn Dish Soap.
• Chili powder - I use my homemade chili powder because I already have it and I like it. Your favorite store-bought blend is perfectly acceptable.
• Garlic powder and cumin - Nothing dramatic here. They give the chili that warm Tex-Mex flavor without overpowering everything else.

📖 Recipe

Crockpot White Chicken Chili with Cream Cheese

4.72 from 28 votes

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Rich, creamy crockpot white chicken chili with cream cheese, tender chicken, white beans, corn, and green chiles. Just 5 minutes of prep, then the slow cooker takes over while you attend to more important things. Like not cooking.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Southwestern

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 8 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings:8

Calories:439

Author:Marye Audet-White

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts, or thighs, boneless
• ▢ 2 teaspoons chili powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1 ½ cups chicken stock
• ▢ 4.5 ounce green chiles, chopped (canned)
• ▢ 2 cups corn, (white is preferred)
• ▢ 30 ounces white cannellini beans, drained
• ▢ 2 cups onions, chopped
• ▢ 3 tablespoons butter
• ▢ 1 cup half and half cream, (light cream)
• ▢ 4 ounces cream cheese
• ▢ ½ cup sour cream
• ▢ ½ cup chopped cilantro, , if desired
• ▢ 1 ½ cups shredded Pepper-Jack cheese

Instructions

• Place chicken breasts in the crockpot.
• Add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, chicken broth, green chiles, onions, corn and beans.
• Cook on low for 7 hours.
• Shred the chicken in the slow cooker with two forks.
• An hour before serving heat the butter,half and half, cream cheese, and sour cream in a saucepan, whisking until smooth.
• Add to chicken mixture in the slow cooker and cook on low for about 1 more hour.
• Sprinkle with cilantro and Pepper Jack to serve.

Notes

Storage:

Spoon the leftovers into an airtight container and store in the fridge for four to five days. You can freeze white chicken chili, but the dairy may separate a little when it thaws. Reheat it gently and give it a good stir to bring everything back together.

Tips:

• Use leftover turkey instead of chicken. I love making this chili right after Thanksgiving! 
• Substitute white hominy kernels for the corn.
• Add diced green and red bell peppers or use them instead of the chiles.
• Serve over fritos. This is one of my favorite twists on Frito pie!

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 439kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 120mg | Sodium: 560mg | Potassium: 642mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1045IU | Vitamin C: 12.2mg | Calcium: 274mg | Iron: 2.4mg

Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.

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🔪 How to make white chicken chili with cream cheese

Making crockpot white chicken chili is mostly a matter of dumping things in and leaving them alone. The only slightly civilized part comes at the end when you whisk the creamy ingredients together before stirring them in.

1. Put the chicken breasts in the crockpot and sprinkle with chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder. No browning, no extra skillet, no nonsense.
2. Add the green chiles, juice and all. That little bit of liquid has flavor in it, so we're keeping it.
3. Drain and rinse the cannellini beans, then dump them in.
4. Add the corn and chopped onions. At this point it will look suspiciously like you've just thrown groceries into a crockpot. Have faith.
5. Pour in the chicken stock.
6. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hours while you go do literally anything else.
7. About an hour before dinner, shred the chicken right there in the crockpot with two forks.
8. Heat the butter, half-and-half, cream cheese, and sour cream together, whisking until smooth. Stir the whole creamy situation into the chili.
9. Cover and cook on LOW for another hour. Ladle into bowls and pile on Pepper Jack and fresh cilantro if you're one of the people cilantro hasn't personally offended.

😱 What can go wrong (and how to fix it)

🌶️ The chili is too thin. Don't use low-fat or fat-free dairy. If it's still thinner than you like, mash or blend about a cup of the beans and stir them back in. They'll thicken things up without adding anything weird.

🌶️ The cream cheese is floating around in little white blobs. Heat the butter, half-and-half, cream cheese, and sour cream together and whisk until smooth before adding them to the crockpot. Dumping cold cream cheese straight into hot chili is how you end up chasing little dairy icebergs around with a spoon.

🌶️ The dairy curdled. Once the creamy mixture goes in, keep the slow cooker on LOW and don't let the chili boil. Dairy is temperamental. Treat it gently and don't give it a reason to become dramatic.

🌶️ The chicken is dry. Slow cookers vary more than anybody likes to admit. If yours runs hot, start checking the chicken before the 7-hour mark. Chicken thighs are also more forgiving if your crockpot has the temperament of a blast furnace.

🌶️ The Pepper Jack turns into a gummy mess. Don't stir it into the crockpot. Sprinkle it over individual bowls just before serving. You get better cheese flavor and nobody has to excavate a rubbery cheese blob from the serving spoon.

📚 More Tex-Mex inspired comfort food recipes

🍽️ What to serve with white chicken chili

When my son headed to college about 2 hours south of here I sent him a slow cooker and a copy of the chicken chili recipe because it's his favorite chili recipe. Not only was he super popular but I didn't need to worry about his eating habits - this stuff is SO good, y'all! And, honestly? It's so easy to put together that even a brand new cook can do it successfully!