This Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili recipe is my mom’s, and one that I requested often as a child.  She never used to make it in a crockpot, but it was easy enough to convert.  It’s always been special to me, but right now it feels extra special because it’s the first time I’ve cooked in over a week.  It feels so great to be back in the kitchen doing my day-to-day routine.

Last week I flew to Columbus, Ohio for Thanksgiving, and it was action-packed. I flew in on actual Thanksgiving morning, went straight to my Mom’s-side of the family’s Thanksgiving, and then drove to my Dad’s-side of the family’s Thanksgiving.  After about 7:30 PM my body was begging for sweet sleep and one hell of a turkey coma.  We stayed in an Air BnB near Ohio State’s campus, and stayed up way to late each night drinking wine and catching up, (a day after we left, there was an attack on Ohio State’s campus which is just chilling me to the bone to think about.)

Taylor flew in on Friday, and on Saturday we dragged ourselves to tailgate in the freezing cold for the Ohio State/ Michigan game.  Needless to say the whole weekend was a blast. Exhausting, but a blast. We flew home late on Sunday night, and on Monday I had work AND class. FINALLY on Tuesday I got to go to the grocery store after work.  This girl is not a fan of an empty fridge and take-out Chinese every night.  Alas, Wednesday I got to cook. I’m back in my little black kitchen in Atlanta with my colorful crockpot and I am happy. It’s funny how day-to-day life can be so boring and routine, but the second you leave for the weekend it’s all you want back. Sleep, work, food, school, couch, sleep. Repeat.

Anyways, back to Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili.  So simple, but so perfect on these late fall days that get chilly and dark way too early.  This is so me wrapped up in a giant furry blanket on the couch watching Gilmore Girls, (sorry Taylor) and slurping from a piping hot, cheesy, creamy, steamy bowl of goodness.

On another note, it’s my last day of class for the semester. I get a full month off before the spring semester starts, and HALLELUJAH.  What should I do with all this new-found free time? Work out? No… Cook more and become one with the couch blankets? Now we’re getting somewhere… 🙂

Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

So basically this recipe is super easy. If you’re short on time, feel free to just skip the part where you brown the meat. But because I missed cooking so much, I decided to brown up some chicken thighs. Side note, I’m usually a boneless, skinless chicken breast gal, but I think having a bone-in piece of chicken really just enhances the flavor in the slow cooker. It shreds off so easily after cooking all day that the bone doesn’t even feel like an extra nuisance. 

Then it’s just a standard crockpot dump meal: just throw in all the ingredients and let it do all the hard work for you.

MMMMMMM

Winter comfort food at its finest…and actually SUPER healthy. For everyone else, like me, who is trying to detox from the Thanksgiving overload. Let’s just forget that I’m going to load it up with cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips 😉

5.0 from 2 reviews

Simple Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

6 hours

Total time

6 hours 15 mins

 

Author: Ally

Recipe type: Chili

Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 lbs bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
• salt and pepper
• 1 red onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 4- 4oz cans hatch diced green chiles (I used 2 hot, 2 mild)
• 2- 15.5 oz cans white kidney beans
• 1 quart low sodium chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• Sour cream, shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, and tortilla chips for serving

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat.
2. Season chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper.
3. Add chicken to the pan in batches to avoid over-crowding. Sear the chicken 5-6 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Place seared chicken on a paper towel to drain.
4. Add chicken to the bottom of a crockpot, and add diced onion and minced garlic.
5. Cover the chicken with the canned green chiles, beans, and chicken broth. Stir.
6. Add bay leaf, chili powder, and cumin and stir.
7. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 hours.
8. Shred the chicken and remove bones, then cover and keep on "warm" setting until ready to serve.
9. Taste the soup and add salt if you'd like to.
10. Top with anything you like! I like sour cream, cheddar cheese, cilantro, and crumbled tortilla chips.

3.5.3226