a perfect mix of savory, creamy, and a kick of spice
I don't know about you... but whenever the temps drop down, I find myself craving a nice warm and delicious chili. It's one of my favorite traditions to make during the Fall season. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good spicy chili or a beer chili, but there is just something about this white chicken chili that was exceptional. Plus it was slow cooked in our crock pot,
so it was a simple and easy process.
Not to toot my own horn, but my husband did tell me it's "the best white chicken chili I've ever had." (And that is saying something. The man loves his chili!) I spent some time browsing different recipes and looking at what ingredients I had on hand to make what we consider to be 'The Best White Chicken Chili Ever.' I hope you enjoy this recipe! Share a picture with me or leave a comment below if you give it a try!
One of the things I love about chili is the adaptability. You can double up the recipe, add extra ingredients or take things out and still get a delicious meal. I'll share with you exactly what we used, but know that you could easily switch it up to your liking and taste preferences.
First and foremost, grab your crock pot and a liner bag. If you haven't tried one of these liner bags yet... I'm telling you, they are worth their weight in GOLD! I have found them at Walmart, Target, and Hy-vee, so you should be able to find them just about anywhere.
Anyway... grab your liner and all of your ingredients. Keep the temperature off until all ingredients have been added.
We used about a pound of chicken breast, half a yellow onion, minced garlic, canned corn, pinto beans, great northern beans, black beans, chicken stock, cumin, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, cream cheese and heavy whipping cream.
You can top your chili with any ingredients you would like. I used some avocado slices, Jalapenos, tortilla strips, mozzarella cheese, and a dollop of sour cream.
You could also add a small can of hatch chili, I just didn't have any on hand (and it still tasted incredible without it!) Alternatively, you could dice up some Jalapenos and add it to the mix.
Lay your chicken breasts flat on the bottom of the crockpot; season the meat before adding any additional ingredients.
For a bonus touch, have your toddler help you season the chicken so that you get a little more salt than you were expecting.
Drain all of the canned vegetables and dump them on top of the seasoned chicken. I rinsed all of the canned beans before adding them into the crock pot. Top with diced onion and minced garlic.
Optional: cook the onion and garlic in a pan using a small amount of olive oil or butter, until fragrant and translucent, before adding to the crock pot.
Add the chicken stock, close the lid, and turn the temperature to high for 2 - 3 hours. After cooking of high, turn the temperature down to low and cook for an additional 2-3 hours.
When you have finished cooking the chili,
remove the whole chicken breasts and shred into bite size pieces.
While the chicken is pulled out of the crock pot, use an emulsion tool to blend some of the beans in the crock pot. This will help add texture and thickness to the liquid of the chili.
(If you do not have a handheld tool to blend the beans, consider throwing half a can into a blender, or chopping some up by hand, before you begin cooking the chili in the crock pot.)
Be careful not to blend up too much of the chili so that you can retain the nice chunkiness of it. I just did a few short burst for about 10 seconds.
Once you've blended some of the beans and shredded the chicken, add the meat back into the crock pot. Give it a nice stir to mix everything together.
Now comes the most delicious part...
Throw in a full block of cream cheese and your heavy whipping cream. I would recommend allowing these ingredients to come to room temperature before putting them in the crockpot. This will cut down on the "melting" time, and will give a more even consistency.
(Here you can see a chunk of cream cheese before it has combined.)
Put the lid back on to help retain the heat, stirring occasionally to mix the cream products well.
After about 10-15 minutes you will get this beautiful, creamy chili that you will definitely want seconds of!
The picture definitely doesn't do it justice... but man oh man, I'm telling you, it's incredible!
Garish with any desired toppings. Get creative!
Try a combination of toppings to really set this chili off!
I used avocado slices, tortilla strips, mozzarella cheese, a
dollop of sour cream and Jalapenos.
There you have it! The BEST creamy white chicken chili out there...
Make sure to save this recipe and share this blog with a friend if you love it!
I hope it becomes a tradition for you and your family for years to come.
Cheers!
The Best Creamy White Chicken Chili Recipe:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
2 cans white beans (I used 1 can pinto and 1 can great northern beans)
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 tbls minced garlic
3 cups chicken broth
1 tbls salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian seasonings
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1 block of softened cream cheese
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
Cook in slow cooker for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low
Add cream cheese and heavy whipping cream just before serving. Allow 10-15 minutes for the products to melt and mix into the chili. Top with desired extras and enjoy!
Optional Chili add-ins:
1 small can of hatch chili
1 small Jalapeno diced
Comments