White Bean Chicken Chili is a comforting crockpot recipe that’s loaded with tender chicken, dried beans, and tangy green chiles, slow cooked all day and then topped with your favorite garnishes!
Rinse and drain beans and place in the bottom of a large (7- to 8-quart) slow cooker. Lay chicken breasts on top, and add garlic, green chiles, and jalapeño (if using) to the slow cooker. Carefully pour chicken broth over ingredients, and season with cumin, paprika, cayenne (if using), and black pepper. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or until beans are tender.
An hour before serving, remove chicken to a plate or cutting board. Mix masa into warm milk, stir mixture into white chili, and replace lid of slower cooker. In the meantime, cut chicken into large chunks and shred it with two forks. Add chicken back to the white chili and taste for seasoning, adding salt and adjusting spices as necessary. Cover and continue to cook for one more hour.
Before serving, garnish with a generous amount of cilantro, crushed tortilla chips, and shredded cheese, plus whatever other toppings appeal to you. Leftovers may be covered and refrigerated for up to 5 days, or frozen (in a freezer-safe bag or container) for up to 3 months.
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Notes
The weight of chicken pieces varies, but when I make this recipe with chicken breasts, I typically use 3 large chicken breasts or 4 smaller ones. If they're super jumbo chicken breasts, I may only use 2. It also somewhat depends on how much chicken you prefer in your chili.
In lieu of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs, you may use an equivalent amount of your favorite bone-in chicken pieces, which can better retain moisture when slow cooked for a long period of time. Just discard any skin or bones when you remove the chicken to shred it.
Make this white chili as spicy or as mild as you wish by increasing or omitting the jalapeño and/or cayenne pepper. If you just want the flavor of a fresh jalapeño without the heat, remove the seeds and membranes before finely dicing it and adding it to the crock pot.
For a thicker texture, you may use an immersion blender to puree a portion of the cooked beans, after the chicken has been removed for shredding and before it's stirred back in.
If you don't have any masa on hand, you may sub finely ground cornmeal instead. I do not recommend skipping this ingredient as it adds noticeable depth of flavor to the recipe.