This white bean chicken chili recipe is a cheap dinner that an easy budget recipe for a crowd. The creamy, hearty crockpot white chicken chili is also a great pantry recipe for emergency food prep because you can make it with canned chicken and other pantry ingredients to keep on hand with just a few modifications. If you’re wondering what to do with leftover rotisserie chicken, use it for this slow cooking recipe!
Best Slow Cooker White Bean Chicken Chili
One of my favorite parts of this easy soup recipe is that it’s a set and forget recipe.
Just dump all the ingredients and forget about it until the end!
Ingredients for Crock Pot White Bean Chicken Chili
- Chicken (canned chicken, leftover shredded chicken like rotisserie chicken, skinless chicken breasts, or frozen chicken)
- Chicken broth
- Salsa
- Great Northern beans (white beans)
- Cream of chicken soup
- White cheese – if you are making this as an emergency recipe from pantry cooking, you can leave out the cheese and it’s still really good!
- Sour cream (optional, for topping)
- Tortilla chips (optional, for serving)
SAVING MONEY TIP: If you have leftover chicken of any kind — grocery store rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken, etc. — this is a great recipe for leftovers!
Can I use other beans?
One of the questions I get asked the most about this recipe is the type of beans.
You can use any beans you like, but the Great Northern beans (white beans) are, in my opinion, the best beans for this white chili.
They have a really mild flavor that works well with the other ingredients.
- TRY THIS CROCK POT RECIPE NEXT: Crockpot Chicken Sweet Potato Soup
Free Printable Recipe Card for Crockpot White Bean Chicken Chili
Approximate cost of this recipe using only generic (non-brand) pantry ingredients (and no cheese): $13
BUDGET FRIENDLY MEALS TIP: If you want to save money, you can leave out the chicken (it's good as a vegetarian recipe for Meatless Mondays, too!) or make this when you're trying to figure out what to do with leftover chicken from another meal to stretch the grocery budget.
Minus the cheese, I always have the ingredients in the pantry to make this slow cooker recipe. It’s my go-to easy dinner and also is a great meal for a power outage.
If you have a way to heat things up (even over Sterno or canned heat container), this is an easy power outage meal for emergency cooking. Just heat through.
If you’re making this recipe for a large group, just double or triple the ingredients. It works really well as a group recipe like for a potluck party.
- If you like a non spicy white chicken chili, use a mild salsa. If you like your chili hot, use a hot salsa and also add jalapenos and/or green chilis.
White Bean Chicken Chili
Equipment
- Crock pot
Ingredients
- 1 12.5-ounce Canned chicken -drained (or leftover shredded chicken)
- 3 15.5-ounce Great Northern White beans – undrained
- 1 10.5-ounce Can cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom)
- 1 14.5-ounce Can chicken broth
- 1 16-ounce Salsa – heat of choice (I use medium)
- 1 8-ounce shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (or any cheese you have)
Instructions
- Drain liquid from canned chicken (or use 2-3 frozen chicken breasts or leftover chicken) and place in bottom of crockpot.
- Add remaining ingredients to the crock pot and stir. (No need to drain the beans.)
- Cook on high for 2 hours.
TO SERVE:
- Sprinkle extra cheese on top with cream cheese (optional). Serve alone or with a side of crusty bread, corn bread, or tortilla chips.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week.
Notes
- If you’re using cubed cheese, cook on low for up to 6 hours.
-
If using frozen chicken breasts, you will also need to cook on low for 6 hours for frozen chicken breasts. Once cooked, shred the chicken and stir back into the chili before serving.
Nutrition
*Nutrition information is approximate. If you have special dietary needs, please calculate your own nutrition.
Another Cheap & Easy Recipe To Try: Simple Southern Tomatoes and Macaroni Cheap Recipe
I hope you enjoy this white bean chicken chili recipe! It’s one of my favorite crockpot recipes!
- Homemade Sourdough Bread Recipe Using Sourdough Starter - May 4, 2025
- Leftover Mashed Potato Patties - May 1, 2025
- Easy No-Cook Black Bean Corn Salad Recipe Ready In Minutes! - April 30, 2025
Keeping this stuff in my pantry thx for the tip!!