Easy Crockpot Chicken Chili With Tomatoes and Beans
This Crockpot Chicken Chili is a hearty, healthy, Tex-Mex meal made with chicken, beans, corn, and taco seasoning. An easy, family-favorite slow cooker recipe!
Just like my popular Crockpot Salsa Chicken and Crockpot Steak Fajitas, this easy recipe comes together with minimal effort and budget-friendly ingredients, delivering a cozy, hearty slow-cooked meal everyone will love!
Does it get much better than a cozy bowl of chili after a long day? How about a chili recipe that is low in fat, big on flavor, and only takes minutes of prep?!
Is there anything better than a cozy bowl of chili after a long day? How about one that’s low-fat, full of flavor, and takes just minutes to prep?
Enter Crockpot Chicken Chili!
This chicken chili recipe is packed with taco seasoning, tender chicken, beans, corn, and a rich, spiced broth. It’s healthy, hearty, budget-friendly, and a family favorite!
A Few Helpful Tips Before We Get Started
- Chicken Options: Use boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs.
- Bean Options: Red beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans–use what you like!
- Add Beer and Lime Juice for Flavor. Adding a pale beer, such as Corona, adds a nice deep flavor, while finishing the chicken chili with fresh lime juice allows the flavors of this chili to pop.
- Short on Time? This recipe is already easy, but to make it a true dump and cook slow cooker recipe, swap out the peppers, onions, and diced tomatoes for jarred mild salsa instead.
- Feed a Crowd. Turn to this chicken chili when entertaining, as it can be held warm in the crockpot for hours and everyone loves it! You can even serve over rice to stretch it even more.
How to Make Crockpot Chicken Chili
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. Sauté the Onions and Peppers. You can certainly skip sautéing the pepper and onion and add them raw to the slow cooker, but taking a few minutes to sauté fresh onions and green bell pepper in a bit of oil will help to enhance their flavor.
2. Slow Cook. Combine the ingredients for the chicken chili in the crockpot and set it to cook. Easy-peasy!
3. Shred the Chicken. Once the chili has slow-cooked, remove the cooked chicken from the crockpot and shred or dice into bite-sized and shred it into small pieces. It will shred easily with a fork, and add a nice texture to the chili.
4. Finish with Lime Juice. To make the flavors really pop and come to life, add fresh lime juice to the chili when you stir the shredded or diced chicken back into the crockpot.
5. Serve. Serve this chicken chili with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream, fresh cilantro, and avocado, and let everyone top their chili as desired.
Recipe Modifications
- Gluten-Free Chicken Chili: Omit the beer and check to ensure your chicken broth is gluten-free.
- Frozen Chicken? It is not safe to place frozen chicken into the slow cooker. Use my recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Chili instead.
- Bean-Free Chicken Chili: Omit the beans and add in up to an additional 1 pound of chicken.
- Vegetarian Option: Use vegetable broth in place of the chicken stock omit the chicken and double the beans.
Storage Instructions
- Refrigerate: Store the leftover cooled chicken chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Allow the chili to cool, transfer to a freezer-safe container leaving 1 inch of space for expansion, and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: If needed, defrost the chili in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat several servings on low heat in the crockpot or over low heat in a heavy-duty saucepan until warmed through. Alternatively, heat individual servings in a heat-safe bowl in 30-second intervals until warmed through.
More Family-Favorite Chili Recipes
If you enjoyed this recipe for Crockpot Chicken Chili, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.
Crockpot Chicken Chili
This Crockpot Chicken Chili is a hearty, healthy, Tex-Mex meal made with chicken, beans, corn, and taco seasoning. An easy, family-favorite slow cooker recipe!
Print
Pin
Rate
Servings: 6
Calories: 330kcal
Prevents your screen from going dark while preparing the recipe.
Instructions
-
Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a small sauté pan, over medium heat. Once the oil has heated, add the minced onion and chopped green pepper and sauté until the onion begins to soften. This will take about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add to the base of the slow cooker.
-
Add 1 cup of beer (or additional stock), 1 cup chicken stock, 2 cups corn, 2 cans diced tomatoes, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 2 tablespoons taco seasoning, and 2 cans of drained and rinsed beans to the slow cooker and mix to combine. Nestle the chicken breasts or thighs into the chili mixture.
-
Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.
-
After the cooking time has elapsed, remove the chicken from the slow cooker and place it on a cutting board. Shred the chicken with 2 forks or dice it into bite-sized pieces.
-
Add the shredded chicken back to the crockpot, along with the juice of 1 fresh lime and stir to combine.
-
Serve with shredded cheese, cilantro, and chips.
Notes
In place of the Taco Seasoning: Use 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, and ⅛ teaspoon oregano.
Tomatoes: Use diced tomatoes with green chiles or jarred salsa for a kick of flavor OR use tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes for a smoother chili if desired.
Beer: Use a pale beer, such as Coors or Corona, or additional chicken stock/broth in place of the beer.
Gluten-Free Chicken Chili: Omit the beer and be sure that your chicken broth is gluten-free.
Vegetarian : Use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth and omit the chicken, and double the beans (use 60 ounces or 4 cans of beans instead of 30 ounces.)
Bean-Free Chicken Chili: Omit the beans and add in an additional ½ to 1 pound of chicken.
Nutrition
Calories: 330kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 100mg | Potassium: 1156mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 320IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 123mg | Iron: 5mg
