Small Crock Pot White Chicken Chili

👨‍🍳How to Make Crock Pot White Chicken Chili—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

1. Cube the pepper jack cheese.

2. In a small 3 to 5-quart crock pot, combine undrained great northern beans, salsa, shredded chicken, ground cumin, and cubed pepper jack cheese.

5. Ready to serve, refrigerate, or freeze.

For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.

🐓Variations and ingredient options

Chicken—Shredded precooked chicken, like rotisserie chicken, is used, but raw chicken may also be cooked and used. See the FAQ section for a discussion.

Beans—Use precooked white beans, like Navy or Great Northern beans. Black beans may be used if you wish. If you drain the beans, replace the drainage with about 25% of the weight in low-sodium chicken broth—if you drain a 16-oz can of beans, use 4 oz of broth to replace the liquid.

Cheese—Use Pepper Jack cheese unless you need to adjust the heat of the chili. If you need to decrease the heat, use Monterey Jack cheese instead.

Salsa—use one you like to eat. Mild, medium, or hot, depending on the spiciness you want.

Seasoning—only cumin to add more flavor, but you may want some cayenne pepper to adjust the heat more.

Optional—Chicken broth to thin, if you want.

👨‍🍳Tips to get it right every time

This recipe fits nicely in a 3 ½ to 5-quart crock pot. It is tight in a 3-quart slow cooker but will work.

This is not a recipe for uncooked beans. But other precooked beans like cannellini or white kidney beans may be used. Also, some people like some black beans added.

Use a good quality salsa you like and would use for dipping. I like chunky medium salsa.

To decrease the sodium, you can drain and rinse the beans. You will need to replace that fluid with low-sodium chicken broth.

Normally, I try not to fill a crock pot more than 75%, but since we are heating and bringing flavors together more than "cooking," we can push that limit while holding the thinning until the end.

🔥Adjusting the heat and taste

This chili's spiciness is a 4/10 with medium salsa. You can adjust the spiciness of the salsa up and down. You can also use Monterey Jack cheese instead of Pepper Jack cheese to adjust the heat. If you want even more spiciness, add a bit of cayenne pepper.

Adjusting the cumin will change the spiciness, but only a small increase or decrease in the heat. I suggest depending on the salsa and cheese as the primary adjustments.

Other taste adjustments can be made by adding onion, garlic, green chiles, or other spices. But if you need to do much of this, you have the wrong salsa.

📋Crock Pot Chili Recipes

Don't forget to check out other excellent crock pot chili recipes, like Small Crock Pot Chili, Crock Pot Three Bean Turkey Chili, Crock Pot Texas Chili, and Low Fat Crock Pot White Chicken Chili. For a change of pace, try Salsa Verde Chicken Chili.

↕️How to make this a "for two" or "family size" recipe

This is a very easy recipe to cut in half or double.

The full recipe makes about 10-12 cups (depending on thinning) for 8 servings. We do love leftovers. For both half and double recipes, we are pushing the size limit of the crock pot. The solution is to hold the thinning broth until everything is done cooking, then add any desired broth.

1. Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to half or double.
2. Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
3. The half recipe will fit in a 2-quart mini crock pot.
4. A double recipe fits in a 6 ½ quart or larger crock pot.
5. Cook for the same amount of time.

♨️Making Chicken Chili on the Stovetop

Cooking on the stovetop will take only about 30 minutes since everything used in this dish is safe to consume before cooking. You only need to heat everything to come together. But some simmering to help the tastes combine is a good idea.

Use a large pan like a full-size Dutch oven. Add everything, mix well, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes more.

It is done when it all mixes, but simmering longer to bring the tastes together is recommended. I suggest an hour.

🍽️Serving white chicken chili

This chili stays hot for a long time due to the cheese, so it will work well for tailgating or parties.

A big bowl of white chili served with tortilla chips is all I need. But typical chili or southwest toppings and sides work well—like added cheddar cheese, sour cream, fresh cilantro, avocado, or guacamole.

I love to add some Old Fashioned Cornbread or Cornmeal Biscuits.

❄️Storage of leftover chili

Good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and reheat on the stovetop or microwave.

You can also freeze sealed in an airtight container or freezer bag for 3-4 months—thaw in the fridge before reheating.

❓FAQs

⚕️Food Safety

This chili is frequently used for parties of various types. Be sure the chili stays above 140°. If it falls below 140° for more than 2 hours, it should be discarded.