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Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili

slow cooker white bean chicken chili in a bowl topped with avocado, sour cream, and cheese with tortilla chips and lime wedges on the side

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1lb skinless chicken thighs, bone-in or boneless, trimmed of excess fat
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
  • 1/2 fresh jalapeño or pickled jalapeño, ribs and seeds removed, finely diced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 oz salsa verde, about 1/2 a 12oz jar*
  • one 14.5 oz can white butter beans, drained and rinsed
  • juice of half a small lime, plus more lime wedges for serving

Instructions

  1. Prepare the chicken chili. Add the chicken thighs, onion, chili powder, chopped garlic, jalapeños, and salt to a 4 or 6 qt slow cooker and mix until thoroughly combined (your hands work great for this!). Evenly spread the salsa verde across the spiced chicken mixture.
  2. Cook the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours, until the chicken shreds easily. Make sure not to overcook the chicken. Once the chicken is fully cooked, shred the chicken in the slow cooker bowl with the rest of the ingredients, discarding any excess fat and bones.
  3. Puree the beans (optional). Place half of the beans in a food processor and ladle 1/2 cup broth from slow cooker bowl containing the cooked chicken into the food processor. Puree until smooth. Pureeing some of the beans creates a thicker broth for the chili.
  4. Prepare the chili. Stir in the drained white beans, white bean puree, and lime juice. Cover and cook the chicken chili on low for 30 minutes to 1 hour to warm the beans. Once the beans are warm, turn the slow cooker to warm and keep the chicken chili warm in the slow cooker until ready to serve. Alternatively, cool the white chicken chili to room temperature and place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, skim the top of the white chicken chili of any excess fat and rewarm it on low heat in the slow cooker or in a 10-12-inch skillet on the stovetop until warm. If the soup is particularly thick after being chilled in the refrigerator, add water or chicken broth to loosen it up.
  5. Serve. Serve the chicken chili alone or with shredded cheese, sour cream, sliced avocados, crushed tortilla chips, and pickled jalapenos.

Notes

SALSA VERDE. Use any tomatillo salsa you like to eat alone. Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde is my favorite!