Why did my cream cheese curdle? That is the question after the lid comes off and the crockpot white chicken chili is thin, with pale flecks floating in it that used to be cream cheese. The recipe said dump it in and walk away, and you did.
Below are 7 ways to make crockpot white chicken chili, from the creamy classic to dairy-free, keto and a rotisserie shortcut, each with a full recipe card. Two things decide whether it comes out creamy: when the cream cheese goes in, and what thickens the broth.
Cook the chicken and beans first, thicken with mashed beans, and stir in soft cream cheese for the last 15 minutes, because that order keeps the chili creamy.
Quick answer
Put raw chicken breasts on the bottom, beans, chiles and broth on top, and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or HIGH 3 to 4 hours. Shred the chicken, mash about a third of the beans, then stir in room-temperature cream cheese for 15 minutes on HIGH.
What is crockpot white chicken chili?
Crockpot white chicken chili is a chili made with chicken, white beans and green chiles in a light broth, thickened with mashed beans and finished with cream cheese or another creamy ingredient. It has no tomato and no red chili base.
It suits cooks who want a dinner that waits for them, and it reheats well. For other chili styles, see our crockpot chili recipes.
Pick the right white chicken chili in one minute
| Preview | Idea | Best for | Hands-on time | Avoid if | Get it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Creamy Crockpot White Chicken Chili | The classic creamy pot | Low · 6–8 h | Your cream cheese is cold | Jump to recipe | |
 | 2. White Bean Chicken Chili From Dry Beans | Cheap, creamy beans | Low · 7½ h | You skip the boil | Jump to recipe |
 | 3. Healthy White Chicken Chili Crockpot | Lighter dinners | Low · 6–8 h | You want full cream cheese | Jump to recipe |
 | 4. Dairy-Free White Chicken Chili | No dairy at the table | Low · 6–8 h | You dislike coconut | Jump to recipe |
 | 5. Mexican Street Corn White Chicken Chili | A party pot with toppings | Low · 6–8 h | You dislike cotija | Jump to recipe |
 | 6. Keto White Chicken Chili (No Beans) | No beans, no corn | Low · 6–8 h | You want a thin chili | Jump to recipe |
 | 7. White Chicken Chili With Rotisserie Chicken | Leftover chicken, short day | Low · 4–6 h | You have only raw chicken | Jump to recipe |
TempPro TempSwift thermometer
Reads the chicken in one second, so you pull it at 165°F.
Crock-Pot 7-quart slow cooker
A full batch belongs in a big pot, filled half to two-thirds.
Syntus slow cooker liners
A cheese-based sauce welds to the insert, and the liner lifts out clean.
For a first try make the creamy classic (1). If you cook for someone who avoids dairy, take recipe 4, and if you only have an afternoon, take recipe 7 with rotisserie chicken.
How do you choose a crockpot white chicken chili recipe?
- Which chicken: raw breasts need 6 to 8 hours on LOW and thighs stay juicier, while cooked rotisserie chicken only goes in for the last 15 minutes. Frozen chicken does not go in at all.
- Which beans: canned Great Northern or cannellini are ready to go, dried beans must be soaked and boiled first, and keto skips beans entirely.
- What makes it creamy: soft cream cheese at the end, mashed beans, or coconut milk. Whatever you pick, it goes in last.
Pin itWhite chicken chili takes 6 to 8 hours on LOW or 3 to 4 hours on HIGH. The clock is set by the chicken, not the beans, because canned beans only need to warm through. A full batch belongs in a 6-quart cooker, filled half to two-thirds, because a pot packed to the rim heats slowly in the middle.
How to Make Crockpot White Chicken Chili: the Base Method
Chicken on the bottom
Raw chicken breasts go flat on the bottom of the pot, under everything else. That is where the heat comes from, and where the broth covers them for the whole cook.
Beans and aromatics on top
Great Northern beans are soft and mild, and they break down just enough to thicken the broth. Drain and rinse canned beans, because the canning liquid makes the broth cloudy.
Pin itCream cheese last
The cream cheese goes in after the chicken is shredded, at room temperature, for 15 minutes on HIGH. Everything else can sit in the pot all day, but this cannot.
Pin itThicken the right way
A watery chili is almost always too much liquid. Mash more beans, cook the last 15 to 30 minutes with the lid off, or stir in a cornstarch slurry. Use cornstarch, not flour, because flour needs a hard boil to cook out.
Pin it1. Creamy Crockpot White Chicken Chili
This is the recipe to learn first. Raw chicken goes in at the bottom, the beans and chiles go on top, and the cream cheese goes in at room temperature for the last 15 minutes. It is a true dump-and-go pot: no browning and no skillet.
Every other recipe on this page changes one or two steps of it. If the sauce comes out grainy, the cream cheese went in cold or too early. See the fix in Why did my cream cheese curdle below.
6
servings15
minutes7
hours15
minutesThe base recipe: raw chicken on the bottom, beans and chiles on top, cream cheese at room temperature in the last 15 minutes.
Ingredients
1½–2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans (15 oz each) Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
2 cans (4 oz each) diced green chiles
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3–4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
8 oz cream cheese, cubed and at room temperature
1 lime
Cilantro, Monterey Jack, tortilla chips to serve
Directions
- Take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator when you start the pot, so it is soft by dinner.
- Lay the chicken breasts flat on the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker, in one layer.
- Scatter the onion and garlic over the chicken, then add the drained beans, corn and green chiles.
- Pour in 3 cups of the broth and sprinkle in the cumin, chili powder, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper. Do not stir.
- Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or HIGH 3 to 4 hours, until the chicken reads 165°F and pulls apart.
- Lift the chicken onto a plate and shred it with two forks, then mash about a third of the beans against the side of the pot.
- Stir in the cubed cream cheese, return the chicken, cover and cook on HIGH 15 minutes, stirring once, until the sauce is smooth.
- Turn off the heat, squeeze in the lime and let the pot stand 10 minutes.
- Thin with the last cup of broth if it set too thick, and taste for salt.
- Serve with cilantro, Monterey Jack and tortilla chips.
Notes
- Take the cream cheese out of the fridge when you start the pot. Cold cubes dropped into hot broth are what curdle.
Soup freezer containers
Freeze single portions of the chili without the cream cheese.
2. White Bean Chicken Chili From Dry Beans
White bean chicken chili from dry beans costs less, has a creamier bean, and lets you skip the cans. It also has one rule that no canned recipe needs: dried beans must be soaked and boiled before they go in the slow cooker. Raw beans contain a lectin that a boil destroys and a slow cooker does not. The pot never gets hot enough, and undercooked beans can make you sick.
Soak the beans for at least 5 hours, drain them, cover them with fresh water, and boil them hard for 10 minutes. Then they go in with raw chicken thighs and more broth than the base recipe, because dried beans drink liquid as they cook.
Plan on about 7½ hours on LOW, until the beans are soft all the way through. Thighs hold up better than breasts over that long a cook. The beans break down enough on their own that this version needs only half the cream cheese.
A digital thermometer settles whether the beans and chicken are done.
White Bean Chicken Chili From Dry Beans
Course: Main CourseDifficulty: Easy6
servings20
minutes7
hours30
minutesDried Great Northern beans, soaked and boiled first, then cooked with the chicken all day on LOW.
Ingredients
1 lb dried Great Northern beans
1½–2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (4 oz each) diced green chiles
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 lime
Directions
- Cover the dried beans with plenty of water and soak at least 5 hours or overnight, then drain and rinse.
- Put the soaked beans in a saucepan, cover with fresh water and boil hard for 10 minutes. Drain. This step breaks down the lectin that raw beans carry.
- Lay the chicken thighs flat on the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Add the boiled beans, onion, garlic and green chiles on top.
- Pour in the broth and add the cumin, chili powder, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Cover and cook on LOW about 7½ hours, until a bean is soft all the way through when you bite it.
- Shred the chicken in the pot with two forks and mash a handful of beans against the side.
- Stir in the cream cheese and cook on HIGH 15 minutes, until smooth.
- Finish with lime juice and add a splash of broth if the beans drank too much.
Notes
- Do not skip the boil. A slow cooker never gets hot enough to break down the lectin in raw beans, and undercooked dried beans can make you sick.
3. Healthy White Chicken Chili Crockpot
A healthy white chicken chili crockpot version keeps the creamy texture and cuts most of the cheese. The trick is to let the beans do the work: blend 1–2 cups of beans and broth until smooth and stir it back in. The chili comes out as thick as the base recipe with only 2 oz of cream cheese, and a spoonful of Greek yogurt adds the tang that cream cheese usually brings.
Add the yogurt after the heat is off. Stirred into a simmering pot, yogurt splits into grainy curds the same way cold cream cheese does. A third can of beans and a diced jalapeño make up for the lighter dairy. Serve with: a green salad or brown rice. More lighter dinners are in these healthy crockpot recipes.
Healthy White Chicken Chili Crockpot
Course: Main CourseDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes7
hours15
minutesLighter: 2 oz cream cheese and Greek yogurt, with blended beans doing most of the thickening.
Ingredients
1½ lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 cans (15 oz each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
1 diced jalapeño
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
1 lime
Cilantro
Directions
- Put the chicken breasts on the bottom of the slow cooker in a single layer.
- Add the cannellini beans, corn, green chiles, jalapeño, onion and garlic over the chicken.
- Pour in the broth and add the cumin, chili powder, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or HIGH 3 to 4 hours, until the chicken reaches 165°F.
- Lift out the chicken and shred it, then scoop 1 to 2 cups of beans and broth into a blender or use an immersion blender in the pot.
- Stir the blended beans back in. They do most of the thickening, so the chili stays creamy with little dairy.
- Stir in the 2 oz of cream cheese, return the chicken and cook on HIGH 15 minutes.
- Turn the cooker off and wait 5 minutes, so the broth stops bubbling.
- Stir in the yogurt and lime juice off the heat. Yogurt added over heat splits into grainy curds.
- Top with cilantro and serve.
Notes
- The blended beans make it creamy without extra dairy. Add the yogurt off the heat.
4. Dairy-Free White Chicken Chili
For a dairy-free version, full-fat coconut milk replaces the cream cheese, and blended beans do the thickening. Coconut milk does not curdle the way cream cheese can, so it is also the most forgiving finish if you tend to leave the pot on HIGH too long. It goes in at the end with the chicken for the last 15 minutes.
Use full-fat coconut milk. Light coconut milk is mostly water and leaves the chili thin. The lime at the end matters more here than in the base recipe, because it cuts the sweetness of the coconut. Skip the cheese on top and serve it with avocado, cilantro, and tortilla chips.
A TempSwift thermometer reads the chicken in a second.
Dairy-Free White Chicken Chili
Course: Main CourseDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes7
hours15
minutesCoconut milk and blended beans in place of cream cheese; the same timing as the base recipe.
Ingredients
1½–2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans (15 oz each) Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
2 cans (4 oz each) diced green chiles
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 can (13.5 oz) full-fat coconut milk
1 lime
Avocado and cilantro to serve
Directions
- Lay the chicken breasts on the bottom of the slow cooker in one layer.
- Add the beans, corn, green chiles, onion and garlic.
- Pour in the broth and sprinkle over the cumin, chili powder, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or HIGH 3 to 4 hours, until the chicken reads 165°F.
- Move the chicken to a plate and shred it with two forks.
- Blend 1 to 2 cups of beans and broth until smooth and stir it back into the pot.
- Shake the can of coconut milk well, pour it in and add the shredded chicken.
- Cover and heat on HIGH 15 minutes, without letting it boil hard.
- Finish with lime juice and taste for salt.
- Serve topped with sliced avocado and cilantro.
Notes
- Use full-fat coconut milk; light coconut milk makes a thin, watery chili.
5. Mexican Street Corn White Chicken Chili
This one takes the flavors of elote and puts them on top of the creamy base: charred corn, chili powder, cotija, and a lot of lime. Half the corn cooks in the pot like the base recipe. The other half gets charred in a hot, dry skillet while the chili finishes, because a slow cooker only steams corn and never browns it.
The charred corn goes on at the table, not in the pot, so it keeps its bite. Cotija is salty, so taste the chili before adding extra salt. Serve with: tortilla chips and extra lime wedges.
A TempSwift thermometer checks the chicken before the cheese goes in.
Mexican Street Corn White Chicken Chili
Course: Main CourseDifficulty: Easy6
servings20
minutes7
hours15
minutesCharred corn, lime and cotija on top of the creamy base.
Ingredients
1½–2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans (15 oz each) Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn, divided
2 cans (4 oz each) diced green chiles
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3–4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup crumbled cotija
1 tsp chili powder for the corn
2 limes
Cilantro
Directions
- Lay the chicken breasts on the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Add half of the corn, then the beans, onion, garlic and green chiles.
- Pour in 3 cups of the broth and add the cumin, chili powder, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or HIGH 3 to 4 hours, until the chicken reaches 165°F.
- About 20 minutes before the end, heat a dry skillet over high heat and char the rest of the corn with the chili powder for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Shred the chicken, then mash about a third of the beans against the side of the pot.
- Stir in the cream cheese, return the chicken and cook on HIGH 15 minutes until smooth.
- Thin with broth if needed and squeeze in the juice of one lime.
- Ladle into bowls and top with the charred corn, cotija and cilantro.
- Serve with the second lime cut in wedges.
Notes
- Char the corn in the skillet, not the pot: the slow cooker only steams it.
6. Keto White Chicken Chili (No Beans)
A keto white chicken chili drops the beans and the corn. That also takes away the thickener, so this version changes two things: it uses less broth, and it leans on cream cheese, a splash of heavy cream, and melted Monterey Jack for body. Chicken thighs stay juicy through the full cook and give the chili more richness than breasts would.
Without beans there is nothing to mash, so do not add more than 3 cups of broth at the start. If it is still thin at the end, leave the lid off for the last 15 minutes on HIGH. Serve with: avocado, sour cream, and sliced jalapeño in place of chips.
A instant-read thermometer tells you when the thighs are ready to shred.
Keto White Chicken Chili (No Beans)
Course: Main CourseDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes7
hours15
minutesNo beans and no corn: chicken thighs, green chiles and cream cheese with a splash of cream.
Ingredients
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cans (4 oz each) diced green chiles
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 diced jalapeño
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack
Sliced avocado to serve
Directions
- Lay the chicken thighs on the bottom of the slow cooker in one layer.
- Add the green chiles, onion, jalapeño and garlic.
- Pour in only 3 cups of broth, because there are no beans to absorb it, and add the spices.
- Cover and cook on LOW 6 to 8 hours or HIGH 3 to 4 hours, until the thighs shred easily.
- Shred the chicken directly in the pot with two forks.
- Stir in the cream cheese and the heavy cream.
- Cover and cook on HIGH 15 minutes, stirring once, until the cheese has melted into the broth.
- Turn off the heat and let the bubbling stop.
- Stir in the Monterey Jack off the heat so it melts without turning stringy.
- Serve with sliced avocado.
Notes
- Without beans there is nothing to mash, so use only 3 cups of broth. Thighs stay juicy through the full cook.
7. White Chicken Chili With Rotisserie Chicken
Rotisserie chicken turns this into an afternoon recipe. The chicken is already cooked, so it does not need the hours. Only the bean base does: beans, chiles, onion, and broth cook on HIGH 2–4 hours or LOW 4–6 hours, until the onion is soft. The shredded chicken goes in with the cream cheese for the last 15 minutes, just long enough to get hot.
Put rotisserie chicken in at the start and it cooks twice. The meat turns stringy and dry. This is also the version to make with leftover chicken, or with chicken you froze already cooked and thawed in the fridge. More ideas for cooked chicken are in these chicken crockpot recipes.
A DOQAUS thermometer tells you when the chicken is hot after it goes in.
White Chicken Chili With Rotisserie Chicken
Course: Main CourseDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes3
hours15
minutesThe bean base cooks alone; cooked chicken only heats through at the end.
Ingredients
3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
2 cans (15 oz each) Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn
2 cans (4 oz each) diced green chiles
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 lime
Directions
- Pull the cream cheese out of the refrigerator to soften.
- Put the beans, corn, green chiles, onion and garlic in the slow cooker.
- Pour in the broth and add the cumin, chili powder, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Cover and cook on HIGH 2 to 4 hours or LOW 4 to 6 hours, until the onion is soft.
- Mash about a third of the beans against the side of the pot.
- Shred the rotisserie chicken and stir it in with the cream cheese.
- Cook on HIGH 15 minutes, just until the chicken is hot and the sauce is smooth.
- Finish with lime juice and taste for salt.
- Serve with chips or a spoonful of sour cream.
Notes
- Rotisserie chicken is already cooked. Hours in the pot only dry it out, so it goes in at the end.
If it goes wrong
Grainy specks in the sauce
Cream cheese curdles for one of two reasons: it went in too early, or it went in cold. Both leave pale specks floating in a thin broth. Add it at the end, soft, and give it only 15 minutes on HIGH.
Pin itTo rescue it, ladle out a cup of broth, whisk a few cubes of soft cream cheese into it in a bowl until smooth, and stir that back in.
Watery or thin chili
Mash another cup of beans, or leave the lid off for the last half hour. Next time start with 3 cups of broth instead of 4.
A sauce welded to the pot
A thick, cheese-based sauce sticks to the insert over a long cook. A liner comes out clean.
Pin itHow to Store, Reheat and Freeze White Chicken Chili
Get leftovers into the refrigerator within 2 hours, in shallow containers, because a full insert holds heat for hours. The chili keeps 3 to 4 days.
Pin itIt thickens overnight as the beans soak up the broth. Reheat on the stove over low heat with a splash of broth until it reaches 165°F, and do not boil hard, because the cream cheese can split on the second day. To freeze, pack it without the cream cheese, and stir the cheese in while you reheat. More make-ahead dinners are in these crockpot freezer meals.
Key takeaways
- Cook the chicken first and the cream cheese last.
- Take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator when you start the pot.
- Mash a third of the beans to thicken, never flour.
- Soak and boil dried beans before they go in the cooker.
- Add rotisserie chicken in the last 15 minutes.
- Cool leftovers within 2 hours and reheat gently with broth.
When the free version isn’t enough
A recipe cannot see inside the pot. Chicken breast dries out past 165°F and beans need to be soft all the way through, and a thermometer answers both in a second.
Common questions
How long does white chicken chili take to cook in a crock pot?
Six to eight hours on LOW or three to four on HIGH, plus 15 minutes on HIGH after the cream cheese goes in. The chicken is done at 165°F.
Can you cook white chicken chili on high in a crock pot?
Yes, three to four hours on HIGH. LOW gives chicken breasts a wider window before they dry out, which matters if you are away all day.
How to thicken crockpot white chicken chili?
Mash about a third of the beans against the side of the pot, or blend one to two cups of beans and broth. If it is still thin, cook the last 15 to 30 minutes with the lid off, or stir in a cornstarch slurry. Do not use flour.
How to make white chicken chili creamy in a slow cooker?
Stir in cream cheese at room temperature at the end, after the chicken is shredded, and give it 15 minutes on HIGH. Mashed beans make it creamy too, which is how the healthy and dairy-free versions get their body.
Why did my cream cheese curdle?
It went in too early or too cold. Add it soft, at the end, and keep the heat low once it is in.
Can I use frozen chicken breasts?
No. Frozen chicken spends too long between 40°F and 140°F before the pot gets it hot. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight first.
Can I use rotisserie chicken?
Yes. Cook the bean base alone and stir the shredded chicken in with the cream cheese for the last 15 minutes.
What beans are best for white chicken chili?
Great Northern beans are the classic, and cannellini hold their shape a little more. Drain and rinse canned beans.
How long is crockpot white chicken chili good for?
Three to four days in the refrigerator, and three to four months in the freezer for best quality.
