Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
This Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili is perfect for cold winter days. A good squeeze or two of fresh lime juice adds a delicious boost of flavor to this recipe!
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Speaking of snow plows, I recently saw that a number of cities are branching out from the traditional salt on the roads. Typically, trucks packed with rock salt (the same salt as what you have on your dinner table) scatter the roads with large chunks of salt prior to a big snow storm. Salt lowers the freezing point of water, thus helping to melt the snow that falls on roadways. (Interestingly enough, the largest salt mining company in the US is actually located in western New York state. Good place considering all of that lake effect snow that buries Buffalo ever year!)
As helpful as it is, salt can actually damage nearby plant and animal life, and a number of cities have begun using other non-salt methods for prepping their roads. Enter beet juice. Yes, beet juice. It turns out that beet juice combined with salt not only further lowers the freezing point for water, but the sticky solution actually stays on the roads rather than bouncing off like rock salt.
And beet juice isn’t the only food by-product being used in the winter. Wisconsin has been experimenting with using cheese brine (normally a farm waste product) on their roads. And New Jersey has tested out using pickle juice to treat their roads. Last but not least, Tennessee has been toying with using potato juice brine…which is actually a byproduct of the vodka-making process. Interesting. I would’ve thought Tennessee would be using a byproduct of the whiskey-making process. Either way, kinda cool, huh?
But let’s circle back to the food. And not the beet or pickle brine kinda food. I’m talking the Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili kinda food. This chili is seriously the stuff to cure cold winter days! I did opt to brown the chicken in a skillet first, so that added about 10 minutes to the cooking process. Other than that, this Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili is embarrassingly easy to make! (And honestly, the browning is an optional step. You could just let the chicken cook in the slow cooker along with all of the other flavors.)
I like to add a good bit of lime juice to this chili as it helps brighten the final dish. For some reason, I always crave citrus flavors once we hit the coldest part of the winter. (It’s probably why I always crave lemon desserts during this time of the year, too.) But the lime juice coupled with the fresh cilantro bring a nice, fresh flavor to this Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili. This one is perfect for bundling up on the couch…trust me! In fact, my plans for tonight? Curling. My plans for tomorrow? A bowl of Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili and the couch. And a couple of blankets.
Stay warm and enjoy this delicious chili, my friends!
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1” cubes
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
For the White Chili
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 2 tsp garlic minced
- 2 15-oz. cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 15.25-oz can of corn, drained (or 2 cups frozen corn)
- 1 4½-oz. can green chilies
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened
- {for topping} additional cilantro sour cream, diced tomatoes, shredded pepper jack cheese, lime wedges, tortilla strips
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Using a large skillet, add olive oil and place over medium-high heat.
- Sprinkle cubed chicken with oregano, salt and pepper.
- Once heated, add chicken to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-7 minutes, or until chicken is browned on all sides. Transfer chicken into slow cooker.
For the White Chili
- Add remaining ingredients except for cilantro, lime juice and cream cheese (diced onion, diced bell pepper, garlic, white beans, broth, corn, green chilies, cumin, salt, chili powder and pepper) to slow cooker; stir until well combined.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.
- After cooking, stir in chopped cilantro, lime juice and cream cheese.
- Before serving, garnish with additional cilantro, sour cream, diced tomatoes, shredded pepper jack cheese, lime wedges and/or tortilla strips.
I will tell my hubby about this recipe….I am sure he would love to try this version of a chicken recipe. Happy weekend David. 🙂
This chili is so delicious, Puja! It’s like a big hug in a bowl…especially on a cold day. I was actually thinking about you as you’ve mentioned in the past that your husband loves chicken. I hope he likes this one, too! 🙂 Thanks so much, my friend!
This recipe looks like the epitome of comfort food. I live in the PNW and this winter has been unusually mild and dry (compared to last winter which was the wettest on record). It doesn’t snow often in Portland but when it does, the entire city shuts down. The city doesn’t use salt so our hilly roads are an icy, dangerous mess. I wonder if beet juice is on the city’s radar.
Anyway, I’m pinning this recipe for later, it sounds freaking scrumptious!
Oh man, snowy Portland sounds a lot like snowy (insert Southern city here). The entire place would shut down for days…and good luck finding any bread or milk in the stores! This white chicken chili seriously is scrumptious, and it can just sit there and simmer away in the slow cooker all day. Then that leaves you with one delicious dinner when you walk in the door that night! 🙂 Hope you guys are having a great weekend so far, Christina!
It’s so cool that they’re looking for non-salt options! True story: in Syracuse, the first time I drove after it snowed, I couldn’t figure out what the white specks splattering all over my windshield were. I thought something was spraying out of my windshield wipers and I was worried my car was broken. . .turns out it was salt coming up from the road. I can’t decide if beet juice would have been more or less scary. But either way, this chili sounds like the perfect antidote to a chilly upstate day! Have a great weekend!
Oh man, the salt from the roads. It gets everywhere! I swear my normally grey car turns a few shades lighter in the winter. I want to go rinse it all off, but it would all be right back just from the drive home. I wonder if beet juice when turn cars reddish purple?? Hmmm. It’s hard to beat a good chili on a cold weekend day. Hope you are having a great weekend so far, Kelsie!
There is totally nothing more comforting that chili by the fire on a snowy day! As long as I don’t have anywhere to go, bring on the snow! And I love all the garnish that goes along with it! These looks delicious, David!
I saw on the news a week or so ago that there was some place (not sure if it was in Canada or the US) that was testing out using some sort of wood chips in lieu of salt. Apparently, it’s more expensive, but better. Anywho – just a little piece of info. Salt is pretty harsh, I do agree. Hope you have a lovely, cozy weekend, my friend!
I’m right there with ya on your snow philosophy, Dawn. As long as I don’t have to get out and drive in it, then bring it on. I’ll light a fire and curl up on the couch. But having to get out and shovel the driveway? No thank you, very much! Wood chips instead of salt? Hmmm. That certainly would be more expensive, but it’s a pretty cool idea. I’ll have to hunt down that article now!
I busted out my slow cooker last week and made some delicious stew. There is nothing more comforting than sitting by a roaring fire, I haven’t had the pleasure of doing it on a snowy night. Wow Beet juice and salt huh? I would have never guessed. How did she finger that one out? Your White Chicken Chili looks hearty just like I like it. Have a great weekend David.
I totally feel ya on the slow cooker stew, Mary! Slow cooker stews are just made for winter weekends. 🙂 This White Chicken Chili is really quite tasty, so if you’re in the mood for another slow cooker meal this week, then I highly recommend it. The lime juice in there adds such a fun twist of flavor!
Very questionable, using only white chickens in your chili, but I guess it’s a sign of the times. Wait, it’s the chili that’s white? Oh. Anyway, weirdly enough, I just made a pot of chili last night. I should track these weird coincidences that I so often have with your blog, to see if they correspond to moon phases or star alignments.
Haha! Yeah, those white chickens. 🙂 Also, I’ve been reading a book that touches on astrology and I’m thinking we might have an astral connection going on Jeff. I mean how many times over the years have we made the same thing within days of each other. Crazy talk I say! Now I just wish I had more of this chili for lunch today…
I totally understand your trouble with lake effect snow! Although I’m sure you get it a lot worse, we certainly have experienced it here! Good thing our apartment has their own crew to take care of the shoveling though!
You’re chili though, looks awesome! I don’t think the white chili’s I’ve had utilize lime juice like you have here. The citrus burst probably gives it ton of deliciousness that’s sure to please. Great looking chili David!
So we are fortunate that we’re several hours east of the lakes, so the lake effect snow isn’t that bad out here. Sure, we get dumped on from time to time, but nothing like they get over there in Buffalo. I remember last year when they had snow above their doors…can you imagine!? Anyways, this chili. So good! I love the strong hit of lime juice in there in addition to the cilantro. It brings a Mexican flavor twist that is so tasty. Thanks, buddy!
Huh…..I wonder if more animals will be on the roads licking all the salty mixture off the roads? Some may be stumbling away if there’s any alcohol left in there. So interesting how things work. I’ll ponder it a bit more while eating a bowl of this chili! We’ve got a blustery, snowy day here today and it’s a perfect day for making and eating chili!
Interesting. I’ve never thought about how the food byproducts might lead to animals on the road…but it makes sense. That could definitely be an unintended side effect! Like you, we should make a pot of this chili and ponder that question. Perhaps by a fire? And on the couch with blankets? 🙂 Thanks, Kathy!
Beet juice for de-icing??? Dang the power of that little veggie!! 🙂 It is one of my favourite veggies so am a tad bit biased!
It’s warmed up nicely here (though just as I say that I hear my heater come on which means it’s colder this morning which means am jinxing myself as I type) but this soup would be delicious no matter if it’s cold or hot outside – I could do some serious damage to this soup and a bag of chips! Beet chips that is! 🙂
Haha…I knew you would find this post interesting, Shashi! I think beets + Shashi are forever intertwined in my head after seeing you create donuts from beets. That’s a legendary recipe! I can’t believe it’s already starting to warm up down south. I mean as I say that we are due to hit 70 on Wednesday…70! Of course, that will break the all-time record, but still. You better believe I’ll be putting the leftover soup aside in favor of the grill that day…haha! 🙂
Interesting read about road treatments for ice. I have heard that salt is not a good thing for the environment. Love this chicken chili, I could use a bowl of this today. I love eating citrus in the winter too.
Yeah, it makes sense that the salt hurts the environment, so it’s pretty cool what other ideas folks are coming up with. We’ll see if they become widespread though. In the meantime, I’ll be curled up on the couch tonight with a bowl of this soup. The lime juice in this one is delicious! Thanks, Dawn!
I always crave citrus flavors in winter. Indeed, citrus fruits are my favorite kind of fruit during the winter time. I can literally eat a pound of them (I’m talking about oranges and tangerins, not that much about lemons haha) in few minutes. And I would eat more in the past. I recall one time (10 years ago) when I ate more than 2 kg of oranges in two hours. It’s like 8 large fruit I guess). I belive this craving somehow is related to a lack of vitamins we might experience in winter. And this delicious chicken chili? Forget oranges – I’m craving this now 😉
I’m with ya on the citrus in the winter. I guess it’s my body’s way of fighting off scurvy, huh? Haha! Man, 10kg of oranges in 2 hours? That’s insane…and it also makes me want to go see if we have any oranges upstairs. That sounds delicious right about now! Try this chicken chili sometime this winter, Ben. The lime juice in there is so delicious!
One of my favorite things about your blog (along with your delicious recipes) is that everytime I visit, I learn something new! A year or two ago, you introduced me to the Jackson Hole webcam, which I happily watched all winter long (I looked for it the other day and I think it might be offline now?? So sad!) Now, you’ve introduced me to food products used for prepping roads, which I knew nothing about! I had no idea that salt wasn’t good for the environment and I love the idea of using food waste to counteract the negative effects. Beet juice is genius and makes a ton of sense! I’ll have to look into this some more. I wonder if it can be used for smaller jobs (like driveways) in addition to roads. I imagine that it would work.
Anyway, on to your recipe! This chili looks so comforting and delicious! I love using the slow cooker, especially when it’s cold and I’m feeling lazy. I also love that it’s gluten-free (I’m a gluten-free blogger). A lot of chilis contain malt vinegar, which isn’t a gluten-free product, so I’m so glad to see a delicious chili recipe that doesn’t use that ingredient. Can’t wait to try this. Thanks for sharing, David!
Hey Alyssa! Wow, thank you so much for the kind words. Seriously. 🙂 I like to try to make posts interesting to read in addition to including a recipe, and I’m glad you enjoy reading them! So I didn’t realize until recently that salt was bad for the environment, but it makes sense, right? I mean it’s cheap and we still use it on the roads, but all of that runoff isn’t good for nearby plants and animals. Interesting point though…personal driveways. I wonder if I can come up with something to use here?? I might have to look a little further myself!
So this chili is indeed perfect for cold days when you’re feeling lazy. I was definitely feeling a bit lazy at the beginning of this week…it tends to happen in the winter. Definitely try this chili out when you get a chance. The lime juice in it is SO delicious! Thanks again, Alyssa…you rock!
I have never prepared white chicken chili but your recipe seems delightful, David! I will definitely give it a try and let you know how I like it. 🙂
Oh, this chili is so easy, too, Agness! I highly recommend making a batch. Let me know what you think about it! 🙂