Crock Pot Southwest Chicken Chili

This will warm you to the bone and please your taste buds with a great southwest flavor all with under 300 calories per serving. Just follow these easy step by step photo instructions.

Table of Contents

• 🐓The Chicken
• 📋Ingredients
• ♨️Crock Pot
• ⏰Cooking Time
• Chicken Chili Recipes
• 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
• 📖Full Recipe

Introduction

This is a crock pot version of a chili I have done for years in a Dutch oven with precooked chicken in the oven. I do both a chicken version, Healthy Southwest Chicken Chili, or pork tenderloin version.

I wanted to simplify the recipe, and a crock pot is just the right thing. No precooking today and I also modified a few ingredients and gave you some options.

All chili is just a great place to use "must go" things you have hanging around. So vary whatever you want.

My Rating

A very strong 4. If I didn't have so many other really good chili/soup recipes, it would be a 5. We both had seconds two evenings in a row and then my wife finished it for lunch. I guess it was alright.

🐓The Chicken

All my other versions of this chili I make are also low fat. So I used chicken breasts, but thighs would be fine.

There is no need to precook the chicken. Just cut it in bit size bites. If you prefer shredded chicken, add the chicken breasts whole and remove near the end of cooking and shred then place back in the crock pot.

📋Ingredients

The Beans

You need beans. To me, chili always has beans. I used two cans of cannellini and a can of black beans; all rinsed and drained. Use any combination you want.

The Rotel

I used a 10 oz can of Rotel to replace 2 cups of salsa in the other recipe. My wife has never been a salsa lover. It is chili; you are not wedded to a recipe.

This is about a 4/10 heat level with the Rotel and jalapeno. If you don't that, cut the jalapeno and if you want used drained diced tomatoes instead.

Optional Thickening

I used Masa to thicken the chili some. It works well and adds a bit of corn flavor. Or you could add corn starch, flour or just leave the lid off the crock pot the last hour.

♨️Crock Pot

As written, this recipe needs a crock pot 4 quart or bigger. You can easily fudge it down a bit in size by cutting out a can of beans and some of the chicken. It would then fit in a 3 ½ quart and might squeeze into a 3 quart. Do not fill a crock pot more than 75% full.

This will be good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 days.

⏰Cooking Time

Most crockpot recipes way overcook chicken and most recipes like this will be for 8 hours on low., way overcooked. I have 3-4 hours on low suggested but also an endpoint of 165 as the real endpoint.

Crock pots vary a lot, and the time for you could be as little as 2 hours.

Chicken Chili Recipes

Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin Chili

Low Fat High Taste Crock Pot White Chicken Chili

Salsa Verde White Chicken Chili a la Crock Pot

Soup Nazi,s Mexican Chicken Chili

🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Trim and cube (about ¾ inch) 3 skinless boneless chicken breast. (about 2 to 2 ½ lbs).

Cut your veggies. I used a large yellow onion, a green, and red pepper and a jalapeno.

Add all the ingredients except the optional masa and water. You can rinse the beans if you wish and it may decrease the sodium some. Cook on low until chicken is 165 which should be 3-4 hours.

Thickening Option: You can combine ¼ cup masa flour and ½ cup of water. I used a Tupperware gravy mixer, but a bowl and whisk would do. Mix your masa mixture in well and cook until thickend, about 15 more minutes.

📖Full Recipe

Crock Pot Southwest Chicken Chili

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

This will warm you to the bone and please your taste buds with a great
southwest flavor all with under 300 calories per serving. Just follow
these easy step by step photo instructions.

Tap to leave a Rating

4 from 5 votes

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Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes

Servings #/Adjust if desired 8

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Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric

• ▢ 3 skinless boneless chicken breasts
• ▢ 2 green or red peppers - diced
• ▢ 1 onion - large yellow or white
• ▢ 1 jalapeno pepper
• ▢ 42 oz beans - 28 cannelloni 14 black
• ▢ 10 oz RoTel
• ▢ 14 oz chicken broth
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon oregano
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chili powder

Optional thickening

• ▢ ¼ cup mesa flour - Or corn starch
• ▢ ½ cup water

Instructions

• Trim and cube (about ¾ inch) 3 skinless boneless chicken breast. (about 2 to 2 ½ lbs).
• Cut your veggies and prep garlic (crushed or minced)
• Add all the ingredients except the optional mesa and water. Please rinse and drain beans before adding.
• Cook on low for 3-4 hours, until temperature of chicken is 165.
• Thickening Option: You can combine ¼ cup mesa flour and ½ cup of water. I used a Tupperware gravy mixer, but a bowl and whisk would do. Mix your masa mixture in well and cook until thickened, about 15 more minutes.

See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions.

Recipe Notes

Pro Tips

1. This uses a full-size crock pot. It is just a touch too big for a 3 ½ qt. You can change around some of the ingredients to get it to fit in a smaller crock pot but remember not to fill more than 75%.
2. You can use chicken thighs.
3. The beans can be varied to your taste.
4. A serving size is about 1 ½ cup.
5. Masa flour and corn starch are about the same, just a different texture and thickening is optional
6. Most crockpot recipes way overcook chicken and most recipes like this will be for 8 hours on low., way overcooked. I have 3-4 hours on low suggested but also an endpoint of 165 as the real endpoint.
7. Crock pots vary a lot, and the time for you could be as little as 2 hours.
8. Serving size is about 1 ½ cup.
9. This is about a 4/10 heat level with the Rotel and jalapeno. If you don't that, cut the jalapeno and if you want used drained diced tomatoes instead.
10. Good refrigerated for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 months.

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories : 208 kcalCarbohydrates : 29 gProtein : 19 gFat : 2 gSaturated Fat : 1 gCholesterol : 27 mgSodium : 467 mgPotassium : 712 mgFiber : 9 gSugar : 4 gVitamin A : 377 IUVitamin C : 9 mgCalcium : 79 mgIron : 3 mg

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Course :Main dish

Cuisine :American

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Editor's Note: Originally Published September 12, 2011. Updated with expanded instructions and discussion along with updated photos.