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    🏠Home » Recipes » Chili Recipes

    Crock Pot Southwest Chicken Chili

    Sep 13, 2019 · Modified: Feb 21, 2023 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 8 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4 from 5 votes

    Southwest Chicken Chili is slow cooker comfort food with various types of beans, vegetables, and chunks of chicken all in a southwest broth.

    southwest chicken chili in spoon.
    Jump To:
    • 😊Why this is the recipe for you
    • 👨‍🍳How to make southwest chicken chili
    • 🥣Ingredients
    • ❓FAQs
    • Chicken Chili Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • Recipe
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    😊Why this is the recipe for you

    • This great-tasting healthy chili is less than 300 calories, is gluten-free, and is low-fat.
    • Great hardy, warm, you-to-the-bone taste with a mild heat.
    • Easy to make in your crock pot.
    • It uses raw chicken, so there is no need to buy a rotisserie chicken or precook.
    • Thicken it to your taste.
    • Everybody will want seconds—we did.

    👨‍🍳How to make southwest chicken chili

    1. Trim and cube (about ¾ inch) about 2 pounds of skinless boneless chicken breasts.
    2. Cut your veggies and prep garlic (crushed or minced)
    3. Rinse and drain beans,
    4. Add all the ingredients except the optional thickening.
    5. Cook on low for 3-4 hours, until the temperature of the chicken is 165°.
    6. Thickening if you want with masa harina or cornstarch.

    🥣Ingredients

    • Chicken—Use skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs. There is no need to precook the chicken. Just cut it into bite-size pieces. If you prefer shredded chicken, add the chicken breasts whole and remove them with one hour left in cooking and shred, then place back in the crock pot.
    • Beans—Use cannellini beans, pinto beans, black beans, kidney beans, or white beans like navy or great northern. All are rinsed and drained to help decrease the sodium and to help the appearance. Use any combination you want.
    • Salsa/Rotel—Use 2 cups of salsa or a 10 oz can of Rotel. This will provide most of the spices. You can use a can of diced tomatoes and bump the spices up some.
    • Vegetables—Two bell peppers—the color of your choice, a large onion, and jalapeno pepper. Optionally, you can add a can of drained corn.
    • Optional Thickening—Start with two tablespoons of masa harina or cornstarch mixed with an equal amount of cool water, then mix into the chili. Add more in 10-15 minutes if needed.

    ❓FAQs

    How to adjust the heat level of this chili.

    This is about a 4/10 heat level with the Rotel and jalapeno. If you use salsa, it will depend on your choice of salsa.

    How to serve Southwest Chicken Chili

    Top sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack, or Pepper Jack. Other toppings like cilantro, chopped tomatoes, slices of green onion, or slices of jalapenos.

    Serve with cornbread or corn tortilla chips on the side.

    How to store leftovers?

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

    Chicken Chili Recipes

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    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

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Chili Recipes, Crock Pot Recipes, Healthy Recipes, Low Fat Recipes
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    trimmed and cubed chicken on board.

    Trim and cube (about ¾ inch) about 2 pounds of skinless boneless chicken breasts.

    chopped veggies on board.

    Chop 1 large onion and 2 bell peppers—dice 1 jalapeno pepper.

    rinsing white beans under running water

    Drain and rinse three cans of beans of your choice: cannellini, beans, black beans, kidney beans, or white beans like navy or great northern.

    mixing all ingredients in crock pot.

    Add all the ingredients except the optional thickener to a 4 quart or larger crock pot. Cook on low until the chicken is 165° which should be 3-4 hours.

    adding thickener to crock pot.

    To thicken (optional), start with two tablespoons of masa harina or cornstarch whisked with an equal amount of cool water, then stir into the chili. Add more in 10-15 minutes if needed.

    ladle of chili over crock pot.
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    Recipe

    southwest chicken chili in spoon

    Crock Pot Southwest Chicken Chili

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Southwest Chicken Chili is slow cooker comfort food with various types of beans, vegetables, and chunks of chicken all in a southwest broth.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4 from 5 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 4 hours
    Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 8

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts - about
    • 2 bell peppers - diced, various colors
    • 1 onion - large
    • 1 jalapeno pepper
    • 42 oz cannellini beans, black beans, kidney beans, or white beans - drained
    • 2 cups salsa - or 10 oz RoTel
    • 14 oz chicken broth - decrease for thicker
    • 4 cloves garlic
    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon oregano
    • 1 tablespoon chili powder
    • masa harina or cornstarch optional for thickening
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Trim and cube (about ¾ inch) about 2 pounds of skinless boneless chicken breasts.
      trimmed and cubed chicken on board
    • Chop 1 large onion and 2 bell peppers—dice 1 jalapeno pepper.
      chopped veggies on board
    • Drain and rinse three cans of beans of your choice: cannellini beans, black beans, kidney beans, or white beans like navy or great northern.
    • Add all the ingredients except the optional thickener to a 4 quart or larger crock pot. Cook on low until the chicken is 165° which should be 3-4 hours.
      mixing all ingredients in crock pot
    • To thicken (optional), start with two tablespoons of masa harina or cornstarch whisked with an equal amount of cool water, then stir into the chili. Add more in 10-15 minutes if needed.
      adding thickener to crock pot
    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 but the photos DO NOT print.

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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips

    1. This needs a 4 quart or larger crock pot but please 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 for nutrition is about 1 ½ cups.
    5. 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.
    6. This is about a 4/10 heat level with the Rotel and jalapeno. Heat will vary with the salsa you choose if you use that.
    7. 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

    Nutrition Facts
    Crock Pot Southwest Chicken Chili
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 208 Calories from Fat 18
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 2g3%
    Saturated Fat 1g5%
    Cholesterol 27mg9%
    Sodium 467mg19%
    Potassium 712mg20%
    Carbohydrates 29g10%
    Fiber 9g36%
    Sugar 4g4%
    Protein 19g38%
    Vitamin A 377IU8%
    Vitamin C 9mg11%
    Calcium 79mg8%
    Iron 3mg17%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    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

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

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

    Molly in the yard
    Molly after running.

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    1. Emma @ Savor the Flavour

      September 18, 2019 at 5:20 pm

      This chili looks delicious, Dr. Dan! I love good soups that "warm you to the bone!" 😊

      Reply
    2. Charles

      April 13, 2015 at 8:32 pm

      This turned out beautifully! thank you.

      I went the low sodium route (low-s version of the ingredients, rinsed the beans, etc.) and the first bite or two were "Hmm, bland.. hmmm.. good..." After debating for a bit what spices I should add/change for the next try, and failing since the tastes were so balanced, I just added a tiny shake of salt to my bowl, and - the rest of the bowl was perfect! Next time, I might skip the bean rinse, or just use some reg-salt ingredients, but regardless, there *will* be a next time on this recipe.

      Well done, Sir!

      Reply
      • DrDan

        April 13, 2015 at 8:41 pm

        Thanks for the note. A little salt does wonders to flavor sometimes.

        DrDan

      • Charles

        May 09, 2015 at 10:44 pm

        4 stars
        I redid this one today, using normal ingredients (i.e., no low sodium, no rinsing of the beans.)

        It turned out perfectly. A bit of salt does wonders.

        I wonder if a bit more heat - ie 1/8-1/4t cayenne would allow the low sodium version to shine. Maybe next time. Maybe not - why mess with a good thing.

        Thanks again, Sir.

        P.S. I agree with your assessment - it's a 4. really good, but not quite as good as say, a steak, or a really good stew, or anything less "healthy." Compared to other healthy-ish recipes, this is a 5. Compared to actual carnivore food, 4 seems fair.

    3. Chris

      September 18, 2011 at 8:35 am

      The weather turned cold here last week so I'll be keeping this one in mind for someday soon. Nice trick with the masa harina.

      Reply
    4. Mary

      September 14, 2011 at 1:34 pm

      I really like this recipe. I'm new to your blog and decided to spend some extra time browsing through your earlier posts. I'm so glad I did that. I really love the food and recipes you share with your readers and I'll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings...Mary

      Reply
    5. Jeffrey and Juli

      September 13, 2011 at 10:09 am

      We're still waiting for colder weather here in Iowa, but I'm definitely going to try this out soon. Gotta love those crock pot meals! Or, as the snobby cooking magazines now call them, "slow cookers". :)

      Juli

      Reply
    6. Inspired by eRecipeCards

      September 12, 2011 at 6:27 pm

      Beautiful photo... just wanted to stop and say thanks for being such an active part of erecipecards... Love your recipes...

      Reply

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