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Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili is a great way to change up chili night and it’s sure to be a hit with buffalo chicken lovers! Spicy, creamy and full of shredded chicken, white beans, corn, fire roasted tomatoes, green chiles and so much more!
Looking for another slow cooker chili recipe? Try this slow cooker bison sweet potato chili!
Why you’ll love it
Slow cooker – Making this slow cooker a.k.a. crockpot buffalo chicken chili is effortless! Stir the ingredients together, let it cook, shred the chicken, and serve.
Great for game day – Every game day and the Super Bowl needs an award winning chili and this is mine! I love this buffalo chicken chili because it’s a version that reminds you of chicken wings, but without all the mess and a heartier and healthier way to get those flavors! My buffalo chicken dip is another game day favorite and great to serve as a game day appetizer.
Alternative to ground beef chili – Traditionally chili is made with ground beef and has a tomato based broth. This chicken chili is a nice alternative to beef and still has all the heartiness that you want and expect from chili. You might also enjoy my white chicken chili.
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken breasts – Chicken thighs are also a great option. They’re also more forgiving than chicken breasts if cooked a little too long. You can also use ground chicken if you prefer, but will need to cook it before adding it into the slow cooker. The cook time for the chili will be much shorter, between 2-3 hours.
- Chili powder, ground cumin, garlic and onion powder – The spice blend used to season the chicken and flavor the chili. Be sure to use a chili powder blend that is mild and not straight chile powder, which can be very spicy.
- Frozen corn – For extra flavor try frozen fire roasted corn.
- Diced green chiles – They come in mild and hot varieties, use either depending on how spicy you want it.
- Fire roasted tomatoes – I love the added smoky flavor fire roasted give the chili. You can substitute with regular canned diced tomatoes if needed.
- Cannellini beans – The creamy texture and mild flavor works great in this chili. You can also use navy beans, great northern beans, or even black beans.
- Buffalo sauce/hot sauce – I recommend using the Noble Made brand for buffalo sauce, but use whatever your favorite is.
- Chicken broth – Stick to low sodium to prevent the chili from being to salty.
- Cream cheese – Low fat or full fat can be used. Make sure it’s room temperature before adding it to the chili.
- Plain Greek yogurt – Full fat or 2% Greek yogurt needs to be used. It has a richer flavor and the risk of it curdling is far less than when using non-fat.
Tips for Making Buffalo Chicken Chili
- Use a good slow cooker that’s large enough. For this recipe I used a 6 quart slow cooker.
- Don’t overcook the chicken or it will be dry. 8 hours is too long to cook chicken breasts. If you cook this on high it will take approximately 3 hours and on low 4-6 hours. The timing will be determined by the size of your chicken breasts and your slow cooker.
- For a chili that’s thicker reduce the chicken broth to 2 cups.
- Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature so it incorporates into the chili easier. Whisking it in makes it easier to get rid of any lumps.
- Use low-fat or full-fat Greek yogurt for the chili. It should be at room temperature and needs to be whisked in at the end so that it doesn’t curdle or break in the heat.
Toppings for Buffalo Chicken Chili
- Crumbled Blue Cheese. Blue cheese and buffalo sauce are a great combination. That’s why they’re often paired together when you order chicken wings.
- Green onions
- Cilantro or celery leaves
- Cheddar, Monterey Jack or Colby Jack cheese. If you love cheese, I highly recommend doing both blue cheese and Colby Jack cheese on top of this chili.
- An extra dollop of plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- Extra buffalo sauce, My go-to is Frank’s Buffalo Sauce
- Tortilla chips or corn chips crumbled on top if you need some crunch. They also make a great edible spoon to eat the chili with.
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 stalks of celery diced
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 14.5 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
- 4 ounce can diced green chiles
- 15 ounce can cannellini beans
- 1/2 cup hot sauce such as Noble Made or Franks Buffalo Sauce
- 2 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 4 ounces low fat cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt room temperature
- Blue cheese cheddar cheese, cilantro and green onions for toppings
Instructions
- Add the chicken breasts and all of the other ingredients except the cream cheese and Greek yogurt to the slow cooker. Stir everything together then cover it with the lid. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours or until the chicken breasts are cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and onto a plate. Use forks or your hands to shred it. Add the cream cheese into the slow cooker and whisk it in until there’s no lumps. Add the shredded chicken back in and cover with the lid. Cook on low for another 30 minutes.
- Turn off the slow cooker and quickly stir in the Greek yogurt. Don’t let it sit or it may curdle. Taste for seasoning. Top the chili with shredded cheese, blue cheese crumbles, green onions, cilantro and extra hot sauce if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to keep chicken from getting dry in the slow cooker
- They don’t need 8+ hours to cook. Have you noticed how dry and stringy chicken breasts are after you leave them in the slow cooker all day? Even on a low setting they only need 4-6 hours.
- Don’t put frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker. This will add a significant amount of cooking time to whatever recipe you are making. I have also found that the texture of the chicken isn’t very appealing and often dry as well.
Storage
Just like my no bean chili, this buffalo chicken chili tastes even better the day after it was made. The chili can be stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
I don’t recommend freezing this chili because it has dairy in it and will likely separate and have a grainy texture when you reheat it.
Reheating Leftovers
Reheat the leftover chili in the microwave until warmed through or on the stove in a saucepan over medium heat.
More buffalo chicken recipes
- Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers
- Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats
- Skinny Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Buffalo Chicken Salad with Spicy Ranch Dressing
- Baked Buffalo Chicken Wonton Cups
This recipe is delicious and so easy. I’ve made it a bunch of times and shared it with others and everyone has loved it. I love adding toppings for some extra flavor! I swap beans for chickpeas because I like them better and the author recommends not freezing but I have frozen it and it looks kind of funny but once you warm it up and stir it, it’s normal again.
I used chicken thighs and a couple of chicken breast. So amazing!! We will make this on repeat. Thank you!!
Thanks for making the chili Tami!
How can you incorporate ranch instead of blue cheese?
I would just omit the blue cheese and serve the ranch as a topping to drizzle on top of the chili.
I was a little skeptical about making this and was afraid that it wasn’t going to turn out as expected but I really enjoyed it. I’m definitely making it again. It did seem more of a soup for me, but it was super good. I even added it to my scrambled eggs the next few days.
Can you make a day ahead?
You can make it a day ahead of time. If you are going to be reheating all of the soup the next day, I would recommend making it without the cream cheese and yogurt and adding those in after you’ve reheated it on the stove or in the slow cooker.
Can you use a rotisserie chicken or chicken that you have extra of for this? Do you cut cooking time if it’s pre cook chicken?
Mine was really thin. Not sure what happen.
Mine too. I made this for the third time now and only used 1 cup of broth. It’s definitely thicker like a chili now!
Wish I saw this before I made it. Super soupy. Don’t need more than a cup of broth for sure
Another winner Danae!! Adding blue cheese takes it to another level. I don’t have a slow cooker so I braised the chicken for 20 minutes, shredded it and added it to the pot with the ingredients which had been simmering simultaneously. Perfect!
I’m so glad you liked the chili Diane!
Easy to make and such a fun twist on a classic chili—great flavors with the Buffalo sauce and blue cheese, but not too overpowering!
I’m so glad you liked the Chili Rachel, thanks for trying it out! The blue cheese crumbles are my favorite.