Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili is delicious, simple and award winning! This is the go-to when you are tired of boring chili recipes!
You guys might tell me I've been living under a rock, and honestly that might not be far from the truth. But did you know that on Friday nights there is like a marathon of Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives on the Food Network? I go to turn on the TV and my six year old gears up for one of her favorite cartoons and I have to crush her dreams. I can't take even one more episode of kid TV. Despite this somehow, at some point during the evening, the whole family ends up curled up in front of the TV drooling over all the amazing (and sometimes weird!) food and trying to figure out if it would be at all possible to plan a trip to whatever location Guy Fieri is featuring. Yep. We know how to party. Now I'm going to share with you something that you should have while you are watching your marathon TV session.... Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili. Yum! A great meal to come home to on a Friday night after a busy week. Easy to make! Easy to love this spicy, creamy goodness!
Heartier than a soup but different than a traditional chili this would be fun to serve up at a party, to take along to a tailgate, or to take to a potluck. Ground chicken instead of beef and white beans instead of chili beans make the base of this chili.
Lots of flavor from chicken broth, ranch dressing mix and fire-roasted tomatoes and some heat from the buffalo sauce are balanced out with some sweet corn and cream cheese. Top it all of with some cilantro for some super fresh flavor. And I can't forget the blue cheese crumbles on the top! I leave them out of the soup since not everyone is a fan but I can guarantee you I have my bowl topped of with some!
So park yourself on the couch with a big 'ol bowl and watch endless episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives until you are convinced you should open your own funky restaurant so you can be featured on the show too. Or wait...is that just me? Yeah, I'm weird like that :). But at least it helps me dream up recipes like Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili!
This recipe was originally published on April 7, 2014 and has been updated to reflect fresh photos and updates to the recipe based on reader feedback and re-testing.
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 15 oz canned white navy beans drained and rinsed
- 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes drained
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ¼ - ½ cup buffalo wing sauce start with ¼ cup and add more at end if needed
- 1 package ranch dressing mix
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ½ teaspoon dried cilantro
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 oz cream cheese
- Blue cheese crumbles optional
Instructions
- Brown ground chicken until fully cooked, place in crock (or brown ahead of time and store in fridge until ready to assemble)
- Add remaining ingredients except for cream cheese and blue cheese and give it all a stir to combine
- Add block of cream cheese on the top and cover
- Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8
- Stir to incorporate cream cheese and add additional wing sauce as desired
- Top individual bowls with blue cheese crumbles if desired
Nutrition
Can't get enough buffalo chicken?
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Original photos:
I'm really sorry but this was not good. The full block of cream cheese overwhelmed all of the spices. For sure I used 1/2 cup of hot wing sauce and that was perfect. But if I make it again (50-50) I will use1/2 block of cream cheese. It lacks something but I'm not a good enough cook to know what.
I LOVE this recipe but have recently gone dairy free. Ever try it without the cream cheese? I wonder how it will change the final product.
I love the Kite Hill Cream Cheese for a dairy free option.
Loved this ! - we added chunks of sweet potato & baby mixed potato to it! will be making again!
What size ranch dressing mix do you use, 0.4 or 1 oz?
1oz
Made it for Buffalo Bills championship game Sunday 2021~a hit!!
This is delish! I made it with fat free cream cheese and it's awesome.
This is one of my new favorite go-to recipes, especially for Sundays. I make it just as described but when I didn't have celery salt, I skipped it and it was still great. I can't get enough of this chili- it is so good and so easy! I add chopped celery to the top to serve. Thank you for this!
Is this freezeable?
You can freeze it, but I don't love it because the dairy tends to separate.
can I use canned chicken?
I haven't tested this, but if you do, let me know!
I am super excited to try this but wondering what you would recommend as a side dish?
Thanks in advance!
Lauren
I love it with a tossed green salad!