Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili
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
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce start with 1/4 cup and add more at end if needed
- 1 package ranch dressing mix
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
- 1/4 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?
Slow Cooker Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Pasta
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
Original photos:
She is NOT joking! I do not cook ever, I won 1st place in a chili cookoff last night!! I doubled the recipe and used canned chicken but followed it to a T. I brought bleu cheese crumbles and tortilla strips and it was a hit!
WHAT?! Amazing, so happy to hear this chili was a winner!
Can you substitute the cream cheese for plain greek yogurt?
Hi there, unfortunately the texture would be too different to work for this recipe.
Sounds like a nice buffalo chicken soup/stew, but, without cumin, it wouldn’t fall into the “chili” category. I’m by no means a chili gatekeeper, but it’s the most fundamental flavor in chili. If you don’t like cumin, then you don’t like chili. You like stew/soup, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Thanks for your comment, Kiara!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chili_con_carne
Chili absolutely does NOT have to include cumin. Perhaps the chili you are used to does, but you don’t speak for everyone.
Saying it isn’t gatekeeping doesn’t make it not gatekeeping.
I’ve made this many times now and it’s a fav of my husband and I’s. I usually add a little more broth so it has more liquid but aside from that, it’s great!!
Have you ever doubled this? I’m a little hesitant because of the cream cheese. Also, would it work making it in advance and then reheating the next day? Thanks for any help.
Yes, you can double it. Feel free to cut back on the cream cheese a bit, you can always add more later. It does reheat very well.
Hi, can you substitute the beans for some thing else since I got a stage four kidney disease and cannot eat beans. Couscous, a pasta maybe?
Yes, or you could just omit them.
OMG this is so good!!! I added celery and carrots I am from Buffalo so I felt I needed to lol! I topped with crumbly blue cheese and French fried onions. I will be making this again for sure!!! Go Bills!!!!!
So glad you loved it!
Yes! From a fellow Buffalonian, this is a brilliant idea!
I am making a few modifications: I used 1.5 chicken thighs for more tender and juicy meat. I slow cooked them for 7 hours the day before. They fell apart and tasted amazing. I slow cooked them in a mix of chicken broth, butter, hot sauce, Buffalo sauce, and honey.
To the chili: I added 3 cans of beans: great northern, pinto, and navy. I rinsed them, and mixed them. I took 1/3 of the beans and blended them with the chicken broth. This thickened the mix so it was a more “chili like” consistency. I used mild Buffalo sauce, added a few splashes of hot sauce, and a pinch of red pepper, and I plan to use 1/2 the amount of cream cheese. I have a chili cook off tomorrow and I’m hoping this is the winning chili! I’m waiting to add the cream cheese until tomorrow. Will update on the coworkers reviews.
Can this recipe be frozen?
The leftovers don’t freeze well due to the cream cheese.
Can this recipe be made on the stove? My crockpot broke so I have to go old school!
Absolutely!
My husband and I loved this chili! We used a little over a pound of chicken breast instead of the ground chicken. We put it in the crockpot raw and then shredded it once it cooked. We used only 1 cup of chicken broth, 1/4 t. Cilantro, and only 1/4 cup of Buffalo sauce. My husband loves hot stuff but he was satisfied with just the 1/4 cup of Buffalo sauce. I had just recently cut corn off the cob and froze it. I used a bag of that which was probably more like 2 cups. Definitely have to have the corn in this. It was yummy!