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?
Slow Cooker Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Pasta
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
Original photos:
Our co-worker made this recipe for our Annual Chili Cookoff. It took 1st place! We all loved it. She made the recipe as written other than doubling it, and leaving out the cilantro. Yes, this is a "soupy" chili, but that's what makes it unique. We loved that it wasn't your typical thick chili. Great chicken wing flavor, and that's quite a compliment because we're all from Buffalo, New York, so it's safe to say we are experts when it comes to chicken wings! Thanks for the great recipe, I'll be making a pot for my family this weekend!
Well I am here to say this recipe is truly award winning! I made it for a chili cook off and won the award for most unique. I took a chance and made it for the first time the day of the cook off. There were a few times I questioned myself and the recipe but it paid off. Everyone loved it. I don't like it when people review recipes based on their changes, but I did make a couple that I think are important to note. I used whole raw chicken breast and put it on the bottom of the crock pot. When the chili was ready, I took it out, shredded it and mixed it back in. I also skipped the cilantro because I know not everyone likes it. In the future I would reduce the broth by half. My chili looked more like soup than chili. I ended up having to drain out a lot of liquid before I brought it to the cook off. All in all this is an excellent recipe and my husband has asked me to make it again.
I added a can of refried beans to thicken the soup.
I love chili but I dislike tomatoe chunks. Is there a good substitute for the fire roasted tomatos? That would work with this?
You could use fire roasted crushed tomatoes instead or blend up the diced tomatoes before adding.
Got this recipe from my sister who raved over it. I’m so glad I did! The whole family enjoyed it and it’s now a regularly requested family meal to add to our rotation.
Love this recipe! I want to double for a work potluck. I am going to use a larger crockpot. Do I need to reduce liquid? Will it need longer to cook?
Thanks
You should be able to simply double it in a larger slow cooker, no other adjustments needed!
I have been using this recipe for several years. It’s still a requested dish for football weekends! Family and friends have gotten the recipe.
I made this tonight for dinner and I really enjoyed it! Nice change of flavor from the typical beef and cumin. Will make again, thank you for sharing!
Love this dish. I frequently take it to potlucks and it is always a huge hit!
I didn't care for it. We thought it was really salty. Also, I would have rather had buffalo chicken dip instead. Probably the same amount of calories. Haha! It's worth a try to see what you think.
I live in Australia and tried this recipe as it was, I was lucky enough to get some of the Ranch powder even though we don't get it here.
I felt it was too salty and thought it was the Ranch powder.
I've since made it without and just added a tiny bit of made up Ranch sauce and found we really like it now.
Might be worth a try 🙂
Can you freeze this recipe?
I don't recommend freezing this recipe because of the cream cheese.