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:
Have you ever tried this with reduced fat or fat free cream cheese?
I have! It may not thicken up quite as much or be as rich so you may want to reduce the liquid a bit, but it should turn out well for you!
I’ve made this several times and love it. One time I took a stick blender to it until it was about the consistency of a really thick bisque and used it as a dip for tortilla chips — it was amazing!!
What an awesome idea! Thanks for sharing!!
I just won my companies chili cook off with this recipe. It’s incredible.
Hooray! Congrats!
Amazing! Took it to a Halloween party full of crockpots of chili… this was the first one gone. I used chicken breasts and shredded them. One of the best!
Hooray! Always good when the slow cooker is empty in a flash!
so delicious! second time making, a friend gave me this recipe and I keep sharing it with others!
Any idea on how to keep the cream cheese from curdling? What if I added later in the cooking process? Had anyone tried that?
You can add the cream cheese closer the end (make sure it’s at room temp) but the real key is just to whisk the chili really well to fully incorporate all of the cream cheese.
I made this on sunday for our family chili cookoff and it won first place! It was delicious. Made it in the crockpot the night before on slow for 8 hours. Next morning warmed it up and it thicken up as well . I replaced the corn with celery and carrot bites. THE BEST! won by a landslide.
Congratulations and thanks for sharing that with me! Makes my day!
What is the serving size? I see it says 8 servings, but how much is a single serving?
It should be approximately 1 cup per serving
Omgosh this is so good. I used ground turkey and black beans instead of the chicken and navy beans because it’s what I had And it came out amazing. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Joanne! I’m so happy to hear this!
Award winning is no exaggeration! Made this -with only slight modifications – for a chili cook off & it won! I added celery, red onion & a little more buffalo sauce than called corn. It was amazing! Definitely serve with blue cheese as an option – perfect topper! Thanks for sharing!
Hooray!! Congrats on the win!
I made this for a chili cook off at our church. I used half the buffalo sauce & put additional sauce on the table if someone needed more spice. I had blue cheese crumbles & diced avocados to garnish. I was delicious and it took first place. I will definitely make it again. I think I’ll try using chopped cooked chicken breasts next time.
Hooray! thanks for letting me know!