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?
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Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Casserole
Original photos:
I think my family will love this with one exception. As true Western New Yorkers there is no way I can put ranch dressing mix in anything with Buffalo chicken. The original chicken wing served by the Anchor bar in Buffalo NY was served with and still is served with blue cheese dressing. Funny thing, last year my daughter dated a boy who didn’t like blue cheese, at dinner one night this came up. My younger son (her twin brother) told him if you like ranch you can leave now and don’t bother coming back. Anyway, what would your suggestion be as a possible substitution? Thank you.
Hi Janis! Wow, that’s some serious love of blue cheese in your family ;). I love blue cheese also, and while it makes a great topping, I think it would be terrible IN the chili. The “ranch” seasoning is really just a simple way to get the desired spices in one easy place. Use my homemade ranch seasoning blend and call it an herb blend instead if that helps.
Hi, This looks delicious; I’m going to make this but am wondering if you have an alternative to using buffalo wing sauce in this recipe?
Hi Jean! I’m sure the recipe could be changed to something instead of buffalo chicken chili, but I haven’t tested any alternatives to this specifically. If you don’t care for buffalo sauce, you might enjoy my white chicken chili instead!
Entered a version of this great recipe into a soup cook-off at my work. For my version, I doubled the recipe…did not drain the beans or tomatoes, added a little less chicken broth, and used boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of ground chicken. Garnished with chopped green onions and blue cheese chunks. Delicious!
That’s so awesome! Thanks for telling me! I’m glad it worked for you!
I won my office cook off today! The only modifications I made was I used canned fire roasted corn vs frozen. Thanks for the recipe!
Hooray and congrats!!!
Just found this recipe, going to make it today after church. Grocery list made 😀
enjoy!
Looks fantastic, and think I just found what I’m making for the Super Bowl!!
Thanks Karen! I hope you enjoy!
I’ve made this a few times and this time around my cream cheese is taking awhile to melt completely. Is there anything I can do to fix this?
Make sure the cream cheese is at room temp. Another option is to ladle a cup or so of the hot broth into the cream cheese after cooking, then stir until smooth and add back to slow cooker and let heat through.
I would rather use chicken breast instead. What changes do I need to make to the recipe?
You can let the whole chicken breasts cook with the other ingredients and then shred when done.
Has anyone tried cooking this with chicken breasts and just shredding them after its done cooking?
I know several people have done this and report great success!
Is there a way to do this recipe in the instapot?
Yes! Here you go: IP Buffalo Chicken Chili