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!
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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:
I have now won 2 church chili cook offs with your recipe and have given the recipe to many that have asked, so that makes you and the chili continued winners also. <3 My husband and I put raw boneless chicken thighs in the crock pot and stir them in with some of the other listed ingredients at the start, and when cooked through, shred the chicken. So good! We don't put in the salt or use the cilantro. As we usually 3x the recipe we use abit less chicken broth so it is no too liquidy. The bleu cheese crumbles and crushed Fritos as toppings are a hit!! 🙂
Amazing—congrats on your double win! 🏆 I love how you’ve made the recipe your own with shredded chicken and those toppings—bleu cheese and Fritos sound incredible! Thank you for sharing and spreading the chili love. ❤️
I wanted to say thank you for posting this recipe. It won me a chili cook-off last night! I substituted chicken breasts for the ground chicken and shredded them about 4 hours into cooking. I served it with celery sticks, shredded cheese, and tortilla chips. I also had the bottle of buffalo sauce out so people could spice it up to their taste. So delicious!
Amazing news, thank you so much for taking the time to leave this comment.
Absolutely LOVE this recipe. I won a chili cook-off with it about 4-5 years ago. It’s always a hit.
Hi Cayci, I have gotten that feedback quite a few times. I am so happy to hear you enjoy the recipe and thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment.
This sounds different but good. If making this for a chili cook off for work (where it will sit on warm in a crockpot until lunchtime), how would you recommend preparing? Would you wait until morning of to add the cream cheese?
I would cook up the chicken and then cool it and mix it with everything else. Then in the morning dump it all in the slow cooker, add the cream cheese and cook it that way!
I don’t usually bother cooking the chicken first, just toss everything in the crock pot all at once and let it go. The end result is fantastic every single time, my girlfriend and I can’t get enough of this, we’ve made it fairly often over the last few years now. A super simple recipe with fantastic flavor!
Great idea for a timesaver! So glad you love it!
I heard you mention this recipe on The Ultimate Blog Podcast. I can’t wait to try it this weekend!
Fantastic, Becky and thanks for listening!
This has become one of our go-to recipes. We just throw the raw chicken breasts in with everything and once it is all cooked, they shred so easily and are so moist. The recipe is a crowd pleaser, quick and easy to make, and delicious. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your comment, Amelia!
Do you think shredded chicken could also work?
Yes, many people cook their raw boneless skinless breasts in with the chili and shred before serving.
This recipe speaks volumes in my house! 😉
I add shredded chicken and ground chicken – Delicious
Glad to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for your comment, Tonyha.
Can you sub blended cottage cheese for the cream cheese?
Haven’t tried it but it might work? It’s worth a shot in a pinch, let me know if you try it!