Crockpot Jalapeño Popper Chili
This Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili is the perfect cozy meal for the fall and winter or a tailgate party. Throw everything in the slow cooker and when dinner rolls around, dinner is served!
Bart and I have started inviting several families over most Sunday nights for a little potluck.
This is a great set-up.
In the morning, before church, I throw soup in the crockpot.
After church, we have lunch, both girls go down for naps/quiet time, and I read in bed until about four-thirty (last week, it was Relish, a YA graphic novel about growing up with foodie parents. Made me want to eat out many times a week, grow a huge garden, and become a cheesemonger).
Then, when the girls get up, we set out some bowls and spoons, add the last things to the crockpot, and put the children’s table in the kitchen.
Everyone shows up with their offerings (we usually have someone bring rolls, someone bring a salad, and someone bring dessert), we eat, the children play, and the adults talk. Everyone leaves, we put the dishes in the dishwasher, the girls in bed, and voila. Easiest party-type thing ever.
The last two weeks, I’ve made this Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili. And it was delicious.
I didn’t even know I liked Jalapeño Popper ANYTHING until I was converted by this ridiculously great Jalapeño Popper dip. Now I know.
If you like this jalapeno chili recipe, you might like these too:
- Jalapeño Popper Slow-Cooker Sliders
- The BEST Crockpot White Chicken Chili
- Creamy Green Enchilada Chili
Crockpot Jalapeño Popper Chili Recipe
Crockpot Jalapeño Popper Chili
This Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili is the perfect cozy meal for the fall and winter or a tailgate party. Throw everything in the slow cooker and when dinner rolls around, dinner is served!
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 - 2 jalapeno peppers seeds removed, and diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 red or yellow bell pepper diced
- 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs (breasts work too - I just find thighs less dry and more flavorful)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- pinch of crushed red pepper
- 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 3-4 cups chicken broth use 4 if you're doing a full pound of beans
- 1/2 or 1 lb dry white beans rinsed and sorted (I used navy beans)
- 1 cup frozen corn
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 pound bacon cooked and crumbled
Instructions
-
Add all ingredients except the cream cheese and bacon to the crockpot. Cook on low for 7-9 hours. Shred chicken with two forks.
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(optional) Using an immersion blender, briefly pulse a few times to break up some of the beans and thicken the soup - you don't want it smooth, just a few of the beans pureed. Or take about 2 cups of the chili out and blend it in a countertop blender (leave the lid cracked so the steam doesn't make your blender explode)
-
Add the cream cheese and let melt for about 10 minutes, stir to combine, and mix in crumbled bacon. Salt to taste and serve.
Recipe Notes
Note: The first week, I only used half a pound of dried beans, so it was a bit thinner and more soup-like. The second week, I used the whole pound which made it much thicker and chili-like. Personally, I preferred the first variation. Bart said he had no preference. So. . . . whichever one you'd like.
(adapted from Sweet Treats and More)
We’re very calorie conscious at our house. Any idea of the calorie count?
Sorry, no!
I can’t wait to try
Many thanks,
Linda B
Is the quantity of chicken thighs correct in the recipe? Only two are called for, which doesn’t sound like much for the quantity of soup.
That’s how many I always use, but if you want more meat, you’re certainly welcome to add more!
Looks good, I want to try this. Glad to have a new slow cooker recipe. May try to play with doing it in my instant pot too. I bet it would work.
Had this for dinner tonight. I used about 1.5 lbs of chicken thighs because I didn’t have anything else to do with the rest of the pack, and it was marvelous! I’m definitely going to make this again.
Yay! I’m so glad to hear it! Thanks for letting me know.
I made this in my instant pot! I used 1 lb of beans and 4 cups of broth. I did 2 frozen chicken breasts and cooked on high pressure for 30 minutes. It turned out perfect!
Oh, I’m so glad to hear it!
So I knew my beans wouldn’t cook if I added the tomatoes so I waited until halfway to add them. Even then they wouldn’t get as soft as I wanted until I added some baking soda. Next time I will add the tomatoes about an hour before the cream cheese. I also perfectly seasoned it before I added the bacon which made it a little too salty, darn it! But we just added some sour cream to our own bowls and all was well. Also did half thighs and half chicken breasts and the thighs were definitely better. A note: If you like the flavor of jalapeno but not the spice remove the white membrane and do at least 2 of them.
Could you make this with canned beans instead? I know 4 cans would be about a pound. No broth then?
I’d probably do a cup of broth still just to keep it from burning.