This version of chicken chili combines the flavors of creamy white chicken chili with classic buffalo chicken! Made easily on the stovetop, with no fancy equipment, it’s perfect for game day, tailgating, or a comforting night in.
This is one of my Soups/Chili recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
With football season just about to start, it’s time to start getting those tailgating and game day recipes ready!
Buffalo chicken is such a classic flavor combination, and I thought it was high time I infuse my creamy white chicken chili recipe with some serious buffalo chicken flavor.
With directions for cooking this chili on the stovetop, slow cooker and Instant Pot, you’re sure to find a method that works best for you and your schedule.
It’s also pretty customize-able, so let’s get to cookin’!
What do I need to make this recipe?
- Olive oil – the combo of olive oil and butter adds richness and the oil keeps the butter from burning.
- Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter, but you can use salted if you’d like.
- Onion – for this recipe, I recommend a yellow or white onion.
- Celery – to save time, I like to buy a container of celery hearts, but any celery will work well.
- Garlic – instead of using cloves of garlic, you can use about 1-2 Tbsp of garlic paste or pre-minced garlic.
- Chicken – for this recipe, I like to use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs.
- Beans – any white bean will work for this recipe. Great northern beans are what I typically use though.
- Diced tomatoes – the extra flavor of fire-roasted tomatoes adds some extra zip to this soup.
- Green chiles – you can use hot or mild. I like to use mild since there’s heat elsewhere in the soup.
- Chicken broth – I definitely prefer to use reduced sodium chicken broth.
- Buffalo wing sauce – feel free to use any heat level you’re comfortable with. I use a medium heat variety.
- Spices – this is chili powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Cream cheese – I’ve only tested this recipe with full fat cream cheese.
- Sour cream – you can also use plain greek yogurt.
How to make creamy buffalo chicken chili:
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Cook veggies. Just saute them until softened.
- Add chicken. The chicken breasts are cut into smaller pieces for quicker cooking.
- Add tomatoes, beans, and green chiles. The tomatoes are undrained, but the beans and green chiles are drained.
- Add broth and simmer. I like to use reduced sodium so that I can control the sodium amount.
- Remove chicken. Use tongs, but be careful as they may fall apart as you try to remove them.
- Shred chicken. You can use a fancy tool, or just two forks.
- Make cream cheese mixture. Whisking the cream cheese and a ladle or two of hot chili liquid allows the mixture to be smooth, rather than having little chunks of cream cheese in the chili.
- Stir it all together. Return the shredded chicken and cream cheese mixture to the pot.
- Serve. Serve hot, topped with any desired garnishes.
Helpful Tip!
I prefer to make this recipe with buffalo wing sauce, as opposed to regular buffalo sauce. They’re similar, but hot sauce is essentially peppers, vinegar, water, and seasonings. Buffalo sauce is hot sauce that has melted butter added to it, and it has a smoother and more bold flavor (usually).
Variations of this recipe
- Chicken – instead of chicken breasts, you can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
- Rotisserie chicken – if you have a rotisserie chicken on hand (or other cooked and shredded chicken), you can definitely use it in this recipe! I would add the shredded chicken the last 7-10 minutes of cooking the soup though, just to warm it through.
- Ranch – if you love the flavor of ranch with buffalo chicken, feel free to add about 2 Tbsp of ranch seasoning to the spices for this chili.
- Diced tomatoes – if you don’t have fire-roasted diced tomatoes, or can’t find them, you can use regular diced tomatoes instead.
- Spicier – to increase the heat level, you can add a diced jalapeño pepper, use hot diced green chiles, use hot buffalo wing sauce, and add some cayenne pepper to the spices. You can use any or all of the above suggestions.
- Milder – if you’re not a huge fan of tons of spice, make sure you use mild green chiles, mild buffalo wing sauce, and you can skip the drizzle of additional wing sauce.
- Thinner – if you’d like to stretch the chili a bit, you can add additional chicken broth.
- Thicker – to thicken the chili more to your liking, you can mash some of the great northern beans or add a slurry. To make a slurry, before you add the dairy, in a small bowl mix together 2 Tbsp cornstarch with about 3 Tbsp of water. Stir until smooth, then stir that into the chili and simmer until thickened and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
- Alternate cooking options – if you’d prefer not to make this recipe on the stovetop, you can also make it in the slow cooker or Instant Pot. Those directions are down in the “chef tips” section right below the recipe directions in the recipe card.
FAQ’s
Yes, if you’re looking for a non-creamy chicken chili, you can simply omit the cream cheese and sour cream. You’ll also want to try to find a dairy-free blue cheese for a garnish, or omit it.
Of course you don’t have to, it’s your chili 🙂 However, for the most “buffalo chicken” flavor, you’ll want the garnishes like buffalo sauce, sour cream, celery, green onions, and blue cheese crumbles.
Making chicken chili ahead of time
Not only can you make the whole chowder/chicken chili ahead of time (in fact, the flavors get even better!), you can also prep a lot of the ingredients ahead of time to really cut down on the prep time.
How to prep ahead for this recipe:
- Veggies – the onion, celery, and garlic can be diced/minced ahead of time and kept refrigerated in separate containers.
- Chicken – the chicken can be sliced into large pieces, and kept refrigerated.
- Spices – all of the spices can be measured out and kept in a container at room temperature.
Freezing
This chili recipe can be frozen! Due to the dairy in it, I do recommend freezing it before adding the cream cheese and sour cream.
Freeze in freezer-safe containers for up to 3-6 months, then thaw in the refrigerator.
Heat up as desired, then add the cream cheese and sour cream.
Storage
Leftover chili should be refrigerated in an airtight container and enjoyed within 3-4 days.
Reheat gently on the stovetop, adding a splash of chicken broth or your preferred dairy to thin it out if needed.
My Favorite Dutch Oven!
This is my secret weapon in the kitchen! I use this dutch oven for making bread, soups/chilis, frying and more. Since LeCreuset is expensive, this is a more economical option that’s still a great pot!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
Chili
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts each breast cut into about 3 pieces
- 15 oz can great northern beans drained and rinsed
- 28 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes UNdrained
- 4 oz can diced green chiles drained
- 2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce I use Frank's Red Hot wing sauce
- 3 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 oz cream cheese softened and cubed
- 1/2 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
Garnishes (optional but recommended for the best flavor)
- dollop of sour cream
- drizzle of buffalo wing sauce
- minced celery
- minced green onions
- blue cheese crumbles
- sprinkle of black pepper
Instructions
Cook aromatics
- Heat a large dutch oven (I use a 6 quart) over MED heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and butter, then the onion and celery.
- Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until softened. Add garlic and cook about 30 more seconds.
Make chili
- Add the chicken breast pieces to the pot, then top with the beans, diced tomatoes, green chiles, chicken broth, buffalo wing sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Stir well, then bring to a low boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to MED LOW and simmer uncovered about 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Shred chicken
- Use tongs to remove chicken pieces to a bowl, plate, or cutting board. Use two forks to shred the chicken, and set aside for a bit.
Add dairy
- Add the cream cheese to a small mixing bowl. Use a ladle to add a few ladlefuls of the broth to the mixing bowl, and whisk until smooth. Stir in sour cream.
- Pour cream cheese/sour cream mixture to the dutch oven and return the shredded chicken to the pot, and stir well to combine.
Serve
- Serve hot, with desired garnishes.
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Chef Tips
- I’ve estimated this recipe serves about 8, but please feel free to divide it into as many servings as you’d like.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs can be used in place of chicken breasts.
Slow Cooker Directions:
- Add all ingredients (except the cream cheese, sour cream, and garnishes) to slow cooker.
- Stir, cover, and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or HIGH for 3-4.
- Remove chicken to a bowl and shred.
- Add cream cheese to a small mixing bowl, and add a ladle or two of the liquid from the slow cooker. Whisk until smooth, then stir in sour cream.
- Return chicken to slow cooker, and pour in cream cheese mixture.
- Serve with desired toppings.
Instant Pot Directions:
-
On “saute” mode, add the olive oil and butter to the pot. Cook for several minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds.
- Turn off “saute” mode, then top with the chicken breast pieces, beans, diced tomatoes, green chiles, chicken broth, wing sauce, chili powder, ground cumin, dried oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Stir, just to move around the seasonings into the mixture.
-
Secure Instant Pot lid, making sure it’s set to “sealing”. Select Manual or Pressure cook and use the +/- buttons to select 15 minutes.
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When timer beeps and pressure cooking is complete, perform a quick release by carefully moving the valve to “venting”. When the pin drops, remove lid.
- Remove chicken and shred.
- Add cream cheese to a small mixing bowl, and add a ladle or two of the liquid from the slow cooker. Whisk until smooth, then stir in sour cream.
- Return chicken to instant pot, and pour in cream cheese mixture.
- Serve with desired toppings.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Stephanie says
Amazing as always!
Stephanie says
Great recipe! We will definitely be making this again. Next time I want to add hot sauce as a topping.
Karen says
What’s not to love, chicken chili and buffalo chicken are two of my favorite flavors.