Slow Cooker Chicken Chili Recipe to Share

[Kingwell]

I know there are a lot of chicken chili recipes, but also a lot of slow cooker fans out there, so I thought I'd share this with everyone. It originally appeared Oct. 12 in the Louisville Courier-Journal and I made it last night. I'll list the original, then add my notes at the bottom. It was extraordinarily easy and very tasty, although next time I would add more salt, pepper, tomatillos (which are my addition) and lime juice.

I also included the nutritional information, but the calories seemed kinda high to me, particularly since the only fat was from the chicken, but if anyone else has comments on that, I'd love to hear them.

Slow cooker chicken chili

Toasting the cumin and coriander takes a little time and dirties a dish (though cleaning requires just a quick rinse), but it improves the flavor of the chili. Skip the step if it makes your life easier. If the chicken thighs have bones, go ahead and stick them into the slow cooker. The meat will literally fall off the bone after 8 hours of cooking, and you can just remove the bones with tongs and discard them.

2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon (freshly ground) black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies
1 pound white beans, such as navy or Great Northern
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth, water or a combination
Garnishes: chopped red onion, chopped cilantro, diced avocado, lime wedges, sour cream

Turn a 3-quart slow cooker on high.
Place cumin and coriander in a small, dry skillet. Stir over medium-low heat until it smells toasty and spicy -- 2 or 3 minutes. Combine it in a cup with salt, pepper, oregano, paprika and cayenne.
Put onion, garlic and green chilies into the slow cooker. Rinse beans. Put them in slow cooker. Sprinkle chicken thighs with cumin mixture, and pile the chicken into the pot. Add chicken broth/water. Cover and cook 8 hours or so, until beans are soft and chicken falls apart when you stir. Serve with sour cream and spicy salsa. Serves 8.
Per serving nutrition data: 568 calories, 20 grams fat, 59 grams protein, 40 grams carbohydrate, 15 grams fiber, 760 milligrams sodium.

my notes--I halved the amount of chicken thighs (I only needed four servings) and probably put in only about two cups of beans, but still used the full amount of all the spices, plus a whole onion, two cloves of garlic, and a full can of chiles, and still wanted a bit more flavor, so next time I'll up the paprika and coriander I think. I also added a 14oz can of undrained tomatillos. That accounted for some of the liquid, so I probably only added two cups of organic vegetable broth. I served it with LF sour cream and cilantro on top. Next time I'll squeeze in some lime juice before serving, and serve with lime wedges.

[cangoss]

I bet you could drop the amount of fat and calories significantly by using skinless chicken thighs. This does look like a great recipe!

[zackaboo]

I have a favorite white chicken chili recipe already but I do like the idea of being able to make it in the crockpot. Thanks for sharing. I hope to try this sometime soon.

[mundy]

This looked like a great weeknight supper to me so I saved it to Master Cook. It says 344 calories per serving ( 8 servings) Don't know which calculation is right, but I like mine a lot better! OH, I did use skinless chicken legs as the chicken entry since the notes say it will fall off the bones.....I suppose that's where the calorie difference comes from, but even with bone-in chicken, it sounds like plenty of meat. Plan to try this later this week,
Thanks for the recipe!

[Kingwell]

Mundy - that looks better to me, too. The original recipe did call for skinless, boneless thighs, and that's what I used...well, even if it was a few more calories than I'd like or whatever, I know what went into it and that it was healthy. I had it again for lunch today and shared it with a coworker who said it was yummy.