BBQ Crockpot Chicken Chili
Crockpot Chicken Chili is a recipe our family loves. It is flavored with bourbon (beer or chicken stock work, too!) and BBQ sauce and slow-cooked until the chicken breasts are fall-apart tender. This easy recipe requires no pre-cooking. Just put everything into your slow cooker and come home later to a chili that is smoky, a touch sweet, and totally delicious. You will LOVE it!
Crockpot chicken chili for the win!
Yes, I'm looking at you, set it and forget it best kitchen friend of mine ever. You win. Again.
- A steaming tomato bean situation that's smoky, slightly sweet, and has a hint of bourbon.
- Every bit as delicious as that sounds x 100
- Zero cooking necessary. Put everything into your crockpot and turn it on. Super easy!
- A guaranteed family loved dinner. Our daughter loves this recipe.
- Magic happens when you cook chicken chili in your crockpot. The chicken breasts become super tender so you can pull them apart into small(ish) pieces that wind their way around the beans and corn and mix into everything rather than stand out all on their own. There's no being forced to pick around weird square chunks of dry chicken here.
- It's all melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness.
And if you want even more deliciousness (can you even handle it all?) whip up a batch of Cheesy Chili Zucchini Cornbread Muffins. You can thank me later.
READ MORE: Best BBQ Sauce for Chicken
Remember back when I had a thing against crockpots? What was up with that? And talk about flipping around a full 180 in opinion. I've seen the light, my friends. My mind has been opened.
There's also been a beam of light shone on chicken chili. I used to think that was weird, too. Seriously, what kind of food blogger am I anyway?
How to make chicken chili in a crockpot
Using your crockpot is the best way to make chicken chili. It's a great recipe because it's not only delicious, it's super easy to make, too.
- Put nearly all the ingredients into your crockpot. Give it a taste and add a little honey if your tastebuds tell you that you'd like it sweeter.
- Now put in 3 chicken breasts (or 6 chicken thighs, if you prefer), cover the pot, and set it for 6 hours on high or 10 hours on low. Easy.
- When you're ready to eat, shred the chicken using 2 forks and stir the beans and corn into the chili.
This slow cooker recipe is so easy to make!
Ingredients in crockpot chicken chili
- Meat: We like chicken breasts, but chicken thighs work great, too. You could use ground chicken but it will change the texture completely so I don't recommend it.
- Veggies: onion, carrot, and peppers are our favorite. You can add some diced celery if you have some on hand.
- Tomatoes: Canned crushed tomatoes give the chili the best consistency. Diced tomatoes will work but they'll make the chili a little watery.
- Flavors: BBQ sauce and bourbon; We love that combination. Instead of bourbon, you can use beer (nothing hoppy!) or chicken stock. Both options work great.
- Spices: We like mild chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika.
- Beans: Red kidney beans are classic. Black beans are tasty, too.
- Corn: Those sweet little nuggets shouldn't be missed!
How to use leftover chicken chili
All chili recipes are amazing as leftovers. We make extra so we can have the exact same dinner tomorrow. But if you want something new, turn your leftovers into Chili Stuffed Peppers.
Or make a version of these Taco Salad Fries, using the chili in place of the taco meat. ā this is so good!
Can you freeze crockpot chicken chili
Yes! This chili recipe freezes very well. Make sure that the chili has cooled to room temperature then package it and put it into your freezer. These large Stasher Bags are my favorite freezer bags!
What to serve with slow cooker chicken chili for dinner
While chili is easily a one-pot kind of dinner that doesn't require anything other than a bowl and a spoon, sometimes it's nice to add a side dish. Our favorites are Cheesy Zucchini Cornbread Muffins and Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread. Both are easy recipes and go great with chicken chili.
Other favorite chili side dishes are:
- Classic Broccoli Coleslaw with Lemon Buttermilk Dressing
- Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Cauliflower Salad with Avocado Pesto
- Bacon Kale Caesar Salad
- Garlic Herb Carrot Fries
- Cajun Sweet Potato Fries
Easy Chili Recipes:
- Best Steak Chili
- Meaty Mushroom Sausage Chili
- Guinness Spiked Irish Chili
- Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Recipe
- Chipotle Bourbon Pumpkin Chili
- Easy Turkey Chili
- Pulled Pork Chili
BBQ Crockpot Chicken Chili Recipe
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 red bell peppers, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Ā½ cup BBQ sauce, homemade for refined sugar-free
- Ā½ cup bourbon, can sub light beer or chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon each: cumin, smoked paprika, and sea salt
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- Optional: 1-2 tablespoons honey, see notes
- 3 chicken breasts, can sub 6 chicken thighs
- 19 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn
- Optional toppings: grated cheese, sour cream, and cilantro
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients EXCEPT the chicken breasts, kidney beans, corn and honey to your crockpot and stir to mix well. Taste the chili and add the honey if you would like it to be sweeter.1 medium onion, 2 carrots, 2 red bell peppers, 3 cloves garlic, Ā½ cup BBQ sauce, Ā½ cup bourbon, 3 tablespoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon each: cumin, smoked paprika, and sea salt, 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes, Optional: 1-2 tablespoons honey
- Nestle the chicken breasts on the top and set your crockpot to high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.3 chicken breasts
- Remove the chicken from the crockpot. Add the corn and beans to the pot and stir. Shred the chicken using 2 forks then stir it back into the chili. Taste and season with sea salt then let the chili reheat for a few minutes before serving it. Serve topped with any or all of the toppings.19 ounce can kidney beans, 1 cup frozen corn, Optional toppings: grated cheese, sour cream, and cilantro
FYI, bourbon and beer both have gluten in them. My grandson couldnāt eat this chili because of it. I made it especially for him when he came for a visit. Everyone else enjoyed it, though.Ā
This was a very delicious recipe and I was excited to make it for my grandson when he was coming to visit. Unfortunately, I didnāt realize that bourbon is not acceptable for gluten free recipes. Neither is beer. I had Ā to throw him a gluten free pizza in the oven. The rest of the crew loved it, though.Ā
This chili is so good! Ā Iāve made it two weeks in a row and both times itās turned out deliciously. Each time, I cooked it on High for ten hours. I think Iāll try Low for six hours just to see if thereās a difference in chicken texture and taste. Ā This is the first time Iāve cooked chicken in a crockpot and cannot believe how tender and easy it shreds.
Wow! I never leave reviews but this time I had too! Its excellent and so easy. This is a keeper hands down. Thank you!
This recipe was so good! We used sweet baby rays bbq sauce, no honey, and Bulleit Bourbon.
Should I use a red onion?
I use a yellow onion. But if you have a red onion on hand then that will work just fine!
The ingredients say just 1 can of beans… is this correct? In the comments you mention 3 cans?Ā
Yes, it is correct. When the recipe was originally posted the bean ratio was a little off. š
This chili is SO GOOD! I’m so delighted to have come across your blog – all of the recipes I’ve tried so far have been excellent. Seriously, make this chili! You will not regret it!!
Thank you so much!!
Amazing! I’ve sent this to almost every family member encouraging them to make it because it’s THAT good. Highly recommend and it freezes great! I made it in the instant pot š
That is so awesome to hear, Rachel! Thank you for passing it along!
I made this chili for a contest I entered and I won one of the four prizes. Everyone loved it.
Thank you so much for this recipe.
That makes me so happy to hear! Hooray!
I can’t wait to make this recipe. Can this recipe be done in an insta pot? I think it could but not sure how to convert the cooking time.
I suspect that it would but I haven’t tried it myself. I would suggest using the cooking instructions from another Instant Pot recipe and the ingredients from this one. š
What type of Ā bourbon do you use?
Whatever I have on hand. Often it’s Jim Bean. I wouldn’t suggest using the good stuff in this recipe. š
What type of beans would you recommend?
I generally opt for two cans of red kidney beans and one can of white cannellini beans. There are no wrong choices here though so any three cans of your favorite beans will work great. š
The smells of the slow cooker really are the best!! I’m thinking of having my mom send down one of our slow cookers so I have it here at school!
You totally should! I so love how easy it is to throw everything in the pot and then sit down for dinner hours later. Love mine!