Sometimes your best friend sends you 9 text messages in a row, to which you only respond minimally…and it’s not until hours later that you realize IT’S HER BIRTHDAY.
 Sometimes you have fails…and sometimes you have Fails. Good thing she’s my best friend or she might just hate me.
 In my defense, I did send her a birthday present way early this year. We’re talking like a few months ago. It was to combat all the other years of our friendship where I sent her present 2 months late.
The reason she was sending me so many texts in a row was because she was showing her 4 year old son Star Wars for the first time, and was giving me the live-tweet experience. “Why do they have blue milk? Why can’t I have blue milk?”   “Why does Darth Vader want to blow up Leia’s planet? What does that even MEAN?”  **Alderaan blows up**  “COOL!”
The real question here is why I’m making chili in July. The answer? 9 cans, some chicken and a crock pot. Seriously you guys, there’s easy, and then there’s stupid easy. This recipe falls into the latter category, and it is worth every dead brain cell you might suffer as a result of not exercising your mind enough.
 This is one of those meals that’s nice to have up your sleeve, because you could go to the store and buy almost everything you need, and then not make it for 3 months. Just leave the chicken in the freezer and the cans on the shelf until you are having a crazy busy day, and then voila. Dinner. Dinner for half the week, actually. This recipe is huge and barely fit into my crock pot. If you have a dinky one, half it.
This Cream Cheese Chicken Chili is ridiculously delicious in spite of its humble from-a-can origins. I got the recipe from my cousin who is quite possibly the pickiest person on the planet, (she doesn’t like pork…or strawberries) so if she can scarf it down, you know your kids will :)
Happy Birthday, Sarah! Love, your day late and a dollar short BFF…have some comfort chili.
Throw those birds in completely frozen. Or thawed, it doesn’t matter. Reduce the time if they are thawed. I used 2 thighs and 2 breasts here.
Beautiful, beautiful beans.
Member how I said this barely fit in my crock pot? I wasn’t kidding.
Cream Cheese Chicken Chili (Crockpot)
This Cream Cheese Chicken Chili is ridiculously easy and really packs a punch. Plus it's made in a crockpot.
Ingredients
- 3 whole chicken breasts, frozen or fresh
- 3 15-oz cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 15-oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 15-oz cans whole corn, undrained
- 2 10-oz cans Rotel, undrained
- 2 packages Ranch dressing mix
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 8-oz packages cream cheese
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
To garnish:
- tortilla chips
- limes
- avocado
- sour cream
- shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Place the chicken in the bottom of a large crock pot. Add the beans, corn, Rotel, Ranch dressing mix, onion, garlic, crushed red pepper, cumin. Stir together.
- Add the cream cheese on top and put the lid on.
- Turn the crockpot to low and cook for 6-8 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through. (Or do it on high, about 4-6 hours.)
- Remove the chicken and shred with 2 forks.
- Use a spoon to stir in the shredded chicken and the cream cheese (which should be melted).
- Turn off the heat and stir in the chopped cilantro.
- Serve with tortilla chips, lime juice, avocado, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese. You can also serve this as a dip with tortilla chips.
Notes
This recipe as written makes a crazy huge amount. If you half it, don't worry about using 2 1/2 cans of beans. Use 2 cans or 3. Or replace one can of beans with corn. Honestly this recipe is pretty flexible.
You can totally use chicken thighs too. This time around I used 2 thighs and 2 breasts.
Source: my cousin Misty!
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 531kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Potassium: 1235mg | Fiber: 18g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 867IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 128mg | Iron: 5mg
Did you make this? I'd love to see it!Mention @thefoodcharlatan or tag #thefoodcharlatan!
Here are some more no-brainer crock pot meals:
Here are some more from around the blogosphere:
Crockpot Caramel Chicken from 365 Days of Slow Cooking
Crockpot Cranberry Pork Roast from Recipe Girl
Vegetarian Greek Lentil Soup with Tomatoes, Spinach and Feta from Kalyn’s Kitchen <this sounds amazing.
IPA Honey Chipotle Slow Cooker Chicken from Cooking and Beer
I have made this several times and my friends and I LOVE it and they also love it. However, I’m taking some to a friend’s house this weekend and their child is allergic to mustard, amongst several other things in the world (there’s mustard powder in most ranch dressing mixes, I’ve learned, cleverly disguised as “other seasonings/spices” on the ingredients label). Can I substitute something for the ranch? Would it taste less delicious if I omitted the ranch dressing mix? Thanks, Stef
Hi Stef! So glad to hear this has been a favorite. I recommend making your own ranch dressing mix (there are so many recipes online!) since it’s a big part of this recipe’s unique flavor. If you try it we’d love to hear how it turns out! Thanks for taking the time to comment, we love hearing from you :-)
I have a family member that cannot have dairy. Any suggestions to replace the cream cheese? Or could we just cook everything but the cream cheese and the add it after they have ladled out their serving?
Hi Sandra! Replacing cream cheese is tricky; there aren’t really any amazing non-dairy substitutes for cream cheese out there. But I think your idea to prepare everything through step 4 is a good one. Add the shredded chicken, have your family member take their serving, then add the cream cheese to the crockpot as directed in step 5. Enjoy!
When you say a large crock pot, how large are we talking? More than 6-qt? I just don’t want to get halfway through putting everything in there before realizing I needed to halve it. :P
Hi Mike! A 6 quart is perfect for this recipe! Enjoy!
I am cooking this chili now. I am using 2 breasts and 2 cans each of black beans, hot chili beans and Rotel with Habanero peppers. I used real onion (1/4 chopped) and minced garlic (1 tsp). No corn! As some of us age, corn is not your friend! I don’t own a Crockpot, so I am using a stovetop Dutch oven. I am going for 3 1/2 hrs at medium low. I’ve got the cilantro, avocado, sour cream and lime at the ready. No crunchies for me. It smells awesome. Can’t wait to try it! Thanks!
It sounds awesome Kris! I’ve never seen Rotel with habanero, that sounds so good. Thanks for sharing all your notes!
We love this recipe! It makes a HUGE crockpot full so is great for when you are serving a lot of hungry people. It also reheats very well, so you will have a meal for more than one day. It is so easy to make and that is one of the things I love about it. I also use Slow Cooker Liners, and those make clean up a breeze. I have given this recipe to many friends who have asked for it. Glad I found this one! Thank you!
Love the idea of using slow cooker liners with this! You’re a genius. So glad you liked it!
Fabulous. Tasty, quick inexpensive. Great for a quick Halloween night dinner in between trick or treaters.
You’re right, this would be perfect for Halloween night! I’m glad you enjoyed it Susan, thanks for commenting!
What on earth is canned “Rotel”?
Hi Nate! It’s diced tomatoes with green chiles. You can find it by the canned tomatoes.
All of these ingredients sounds so delicious together. I’m all about the easy recipes these days. Totally making this, probably next week! Your photos are so gorgeous by the way, Karen! I’ve really enjoyed looking at all this beautiful food you have. Pinning! :)
Two thumbs up to replacing the canned corn with fresh corn. I cut the kernels off of 3 ears and that seemed to be enough. I also added a cup of chicken stock to make up for the missing liquid from the canned corn. I preferred it this way. You could still taste the corn but the whole dish didn’t taste like corn, if you know what I mean. I think out of season I would use frozen corn and some chicken stock instead of the canned. I know half the point of the recipe is the convenience factor with everything being canned but this tweak is well worth it.
Thanks for the review Joanne, I’m so glad it worked out for you! I will definitely try it with frozen corn in the winter, I always have some in my freezer. And if I make this again soon I will totally try it with fresh!