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Slow Cooker Jalapeno Popper White Bean Chili

Yield: 6 Servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 9 hours
Total Time: 9 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup chopped yellow or white onion
  • 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
  • ½ cup red or yellow bell pepper, small diced
  • 1 pound chicken breasts, trimmed of fat (about 2 chicken breasts)
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 12 ounces dry white beans, rinsed and picked through to remove any stones or bad beans
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 8 ounces light cream cheese, cut into cubes
  • 1 cup frozen corn kernels
  • 6-8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled or chopped

Instructions 

  • Add all the ingredients except the cream cheese, corn and bacon to a 5-quart slow cooker. Cook on low for 7-9 hours.
  • Remove the chicken and chop into pieces or shred into bite-sized pieces. See the note above about thickening part of the soup. Make your decision. Then return the chicken to the slow cooker.
  • Stir in the cubed cream cheese and the corn. Cover the slow cooker to let the cream cheese soften and the corn heat through, about 10-15 minutes.
  • Stir to combine. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with the crumbled bacon.

Notes

Beans: I have made this a time or two and never soaked the beans the night before (I use Great Northern dry beans) and they soften perfectly during the cooking time; however, without actually trying it, I'm guessing if you did soak the beans overnight, you might be able to get away with a shorter cooking time (or maybe 5 hours on high or something like that). UPDATE: many of you report that the beans don't cook fully during the 7-9 hours in the slow cooker; a lot will depend on the brand of beans (and how old they are). I recommend soaking them the night before for more even/quicker cooking if this is the case.
Thicker Variation: also, before adding the chicken back in and before stirring in the cream cheese and corn, you can blend a couple cups of the soup to a smooth consistency and stir it back into the pot for a thicker variation. I've done it both ways...and love it both ways.
Heat: finally, this soup is not spicy as written. If you'd like to make it with more heat, you can leave the seeds in the jalapeños or add a touch or more of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes.
Pressure Cooker Update: this chili converts very well to the pressure cooker/Instant Pot. For soaked beans (drained and rinsed), follow the recipe, adding all the ingredients except the cream cheese, corn and bacon, to a pressure cooker, seal the lid, and cook on high for 25 minutes (add 5-10 minutes for unsoaked beans). That timing is a little long for fresh chicken, so I often use frozen chicken when cooking this in the pressure cooker OR use cooked chicken and stir it in at the end with the cream cheese and corn. Let the pressure cooker naturally release for 10 minutes or so after the cooking time is finished then quick release the remaining pressure and follow steps 2-4 in the recipe.