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This simple Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Chili is perfect for game day, family dinners, and all the nights in between. Made with tomatoes, spices, hot sauce, poblano peppers, and shredded chicken. It’s spicy, creamy, and so delicious. Top each bowl of chili with plenty of cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro, and avocado. We love to add tortilla chips on the side. Delicious!
We have a new favorite chili recipe! This has been a winter for experimenting with chili. In the last few months, I’ve shared a queso chicken chili and a beef chili and we’ve been loving them both!
We’ve had a snowy start to the year, and temperatures have been COLD. I’ve been really leaning into the coziness of the season with more crockpot recipes or braised dishes. They’re always so easy and turn out delicious!
But now that the Super Bowl is around the corner, I’ve shifted my focus to dishes with the big game in mind. It’s so fun!!
A buffalo chicken chili sounds different, but you have to trust me; this is one of our favorite recipes right now.
Traditionally, buffalo chicken requires you to bread your chicken tenders, bake or fry the chicken, and then toss it up in sauce. Delicious, of course, but sometimes this is more work than we want, especially during the week.
But buffalo chili? It’s easy! Simply mix all the ingredients together and slow-cook. You can use the crockpot or make the chili on the stove. Easy enough for everyone!
These are the details
Step 1: mix the chili base ingredients
For this chili, you’ll need chicken breasts or thighs (I like a mix), hot sauce (we love Franks), then a mix of seasonings, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and chipotle chili powder.
For produce, you’ll need a can of fired roasted diced tomatoes, an onion, a couple of poblano peppers, jalapeños, and celery.
I like to use bone broth in place of regular broth for added protein. Then add a few tablespoons of butter.
Step 2: cook the chili
For the crockpot, mix everything listed in step 1, then cover and slow-cook either on low or high.
For the stove, mix all the ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked and shreds easily.
Completely no fuss.
Step 3: finish the chili
Once the chili has finished cooking, shred the chicken. It should be falling apart.
Now mix in plain Greek yogurt and melted cream cheese. I love to use yogurt as a higher protein option! The yogurt helps to cut down and tame the heat of the chili. Mix until the chili is a little creamy.
Finish it with cilantro.
Step 4: the toppings
The best part of any chili recipe? The toppings, of course!!
My must-haves for this chili are plain Greek yogurt, cheddar cheese, extra cilantro, and green onions. Oh, and I like to add an extra spoonful of buffalo sauce! So yummy!
Instead of crackers or bread, tortilla chips are the way to go here! I bake my own with corn tortillas and olive oil. I use the chips to scoop the chili. It’s so delicious and a great recipe for the Super Bowl, too!
As with most chili recipes, the leftovers are even better. The more time the chili has to sit, the more flavor it develops!
I served this to my family last week and everyone certainly enjoyed it!!
My only tip is to make sure to adjust the recipe heat to your liking by using more or less hot sauce!
Looking for other dinners with a little kick? Here are a few ideas:
Crockpot Spicy Queso Beef Chili
Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey and White Bean Chili
Healthy Slow Cooker Chipotle Bean Chili
One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake
Healthy Chipotle Chicken Sweet Potato Skins
Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup with Salty Lime Chips
Crockpot Chipotle Queso Chicken Chili
Lastly, if you make this Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Chili be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. If you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Chili
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 289 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1/2 cup hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder, use to your taste
- 1 can (28 ounce) fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper, chopped, and seeded if desired
- 3/4 cup chopped celery
- 2-4 cups bone or chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- salt and black pepper
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or cream cheese, melted
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- avocado, cheddar cheese, and Greek yogurt, for serving
Instructions
crockpot
- 1. In the bowl of your crockpot, combine the onion, chicken, hot sauce, garlic powder, paprika, chipotle chili powder, diced tomatoes, poblano peppers, jalapeños and celery. Stir in 2 cups broth. Add the butter slices. Season with salt and pepper.2. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.3. Shred the chicken using two forks. Stir in the cream cheese/yogurt, and cilantro.4. Ladle the chili into bowls. Top, as desired with Greek yogurt, cheese, avocado, cilantro, and green onions. We add extra buffalo sauce and tortilla chips too! Eat and enjoy!
Stove
- 1. In a large Dutch oven, combine the onion, chicken, hot sauce, garlic powder, paprika, chipotle chili powder, diced tomatoes, poblano peppers, jalapeños and celery. Stir in 2 cups broth. Add the butter slices. Season with salt and pepper.2. Set over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook on low for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.3. Shred the chicken using two forks. Stir in the cream cheese/yogurt, and cilantro. Simmer over low heat, adding broth as needed until ready to serve4. Ladle the chili into bowls. Top as desired with Greek yogurt, cheese, avocado, cilantro, and green onions. We add extra buffalo sauce and tortilla chips too! Eat and enjoy!
I am nursing so I didn’t want too too much spice so I omitted the chipotle chili powder and used regular chili powder and omitted the chopped jalapeño. It still had great flavor! I topped mine with a little shredded cheese and some chopped green onions.
I simmered mine on the stove after I put it in the crockpot the night before and it thickened up a little. Next time I might add a little less broth or just plan to simmer it after shredding the chicken.
Also dipping a buttered baguette in this is just *chefs kiss*
Hey Charlotte,
Wonderful! I am so glad this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks so much for making it! Happy Sunday! xT
Wow, this was delicious, and very spicy! I changed the directions a bit and sauteed the onion, poblanos and jalapeno in 2 Tbsp. of the butter for 8 minutes so they’d at least be soft, then added everything else, but only a little bit of broth to start with based on other reviewers’ comments that it was too soupy. I ultimately used 1 cup of broth, gradually, and the consistency was perfect. Also used 8 oz. of very soft cream cheese, which melted easily in the pot. Topped with avocado and cheddar, and then we devoured it! Definitely one I’ll be making again.
Hey Helen,
Wonderful! So glad to hear this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! Have a great Friday! xT
I did the crockpot buffalo chicken chili. It turned out great. Has a great spice to it. Going to make it again
Thanks so much Sandy!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you! Have a great week! xT
My daughter had made this and froze some for me to try. She made it in her slow cooker and added beans on the side for those who wanted some. When you make it in the slow cooker it will seem like it has more liquid. It wasn’t really soupy. You could always simmer it on the stove with the top off if you want it thicker. We really enjoyed it! It was very spicy, and I had to add some sour cream to mine.
Hi Terry,
Happy Monday! Thanks a lot to your daughter for giving this recipe a try and your comment! Love to hear that it turned out well:)
Really great soup. Definitely thickens up once you shred the chicken and add cream cheese. Delish! And it’s not too hot – can easily spice it up as noted with additional Buffalo sauce. Loved having this slow cooking on a cold day…
Hi Cate,
Happy Monday! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a go and your comment! Love to hear that it turned out well:)
This is a super yummy meal but I noticed the TikTok you posted (I think) you used crushed tomatoes and the recipe called for diced. I used diced and it’s still amazing but next time I’m totally trying it with crushed tomatoes for hopefully something creamier. I still loved it tho
Thanks so much Madison!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! You could use either:) xT
This was SO good! The poblano flavor is stronger than I expected… and delicious! We made quesadillas with the leftover chicken and I can’t decide which meal I liked more. Definitely going into our regular rotation. Thanks!
Hey Stacie,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, love to hear that it was enjoyed! xT
This recipe is amazing – quick, easy, delicious and low cal! Speaking of, does the calorie content provided include the yogurt?
Thank you so very much Carly!! The calorie count does not include the yogurt. So glad this was enjoyed! xT
This is amazing!!! I made this in the crock pot and it turned out perfectly. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.
Hey Melanie,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your comment, love to hear that it turned out well for you! Have a great Monday! xT
Hi! Any thoughts on using pre-shredded chicken for this? Would I wait to put it in/would any timings change?
Hi Lindsey,
Sure, you could totally use pre-shredded chicken! I would just follow the stove top instructions as written:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
Hi! Any thoughts on instant pot settings as opposed to crockpot/stovetop? Thanks!!
Hi Cat,
Sure, you could do 8 minutes on high pressure. Let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
Excited to make this weekend but wanted to clarify if you used Greek yogurt AND cream cheese OR the cream cheese. Thanks!
Hi Audra,
You are going to use the Greek yogurt OR the cream cheese. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This turned out to be super flavorful but it is more like a soup- even using only two cups of broth. I added frozen corn and a can of small white beans to make it more chili-like. It makes a huge batch so I ended up freezing it. Will definitely make again!
Hi Denise,
Awesome!! So glad to hear this chili turned out well, thanks for making it! Happy Friday! xT
This is wonderful! It’s even better the next day. We added brown rice when serving for some more carbs. Will be making this again!
Hi Shana,
Fantastic! I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment! So glad it turned out well for you:)
Do you use Franks Buffalo Sauce or Franks Hot Sauce for this?
Hi Amy,
I used Frank’s Hot Sauce for this recipe:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Asking for a FRIEND!!! I’m super technical. I have everything ready to go on the crockpot but I am confused on the mixed messages of timing? What are the correct settings? “Pressure Cook or Slow cook or Bean/Chili”? At high for 3hours?
Hi Mills,
You will do slow cook:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx