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This simple one-pot Spicy Buffalo White Chicken Chili is perfect for game day, family dinners, and any night in between. Made with a blend of herbs, buffalo 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. Great on its own, but even better with a side of homemade soft pretzels!
Some recipes have the ability to turn out so, so, good. Better than I had pictured in my head. When this happens, I’m always overly excited to share. It’s not every day that a recipe ends up working perfectly and tasting even more delicious.
Backing up a little here. I’m sure many of you are familiar with my White Chicken Chili. It hasn’t even been a year since I made the recipe and it’s already the second most popular recipe I’ve ever shared. It’s crazy how many of you have made it and enjoyed it!
It is so fun to see!
Over the weekend, I really wanted to make chili. The white chili sounded perfect and I had everything I needed. But I also wondered how I could switch it up and reinvent everyone’s favorite fall/winter dish.
I mentioned a buffalo-style chili to my mom and immediately she responded back, “oh that is what you should make, make that!”. She’s not always that enthusiastic about food, so I took her advice.
I’m sure glad I listened because I think we like this white chili even more than the original. It’s similar, but then it’s also so different. The flavors are worlds apart, but both are so good in their own ways.
We just LOVE anything with some buffalo sauce around here and it’s certainly fun for game day!
The details
Start by cooking up the onion and vegetables until they smell fragrant. For the seasonings, I wanted to add a ranch element to the chili, so I used a mix of parsley, chives, and dill with a touch of paprika. These are the herbs and spices I use in my homemade ranch, so it really gives off that yummy flavor.
Pour in the broth and simply let the chicken simmer until it’s cooked through and shreds easily.
Once the chicken is cooked, pull it out, and shred it.
Next, stir the cream cheese into the chili and finish it up with that shredded chicken and some white beans.
Now comes the buffalo sauce. I used my homemade sauce, which I shared in the notes. But you can use store-bought sauce or even just your favorite hot sauce. I love Franks Red Hot.
So stir in the buffalo sauce, your favorite salsa verde, and then a bit of cheddar cheese.
The toppings
As with any other chili, the toppings are key. For this chili, I like to do a dollop of plain Greek yogurt, then cheddar cheese, cilantro, avocado, and green onions. If you enjoy blue cheese, which we do, that would be great as well!
Homemade soft pretzels or beer bread on the side are extra delicious if you have time.
A dinner the whole family really will enjoy!
Looking for other fall dinners with a little kick? Here are a few ideas:
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
Lastly, if you make this Spicy Buffalo White 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. And of course, 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!
Spicy Buffalo White Chicken Chili
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 552 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon dried chives
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 4-6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 can white beans, drained
- 3/4 cup buffalo sauce
- 1/2 cup salsa verde
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- avocado, cheddar cheese, and Greek yogurt, for serving
Instructions
Stove
- 1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and poblano peppers cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, parsley, chives, dill, paprika, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, until very fragrant. Add the chicken, then stir in 4 cups broth. Season with salt and pepper. Partially cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.2. Pull the chicken out and shred using 2 forks. 3. Stir in the cream cheese until smooth, slowly letting it melt into the broth. Add the shredded chicken, white beans, salsa verde, buffalo sauce, and cheddar cheese. Cook 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. If needed, thin with additional broth.4. Ladle the chili into bowls. Top, as desired, with Greek yogurt/sour cream, cheese, avocado, cilantro, and green onions. Eat and enjoy!
Crockpot
- 1. In the bowl of your crockpot, combine the onion, poblano peppers, garlic, parsley, chives, dill, and paprika. Add the chicken, then stir in 4 cups broth and cream cheese. Season with salt and pepper.2. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4-5 hours.3. Shred the chicken using two forks. Stir in the white beans, salsa verde, buffalo sauce, cheddar, and cilantro.4. Ladle the chili into bowls. Top, as desired, with Greek yogurt/sour cream, cheese, avocado, cilantro, and green onions. Eat and enjoy!
Notes
Buffalo Sauce: Mix 1/2 cup hot sauce, 1/2 cup olive oil or melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, and a 1/2 teaspoon each onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a glass jar or measuring cup. Mix together.
This one is a definite winner! Followed it pretty much to the letter other than having boiled a whole chicken and using the meat from the breasts and the broth from that process. It is absolutely amazing and I’m already looking forward to a second helping while I watch football tonight. Thanks for sharing!
Love to hear this Leslie!! Thanks so much for making this chili and your comment:) xx
Hi Tieghan! I’ve made this before and it was delicious. Making it again tonight but have a “bean hater” in the group. Wondering if you have a substitute for the white beans or do you think it’d be ok without? Thanks!
Hey Laura,
Thanks for making this recipe! I think it would still be okay without the beans:) You could also just pull some chili for that person and then put the beans in! I hope this helps! xx
Easy and satisfying for the first cold night in DC. This is going into to be in my regular winter rotation and it looks like it’s easily scalable for dinner parties.
Hey Carol,
Wonderful!! So glad to hear that this dish turned out well for you, thanks for giving it a try! xx
If I’m running low on chicken broth, can I use half beef broth half water?
Hi Leah! The beef broth might change the flavor a bit but that should work fine! xT
What kind of hot sauce do you use to make your buffalo sauce? I used Franks Original and added the oil and spices. Should I have just used Franks by itself ?
Hi Patti! Yes, I usually use Franks original and I’ll add the oil and spices as well! xT
This is soooooo good! I’ve made other white chicken chili recipes before, but this is so much better!! My new favorite.
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! Hope you’re having a great Halloween weekend! 🙂 xT
I plan on making this for a chili cook-off at work next week. I’m going to make it in a slow cooker the day before. Should I wait until the day of to add the ingredients in Step 3?
Hi Heather! You could probably go either way, but I would recommend adding the ingredients in step 3 on the day of! xT
Have made before and love. Does it freeze well? Want to make for next weekend.
Hi there! I haven’t ever frozen this before so can’t say for sure! So sorry! xT
I love the flavor of this chili, but I can never get the consistency right. Always ends up much more pale and watery then in the pictures. Oh well, it’s tasty enough to keep trying!
Hi Ben! Hmm I would maybe add a little less liquid if you’re wanting to thicken it up! xT
I won the family 15th annual chili cook off today with this recipe!!!!! So so so good!! Simple recipe and simply delicious! I added extra cheese of course otherwise it was perfect.
Aw no way!! Love to hear that! Thank you so much! xT
I always make the homemade Buffalo sauce and add the full one cup it makes. This chili is my favorite recipe! I’ve made this for my work chili cook off a couple of times and it is always a fan favorite.
Love to hear this Christina!! Thanks for making this recipe so often:)
I made this in the crockpot and used room temperature cream cheese, but after cooking the cream cheese is not not blending/creamy. It’s sort of lumpy/curdy. Is that supposed to happen?
Hi Jess! Hmm I would maybe try to melt the cream cheese a bit more before adding and make sure that you stir it in really well! xT
Made with ground chicken and used 1cup of vegan sour cream and 1/2 fat Cabot sharp cheddar to cut down on fat/cholesterol and it still turned out creamy and delicious. Also used wing time premade wing sauce. We paired with Eastern Provisions soft pretzel sticks! We loved it!
Thank you! So glad to hear you’re enjoying this recipe! xT
Are you supposed to put the cream cheese in for the whole time in the crockpot version? I’m about halfway through the cook time and it’s looking clumpy… will this resolve itself or is there something else I need to be doing?
Hi there! Once it’s done cooking just stir it all in and it should incorporate well! xT
This is amazing! It tastes and smells like the creamy chicken enchiladas my mom used to make. My husband, who is much more of a spicy food enthusiast than I, especially enjoyed this dish.
I did substitute soft goat cheese for the cream cheese, as I need to be careful about my dairy intake, and I used small amount of very sharp cheddar instead of the full amount in the recipe. Still amazing! This recipe will figure as my staple chicken chili from now on.
Thank you! So glad to hear you’re enjoying this recipe! xT
Can I use already cooked shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken?
Yeah, definitely! xT