Creamy Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili | Easy Chili Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do I thicken up my white chicken chili? ›

Regular chili has a rich base of red chilies (or chili powder) and sometimes tomato, while white chili calls for green chilies. We use canned Hatch green chilies, white beans, and tender shredded chicken to make our white chili recipe. It tastes quite different from red chili but is just as delicious!

Using Cornmeal to Thicken Chili

Cornmeal is one of our go-to thickening agents for chili. Unlike all-purpose flour, this Southern pantry staple adds a subtle earthy flavor to the chili in addition to thickening it up. You can use white or yellow cornmeal that is fine to medium-grain.

Chili is perhaps the ideal slow-cooker dish because its flavor improves with a long, slow simmer.

Though you could use flour or cornstarch, you'll stay closer to a chili flavor profile if you either mash some of the beans (assuming it's a chili with beans) or stir in some masa flour (fine cornmeal) and allow the chili to cook a while longer.

Add Bite For Flavor Boost

Sometimes after a long simmer, your chili will taste wonderful be maybe missing one little thing you can't figure out. Try a tad bit of vinegar or a squeeze of lime! The acidity in vinegar & limes bring a good roundness to the pot and binds all the flavors together.

The chili tastes completely different without the brown sugar so if you like a subtle sweetness in your chili then you've just got to go for it!

Smoky chile peppers add tremendous flavor to chilis. These peppers usually have a bold flavor even without the smoke, so use these to get a little assertive with your seasoning.

Not only will tomato paste add a tangy flavor to the dish, but it will also act as a thickening agent. For this purpose, you can use homemade or store-bought tomato paste. Add 1 can of the paste to your pot of chili, stir the mixture, and let it cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes.

Should chili be thick or soupy? ›

Chili should be thick and hearty enough to be a meal on its own, but sometimes there's just a bit more liquid than you want in the pot. While you can simply keep simmering the chili, that method risks overcooking softer ingredients like the beans, losing all your nice texture to mushy monotony.

Elevate with Extra Flavor

Elevate your chili recipe by adding an extra layer of flavor. Cocoa powder, bacon, cinnamon, ground coffee and tomato paste will all add a rich sweet & salty flavors that are sure to surprise and delight.

Stir some puréed pumpkin into your chili just after sautéing your aromatics (onions, garlic, etc...) and before adding any liquid. This will deepen and sweeten its flavor, making it a great balance for all the chile peppers and heat.

The tomatoes contain sugar, which caramelizes in the slow cooker, and will eventually burn if it cookes for too long. Anything longer than 10 hours on low is risky.

Tomato paste is a great way to add bonus tomato flavor, and thickness, to a chili recipe. To get the best flavor it needs to be browned. Add a couple tablespoons (or a whole can if you want a thicker soup base) directly to the pan after cooking the meat and onions.

There are 3 causes of thin chili: Short cooking time, Excess stock in the chili, Too many fresh tomatoes.

In addition, broth, beer, and/ or water is usually added to produce the desired consistency in the pot of chili. I usually add one or two cups of beef broth. If you put tomatoes in the stew, this will also provide plenty of liquid.

To make your turkey chili nice, thick and creamy, I suggest blending cornstarch with your choice of cream, mixing it into the white chili, then adding the rest of your cream.

Combine 2 tablespoons flour with every 1/4 cup cold water and whisk until smooth. Add the mixture to your sauce over medium heat, and continue to stir and cook until you've reached your desired consistency. Test with a spoon.