Slow Cooker Chicken Chili (6-Ingredient)
Developed and tested by Robyn Conley Downs
on Feb 12, 2019 (last updated Mar 23, 2026) 
My slow cooker chicken chili is made with just 6 pantry ingredients including chicken, beans, salsa, tomato sauce, and two spices. With no chopping and pre-cooking required it’s an easy weeknight dinner you’ll want to add to your rotation! Also includes stovetop and Instant Pot instructions.
5 star review
“Just made this recipe for dinner. My husband said it was the best thing I’ve ever cooked. It was definitely the easiest! So much flavor! I followed the recipe exactly and topped with cheese, green onions and cilantro. Served with blue corn chips. Love all your recipes!”
– Stephanie
Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Chili with Just 6-Ingredients
My slow cooker chicken chili leans on taco-inspired flavors, using salsa as a shortcut to add depth without any extra chopping. The salsa does double duty here, as half goes in at the start to cook low and slow with the chicken, and the other half gets stirred in at the end to keep the flavor bright and fresh. It’s one of those recipes that gets better every time you make it, and the leftovers are arguably even better the next day (trust me, it’s so easy and so good I even put this recipe in my dinner cookbook!).
With just six pantry ingredients and no pre-cooking required, this is a true dump-and-go dinner that works just as well on a busy Tuesday as it does for a weekend crowd. The chicken shreds right in the slow cooker, soaking up all the flavor from the beans, tomato sauce, and spices as it cooks. But if you want a creamy twist on the same concept, my crockpot white chicken chili uses the same hands-off method with a rich cream cheese sauce.
This recipe is also endlessly customizable. Swap the kidney beans for black or pinto, dial up the heat with a spicy salsa, or pile on toppings to make it your own. For a bolder flavor profile, my buffalo chicken chili is another easy slow cooker option worth trying on game day. Both versions freeze well, making them ideal for meal prep or anytime you need dinner waiting when you walk in the door!
Testing Tips from My Kitchen to Yours
- Chicken: I’ve tested both, and boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless skinless chicken thighs work equally well in this recipe, so it really just depends on personal preference and what you have on hand.
- Tomato sauce: Look for canned tomato sauce along with other tomato products in the canned section of your grocery store.
- Kidney beans: I like the earthy, almost meaty flavor and texture of kidney beans for this recipe, but chili beans, black beans, pinto beans, or white beans can also be used.
- Chunky salsa: Look for a jarred, chunky salsa for this recicpe. Use mild for a mild chili, and spicy for more of a kick. I don’t recommend fresh salsa for this recipe, as the final result ends up on the watery side.
Slow Cooker Chicken Chili (6-Ingredient)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or thighs
- 1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
- 2 (15-oz) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (15-oz) jar chunky salsa, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Equipment
Instructions
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Divide the jar of salsa in half.
- Place the chicken, tomato sauce, beans, half the salsa, cumin, garlic and salt in a 6-quart slow cooker, stirring to combine. Refrigerate the remaining salsa to add at the end.
- Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours, or low for 6-8, or until the chicken is cooked through. Do not uncover during this time.
- Uncover, remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks, or chop into bite sized pieces. Add back to the slow cooker.
- Stir in the remaining salsa. Taste and add additional salt and hot sauce if desired. Serve with any toppings you like.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Place the chicken, beans, cumin, garlic and salt in a 6-quart pressure cooker, stirring to combine.
- Pour over the salsa and the tomato sauce. Do not stir.
- Cover and cook on high pressure for 20 minutes, then allow to naturally release.
- Uncover, remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks, or chop into bite sized pieces. Add back to the pressure cooker.
- Stir in the remaining salsa. Taste and add additional salt and hot sauce if desired. Serve with any toppings you like.
Stovetop Instructions
- Place the chicken, tomato sauce, beans, half the salsa, cumin, garlic and salt in a large pot or Dutch oven, stirring to combine. Refrigerate the remaining salsa to add at the end.
- Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 40-55 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Uncover, remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks, or chop into bite sized pieces. Add back to the pot.
- Stir in the remaining salsa. Taste and add additional salt and hot sauce if desired. Serve with any toppings you like.
Notes
- Optional Toppings: 4-ingredient guacamole, shredded cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, chopped green onion, chopped cilantro.
- Beans: chili, black, or pinto beans all work here as well.
Great recipe! I added a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes to fluff it up a bit, since I added more chicken than recipe called for. May add some bell pepper next time for a bit of color and veggie content.
Julia, yum, love all these adaptations! And so glad you enjoyed. 🙂
This stew is so good. I added onion and green peppers. I also had to adjust but setting to medium otherwise I get the burn notification, but worth it to fix it for how yummy and simple it is. Any advice to avoid burn notice?
Kaela, setting to medium is a great option to avoid the burn notification. Pressure cookers are so different when it comes to the burn sensor (some are way more sensitive than others) so it sounds like you found a good fix!
Ahhhhhh!!!!! This is BANANAS how delicious and how easy this is. It’s astonishing that something that takes ONE minute to prep can be so tasty! This recipe was so easy and so good that on day eleventybillion of quarantine it feels like the greatest gift of my life! Thank you for this 💕
Amy, you win for best comment of the month. So happy to hear this is making your quarantine life just a little easier. Much love coming your way!
Just made this recipe for dinner. My husband said it was the best thing I’ve ever cooked. It was definitely the easiest! So much flavor!
I followed the recipe exactly and topped with cheese, green onions and cilantro. Served with blue corn chips.
Love all your recipes!
Stephanie, woohoo, that’s awesome. So glad you enjoyed–those toppings sound amazing!
This recipe is SO good, it is BY FAR my 1 of my favorite foods ever!!
Elle, thank you so much for your very kind review. I’m so happy this is one of your favorites!
I had this at my daughter’s house and loved it. She was so pleased that it was so easy as she has a newborn. I am planning on making a big pot of it for hubby and me later today.
Joanne, so happy to hear this one was a hit and worth making a second time!
can this be converted into a stovetop or oven recipe? I don’t have a slow cooker 🙁
Alyssa, yes you can do this one on the stovetop. Add all the ingredients to a Dutch oven or large heavy duty pot, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the chicken is cooked through and very tender. The chicken won’t likely have the same fall-apart consistency, but you can cut it into bite-sized pieces and it should still taste great!
My husband and I loved this recipe! We added sliced avocado, cilantro, sour cream, and shredded cheese as toppings. I added one tsp of cayenne and red chili flakes, and made it a bit more chicken heavy, and it was great for us! So easy and so good.
Love those topping ideas and that you tweaked this one a bit to fit our tastes, Sarah. Thanks so much for leaving a reveiw!
Excellent, easy, delicious recipe!!! I make it all the time now!
But when cooked in a pressure cooker, it took much longer than ten minutes.
Hi Taylor, so glad you enjoyed this recipe! When you say it took longer in the pressure cooker, do you mean the total time was longer than 10 minutes (meaning that it took additional time to come to pressure, then it needed 10 minutes to cook), or do you mean it took more than 10 minutes after the pressure cooker came to pressure? Thanks for letting me know so I can put a note in the recipe instructions. Cheers!
Robyn, it took its time to pressurize, then cooked for ten minutes, then vented. The chicken was still raw. I ended up letting it repressurize, cooked for an additional 45 minutes, vented, and it came out PERFECT (just too late to eat for supper that particular night). Would still 100% do it in the InstantPot again though!
Thanks, Taylor, that’s super helpful! I’m assuming the chicken wasn’t raw, correct? Just trying to figure out how the timing was so different for you than when I tested it. I’ll give it another go in my IP and will make a note on cook time in the recipe card as well. Thanks for the feedback, and glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Great. I used the ingredients I had up so took cover off mid way added sautéed garlic diced sautéed zucchini and partial steamed fresh corn removed from the cob. Added a little ancho chili pepper. ( put cover back on!) Three boys age 3 7 and 10 ate seconds. 👍
Karina, yay, so glad you enjoyed this one and made it work with what you had on hand. Thanks so much for leaving a review!
Can you prep this in the crockpot the night before and start it in the morning without sacrificing the recipe?
Nicole, yes, I’ve done it many times! I prep everything in the base of the slow cooker, cover, refrigerate, then put it back in the slow cooker unit and proceed with the recipe. I usually add an additional 30 minutes to account for the slow cooker base being cold, but otherwise the recipe stays the same.
Omg this was so so good! Stuck with only half the salsa and it was perfection! If I didn’t stop myself I would have eaten a ton! My kids loved it too and that is a win for this mama! ❤️
Wonderful, so happy to hear this one was a hit for you, Nicole! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Hi Robyn, how would i convert this recipe to a 1.5 quart slow cooker? should i cut the ingredients in half? thanks!!
I haven’t tried this one in a 1.5, but I’m guessing you could try cutting the ingredients in half. If you give it at ry let us know how it turns out!
Easy and delicious! I’ll make this again.
Fantastic, so happy to hear this one was a hit. Thanks for leaving a review!
Popped this in my slow cooker this morning and a delicious dinner was ready a few hours later. My husband declared it delicious! I loved it because it was so easy and used minimal ingredients!
Wonderful, so happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed this one, Darlene! Thanks so much for leaving a review!
Would this recipe as is fit in a 4.5 quart crockpot? I don’t have a 6 quart…..
Hi Noelle, I haven’t tested it, but i think it will work. You just want to make sure there is at least one inch clearance between the contents of the slow cooker and the lid. If you give it a try, let us know how it turns out!
to shred the chicken, all you need is to kinda smash it with a spatula or wooden spoon…when its cooked, it’ll break down right in the crock pot. i left out the salsa (too much salt) and just put in diced salt free tomatoes and italian herbs. i also used ground chicken and served it over roasted veggies, topped with fat free plain greek yogurt. the next morning i put some in a ramekin, warmed in the toaster oven, then nestled an egg in it and put it back in the toaster oven until soft cooked …yummy! try it with some baked spaghetti squash too…super yummy!!
Lala, so happy you enjoyed this one, and great tip about serving it with a soft cooked egg. Thanks so much for leaving a review!
This is the best chicken chili recipe ever. The only change I made was lightly season the chicken breast and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Then, I combined all the ingredients in the crockpot except for the salt since my chicken was already seasoned. So delicious! It’s a great recipe to make in bulk and freeze for a rainy day. 🙂
Wonderful to hear you enjoyed this one, Victoria! Thanks so much for leaving a review. 🙂
If you double the recipe do you cook it longer? Thanks! So delicious and such a crowd pleaser!
Yes, you’ll likely need to add a bit more time, but you do NOT need to double the time. I usually start by adding and additional 30 minutes to the instructed cook time, then adding additional 30 minutes as necessary. I hope you enjoy!
Nutrition needs updated*
Two cans of beans have roughly 150 grams of Carbs. Divided among 6 serving just for beans alone is 25 grams of carbs per serving.
Other than that the recipe is absolutely dang delicious and so easy.
Hi Alicia, so happy to hear you enjoyed this one and thanks for your notes on the carbs being off. Nutrition info is always provided as a courtesy and there does appear to be a glitch in the our system — I’ve manually added the numbers to better reflect the accurate carb count, but as always a great idea to double check with on your own with the exact ingredients you’re using. Thanks again for the note and the review!
What is the serving size on this?
Nicole, this recipe serves 6, so 1/6th of the total amount, which equals about 1 1/2 cups.
My favorite chicken chili recipe!
Gretchen, yay, it’s one of our favorites here! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts!