Experience a gold star, award-winning buffalo chicken chili recipe with the spot-on amount of spice, a smooth creamy base, lots of tender chicken, and takes only 10 minutes to prepare while your crock pot does the work. Be ready to win chili contests and hand out the recipe because this is the best buffalo-style chili you’ll ever make! Instant pot directions also included.
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Hands-Down Best Buffalo Chicken Chili Recipe
Once you make this recipe for buffalo chicken chili you will be amazed how ridiculously easy it is and how mighty tasty it is. Pin it, print it, and tape it to your fridge because this a stress-free, delicious meal to make over and over again.
#1 It pretty much requires zero brain cells. If you have mastered operating a can opener and correctly using measuring spoons, it’s game on.
#2 If you are too busy to find ten minutes to make dinner, call for pizza and I won’t judge. But if you can manage ten minutes of prep and clean-up time, you will have the most delicious chicken chili waiting for you in eight hours.
#3 Given how ridiculously easy this slow cooker recipe is to make, it’s impressively delicious. In fact, it is so impressive, I often make it for entertaining, tailgating, or to take to a friend.
They WILL ask you for the recipe, though, so be careful with feigning how much effort you put into making it. Awkward.
#4 Is there really nothing better than buffalo chicken ANYTHING?! Whatever classic dish is morphed into “buffalo chicken” flavors like these family-favorite Buffalo Chicken Tacos, I am sold. The bit of spice with creamy ranch and tender chicken gets me every time.
#5 Can you ever really have enough chicken soup recipes? If chicken is a starring protein at your house, this easy chili recipe can be put into a rotation with some of our family’s most requested dishes, like velvety, creamy chicken dumpling soup or a red chicken chili – chorzio chicken chili.
I made this chili last year for our annual chili cook off at my kids school, and it won! Buffalo chicken chili is hands down my favorite, and apparently it was the favorite of the night. People STILL talk about it. TODAY is our chili cook off for the year, and I’m planning on taking it again. Everyone is making SURE it’ll be a contender this year, so how can I possibly say no to that?! I make a couple of tweaks to it, but just as it is is perfectly delicious! This recipe comes HIGHLY recommended, and is in fact, award winning!
—Vanessa
Fantastic recipe! Won a soup/chili contest with it and have been asked by several people to share the recipe. One of those people won a chili contest with it too! At home, we like to eat it with tortilla chip scoops.
—Megan
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Ingredient Tid Bits
- Chicken – The recipe calls for skinless chicken breasts, but boneless chicken thighs or cooked ground chicken would work as well. The cooking time would remain the same.
- Ranch seasoning – Use one dry ranch seasoning packet. For gluten-free soup recipes, use Hidden Valley Ranch brand.
- Beans – White beans, such as Great Northern, navy beans, or cannellini beans blend in with the creamy consistency. However, readers have also sang the praises of substituting different beans, such as black beans or kidney beans.
- Hot sauce – I prefer Franks Red Hot Sauce and the spice level can be adjust based on personal preference, just like buffalo chicken wings. Adding 1/4 cup will be mildly spiced, while 1/2 cup will give medium heat.
- Cream cheese – Soften to room temperature before adding for the creamiest results. Light cream cheese may be substituted, but it doesn’t blend in as smooth.
- Diced tomatoes – I prefer the flavor of fire-roasted tomatoes, but any diced tomato may be used.
- Additional veggies – Besides corn, add in diced celery, peppers, even carrot! You can also leave out the corn if you’re not feeling it. Read through the comments under the recipe to get more ideas.
- Optional seasonings – If you’d like to add your own flavor, consider adding a dash of chili powder, ground cumin, paprika, or even a squeeze of lime juice!
Let’s Make This Together!
(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
Dump and go prep
If the taste alone isn’t enough to win you over, you can’t argue with the easy prep work. Dump the raw chicken, seasonings, beans, tomatoes, and broth in the crock pot. Give a stir and let it cook. On low heat it will take about 6-8 hours, high heat 3-4 hours.
Shred time
Now it’s time to shred the chicken. You can either use two forks and do it right in the pot or remove the chicken with a slotted spoon, shred on a cutting board, and then transfer it back to the slow cooker.
Add the creaminess
Lastly add the cream cheese. I like to put the block in and let it sit for 5 minutes to soften, then stir until smooth. I find full-fat cream cheese breaks down into a smoother consistency than light. But, I’ve made it with either!
If you’d like to swap out the cream cheese for something else, heavy cream or sour cream works as well.
Can you freeze this chili?
There are a lot of rules for freezing soup, so you might be wondering if this chili can be frozen. Normally chili recipes freeze without an issue, but this recipe contains cream cheese, which can make it tricker.
If you do want to freeze it, I recommend reheating low and slow. You can add additional cream cheese, freshly grated cheese, or a 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with water to help thicken and smooth the chili.
For a make-ahead freezer meal, complete the recipe, but leave out the cream cheese in the last step. After the chili has been thawed and re-warmed, add the softened cream cheese.
Yummy Toppings and Sides
Buffalo chili can be a meal in itself, or served with side dishes. If serving this recipe at a party, check out these are our easy side ideas to serve with chili, including some classics and unique twists.
If making this for a dinner party or a chili contest, I recommend at the very least offering blue cheese crumbles, tortilla chips, and fresh cilantro. For bonus points, offer up additional hot sauce, diced celery, sliced jalapeños, green onions, or avocado.
Chili Cook-Offs Won By Readers!
This recipe has won 63 cook-offs and contests entered! If this was the winning recipe for you as well, be sure to add a comment below and I will add your win to the tally. 🏆
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Did you make this recipe? I love hearing from you! Leave a star rating and comment below the recipe card. It helps others when searching for recipes and I appreciate feedback from our community. You will always hear back from me! -Melissa
Award Winning Buffalo Chicken Chili (Slow Cooker)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds (1.5 lbs.) boneless chicken breasts
- 14.5 ounce (14.5 oz.) can Great Northern beans, drained
- 14.5 ounce (14.5 oz.) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, drained (can substitute regular diced tomatoes)
- 14.5 ounce (411.07 g) can chicken broth, (read label to make sure it’s gluten free)
- ¼-½ cup (0.5) buffalo wing sauce*, I used Frank’s Red Hot
- 1 (1) package ranch dressing mix envelope, (Hidden Valley brand is gluten free)
- 14.5 ounce (14.5 oz.) can sweet corn kernels, drained
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 tsp.) onion powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 tsp.) garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 tsp.) celery salt
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 tsp.) dried cilantro
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 tsp.) salt
- 8 ounce (8 oz.) cream cheese**, softened
- Optional toppings: tortilla chips, fresh cilantro, blue cheese crumbles, chopped celery, additional hot sauce
Equipment
Instructions
Slow Cooker Directions:
- In a 5 quart slow cooker combine all the ingredients except the cream cheese and toppings.1 ½ pounds boneless chicken breasts, 14.5 ounce can Great Northern beans, 14.5 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounce can chicken broth, ¼-½ cup buffalo wing sauce*, 1 package ranch dressing mix envelope, 14.5 ounce can sweet corn kernels, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon celery salt, ½ teaspoon dried cilantro, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
- Shred the chicken in the slow cooker using two forks. You can also use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken to a cutting board, shred it, and then return to the pot.8 ounce cream cheese**
- Add the cream cheese and let it sit for 5 minutes to soften, then stir until it is incorporated. Serve with desired toppings.
Instant Pot Directions:
- Place all the ingredients in the instant pot EXCEPT beans and cream cheese. Cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 15 minutes. Naturally release for 10 minutes and then quick release remaining pressure.
- Use two forks to shred chicken in instant pot or remove chicken to cutting board to shred. Add chicken back to pot.
- Add drained beans and cream cheese to instant pot. Stir until chili is creamy and smooth. Serve with desired toppings.
Notes
This post contains affiliate links. My opinions are always my own. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, I make a small commission – at no cost to you. Read full disclosure policy here.
I won a work chili cook off with this recipe and so many people wanted it! I did cheat and used canned chicken because I was on a budget lol but you could not tell the difference!
Hey Holly,
Yay for you! Good to know canned chicken works as well and will still result in a win! I’ll add your win to the tally.
Best,
Melissa
I made this for my neighborhood chili cook-off and i won most unique! everyone loved it. i did double it since there were so many people. i also added come cayenne pepper, extra beans (mashed 1 can to add for thickness), and some extra franks red hot. I will definitely be making this again!! it was delicious!!!
Hey Stephanie, Way to go! I will add a tally for you. Thanks for the tip about mashing the beans. That is a very helpful suggestion!
Best,
Melissa
I won a chili cook-off with this recipe tonight!! So delicious!
That’s fantastic! I will add your win and congrats!
Best,
Melissa
I put in the beans with all ingredients as I was reading slow cooker recipe but making in instant pot. Hope turns out??
It should be fine. A lot of instant pot chili recipes have you add the beans before cooking. I just leave them to the end so they don’t get too mushy. Let me know what you think!
It worked out fine! I have made multiple times now :).
My son loves it!! He had us use his favorite honey bbq wing sauce instead and is fabulous!
I also got the spicy ranch dressing by accident but loved.
That’s so great to hear! Love the idea of honey bbq wing sauce. Yum! Thanks for dropping a line!
Best,
Melissa
Wow! This turned out amazing. I was worried it would be too runny, but once I added the cream cheese it was perfect. I used the instant pot, doubled the recipe (using this for a chili cook-off tonight) and was absolutely pleased with how it turned out! Top the chili with some frito chips and maybe some blue cheese — delish.
Hi Emily, I really hope your chili cook off turned out well! Good to know that a double recipe fits in the Instant Pot. Thanks for writing!
Best,
Melissa
Add another win to the tally. I took this to a friends chili cook off and won against 11 other chili’s so thanks for the recipe.
Will do right now! Thanks for letting me know, Shannon. So glad you won!
I won at a friends chili cook off tonight with this recipe. I’ll be making it again for sure.
Hey Sarah! That’s incredible! I added your win and thank you so much for letting me know! Congrats!
Best,
Melissa
Sooooo good! We used ground turkey and it turned out amazing! I added mushrooms and they were great in it!
That’s wonderful! Adding mushrooms always improves a dish in my book, as well! Thanks for writing!
Best,
Melissa
Do you start with frozen or thawed meat?
Hi Jamie, I always use fresh, but you could use frozen. Add 4 minutes more to the instant pot cooking time.
Best,
Melissa
I won the cook off today! Thanks for the recipe!!
Oh yay! Now you officially legendary status in the office. I’ll add you to the win tally board!
Entering a SOUPervisor cook off tomorrow using this recipe. Fingers crossed!
Love the name of the contest and of course I’ll send good juju your way, Melanie!
Add another win to your list, Mama!
I wanted to try something different for our annual hospital chili cook off and this recipe was just the ticket.
It took first place over all, beating out 14 other entries. I used my Instant Pot to cook the chicken by itself with some seasoned salt, then shredded it, placing it back into the pot with the other ingredients for an extra 10 minutes before adding the creamed (low fat) cheese. Thanks for the winning idea!
Fantastic! I added you to the official winner’s tally! Thank you for your tips as well for how to do it a little differently in the Instant Pot. I will give it a try!
Best,
Melissa
I have made this several times! Always a big hit! So, my husband brought home buffalo chicken sausage. Has anyone tried using that? Seems like it would work. Not sure how to adjust the other ingredients. Any ideas would be welcome! Thanks 🙂
Hi Julie,
I think the buffalo chicken sausage would work great! However, you can probably skip the slow cooker and throw it together quickly on the stove top. Cook the sausage, chop, and set aside. Place all the remaining ingredients (except cream cheese) in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add cooked sausage, cream cheese, and stir until smooth.
The only thing I’m not sure about is if you would need additional chicken broth since the liquids won’t be condensing as much as they would in a slow cooker. Hope this helps!
Best,
Melissa
I won my church chili cook-off tonight! Thanks for the great recipe!
Fantastic! Seems like this chili performs very well in church cook-offs 😉 I’ll add your big win and congrats!
It’s true! I won my chili cook off with this recipe. I doubled the recipe and made some modifications. I didn’t double the corn but straight doubled everything else. Since I am a chili purist and require chili powder in my recipes, I added 2Tb chili powder and 1Tb cumin to the recipe. It was so good!!
That’s amazing! I love everyone writing in to share their wins and all their tips to make it their own. I’m definitely going to try out the chili powder and cumin with my next batch. Adding your win right now!
I just won my school chili cook off with this recipe!! It was so delicious. Thank you!
HOT DOG! I’ll add you to the winner winner chicken dinner tally. Thanks for writing!
I made this after my Sister won her work chili cookoff. My husband and son loved this and I will be making it for our church chili cookoff. It would get 6 stars for taste and how easy it is to make!
How generous of you! 6 stars?! I’ll take it! Please check back in after your church cookoff and I’ll hopefully add your win to tally! Did your sister write in to add her win to the tally?
Won a chili cook off tonight with this recipe!! I used my instant pot and it was absolutely delicious!
Hot dog! Congrats and I’ll add your big win. I find myself using the instant pot more now to make this recipe. I love how fast it is!
I won my Chili & Soup Cook-Off today with this recipe! Everyone loved it. Thanks to you, I now have the coveted bedazzled ladle for the next year 🙂
Absolutely amazing and I am completely loving the the prize. A bedazzled ladle?! Fabulous idea! I’ll add your win to the tally!
We won first place with this recipe!!!
Yay! I appreciate you letting me know. I added your big win to the winner’s tally! 🤗
This won by a unanimous vote at a work cook-off! Thank you so much for a delicious recipe!
Unanimous?! That’s amazing! I added you to the cook-off tally and thank you for writing!
I followed this recipe to the T and it was entirely too watery. Closer to soup than chili. Long spice after bite. Four hour on high slow cook did not work out. Will not make again, and definitely would not win any chili contests.
Hello, I’m truly sorry this didn’t work out for you. I know how frustrating that can be!
Perhaps the soup was watery because too much condensation collected while it was cooking (especially on high)? I used to have a slow cooker that cooked too hot and everything would be too liquidy because of all the condensation. I would leave the lid off the last hour of cooking for some of the liquid too evaporate.
I hope you have a wonderful day and I apologize for your frustrations 🙂
Best,
Melissa
Loved this recipe! Only change I made was to use a combination of white and black beans ..
Placed 3rd out of 20+ contestants…had only about 1/2 cup left !
Just a note … had to temper the cream cheese ,in a separate bowl, by stirring a little of the hot liquid from the pot into the cream cheese before adding it into the pot ! Otherwise if cheese is too cold it won’t blend in easily.
Thanks again for a great recipe!
Thanks for writing Rita and way to go! That is a lot of contestants! Thank you for adding that about the cream cheese. Usually I just set mine on the counter for 30 minutes – 1 hour before I add it so it’s room temperature and soft. Until you pointed that out, though, it seems I never added that to the recipe. Thanks for the heads up!
Best,
Melissa
This recipe is amazing! I just won our department chili cook off with this recipe, so add another win to the tally! I cooked it overnight, kept it warm and added the cream cheese about an hour before the judging. My chili was the only one completely eaten!
That’s amazing! I happily added your win to the tally 🤗🥳 Thanks for sharing the good news!
You weren’t kidding — my family loved this recipe and I won our annual department chili cook-off today! Thank you!
Wow, it was a great day for this chili! I added your win to the tally and congrats!⭐️⭐️ Thank you for taking the time to let me know 👊
Hi! Just like a few others I too have to bring this to work for a chili cook-off,but my commute is 1 hour+ so I am not sure I will even have the time to let it cook 4 hours before the cook-off. How does this taste as a leftover? I thought about cooking the entire thing today then popping in the fridge overnight and simply keeping it on a warming setting in my slow cooker for 1 hour or so tomorrow.
Thanks!
Hi Ashley, That would be perfectly fine to make it the day before and warm it up. Just make sure to stir it occasionally and you might want to heat it on LOW versus WARM when you are warming up. Also, it will thicken upon refrigerating so you might need to add a little broth to it (wait until after it’s warmed up to see). Good luck and hope you win! Please let me know how it works out.
Hi Melissa!
My update – cooking ahead and reheating on low for about 3 hours worked really well! This chili was a bit hit. Our cook off has two categories the first is Best Overall and the second is Best Unicorn (a unique variation of chili that is delisous) . I took first place in the Besr Unicorn category and had only a few cups full left at the end of the day! Thanks so much for a great recipe and help!
Hi Ashley, I’m so happy to hear from you with a positive update. Thank you for letting me know. I added your win to the tally and congrats! You’re very welcome. Talking food and recipes is my favorite thing and I’m always happy to help!
Is there a way to make it more low carb? Where do 33g of carbs per serving come from?
Hi Jenni, It looks like most of the carbs come from the beans (87g for whole recipe) and corn (73g for whole recipe) so reducing or eliminating those would help. You can substitute chopped celery for the corn. Hope this helps!
Hey Marnie, No you can discard the water. I don’t find I ever need to any extra broth than what the recipe calls for. Just shred the chicken and refrigerate that.
Made this for dinner tonight and loved how it turned out! You weren’t kidding when you said ‘easy’. It was delicious.
Thank you so much Kim for taking the time to let me know. This is hands down one of my favorite recipes because of how easy it is and how amazing it tastes! So glad you enjoyed it as well.
I want to leave it over night to be ready for 11 am tomorrow for our chili cook off. What’s the longest I can have it cooking I guess? This is my first time making chili, well, anything in a crock pot 😀
Hi Kassie,
I wouldn’t cook it anymore than 8 hours because the chicken will get mushy. You can do 4 hours on high in the AM, which is how I primarily cook it. If you want to do the low setting perhaps save putting in the beans till the end when you add the cream cheese. Hope this helps and good luck!
Melissa
Hi! Do you think it would work to bake the chicken in the oven the night before and then assemble all ingredients in crock pot to simmer the next morning? Like the commenter above, I am bringing this to my middle school teacher chili cookoff, and I am concerned of chicken being too mushy if I make it ahead, or the cream cheese consistency n ot being good and breaking down. I appreciate your correspondence and this recipe! Making it for Friday!
Hi Marnie, You could do that, but I think it would affect the consistency of the chili. The shredded chicken helps thicken the chili and yours would be baked and chopped. Before the chicken is shredded into the chili, it’s pretty liquidy. After shredding the chicken, stirring it into the liquid, and adding the cream cheese it gets a lot thicker and chili-like (vs. soup-like).
Here’s a thought of what I think would work though…
The day before simmer the chicken breasts in water until very tender (about 30-45 minutes). Shred, cool completely, and store in fridge.
In the AM mix together everything but chili and cook on high for a couple hours or low if have a longer time. Right before serving mix in shredded chicken and cream cheese. Voila!
Good luck and hope you win! I’d love to hear back if this works for you 🙂
Thank you for your response! Do you think I should keep the water from the cooked chicken to use in the morning? Or keep the shredded chicken alone? I’m definitely going to make this with your suggested variation!