Slow Cooker White Bean Chili
Ginny McMeans
Published:
May 20, 2018
Last Modified:
July 24, 2025
White Bean Chili has a wonderful group of spices that blend perfectly with the beans and green chilies. Not only that, slow cooker white bean chili is a great family dinner.
Using a crockpot for cooking beans is a very convenient and efficient way to make dinner. After everything is placed in the crockpot, you just set the temperature, check the time, and let it cook – all by itself.
Check out the video! It’s right here if you’re on a desktop and a couple of paragraphs below if you’re on a laptop!
There won’t be any worries that your delicious food will burn or that it will boil over. Your chili is innocently cooking away and waiting for you to ladle it up.
At my house, when it’s warm outside, especially in the summer, I set the slow cooker on a table out on the covered patio or deck that is near an outlet.
It keeps the house from overheating, and it makes me feel like I am cooking al fresco. It just feels like a fun way to cook.
Then, on those cold days, the slow cooker is more than welcome to add heat to the house. Either way, I am in my ‘easy dinner mode’.
Healthy Slow Cooker White Bean Chili
- This is it! Great Northern Beans cooked with veggies and spices can’t be beaten. You can use your own vegetable stock or organic low-sodium vegetable broth for the liquid base.
- If you’d like to use fresh roasted green chilis in the sautéd mix, that would work too, but I find the canned ones to be so much simpler for this, and they are delicious. There are organic canned mild diced green chiles, too.
- You know you’ve got to add a little nutritional yeast for more nutrients and flavor. How can anyone resist?
- Slow Cooker White Bean Chili is the perfect way to take advantage of what is needed to turn out a wonderful chili. Lots of flavorful ingredients cooked low and slow.
There is a bit of prep work at the beginning, but it’s basic and quick. It’s sautéing, and that brings out another level of flavor in the veggies.
Gosh, it’s making my mouth water just thinking about it.
This chili cooks a very long time, so it would be a good one to let cook overnight. You won’t have to shorten your sleep time to tend to it.
Or you can get it going early in the morning to have it ready for supper time.
Whichever way you go, you’ll be glad you took the white chili leap. And … leftovers are just as delicious the second time around. Comfort food is in the house!
A Couple Reviews
It’s so hard to find the reviews on these recipes since most of the viewing is on mobile phones these days. I mean, you can scroll forever!
I brought a couple up here to show you because it may help you in your decision to the leap into crock-pot ease.
But, by all means, scroll to the bottom if you’d like to see more.
Jenny S. says: Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe! I came home from work today in the pouring rain and opened my door to a delicious smell in the crockpot! This chili tasted so amazing… I love the ground cloves, it makes it!! Thanks again for sharing!!!
Shauna says: This is my go-to White Bean Chili recipe! It’s simple and delicious. I cook it exactly as the recipe states, it turns out perfect every single time!
Can You Freeze Slow Cooker White Bean Chili?
White Bean Chili will keep in the fridge for 3 days or you can freeze for up to 4 months.
You could also make this White Bean Recipe with a couple of carrots added. Peel and slice the carrot into about 1 to 1-1/2 inch thick rounds.
IF FREEZING:
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature and freeze in any of the ways I have described in my article Food Preparation for the Freezer.
TO PREPARE AFTER FREEZING:
- Take out of the freezer and put in the refrigerator for a few hours (about 6 hours) before heating. Heat in a large saucepan or in the microwave.
Serve hot.
Step-by-Step Instructions
To Prep Beans the Night Before:
- Pick over the beans to remove any foreign debris–it’s not uncommon for small pebbles or branches to get caught up in dried beans so do take the time to do this step!
- Rinse the beans under cool running water.
- Place the beans in a large pot or bowl and cover with water by about 2 to 3 inches. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap.
- Allow the beans to soak overnight for 8 hours–they will swell up and soften slightly.
To Make the White Bean Chili:
- Sauté onion. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until translucent–about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add chiles and spices. To the sautéed onion, add mild green chiles, ground cloves, chopped garlic, dried oregano, ground cumin, and cayenne pepper.
- Sauté. Stir the mixture and continue sautéing for about 2 more minutes.
- Add broth. Pour in 2 cups of the vegetable broth. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then remove it from the heat.
- Combine in slow cooker. Drain and rinse the soaked white beans and place them in a large slow cooker. Pour in the remaining 4 cups of vegetable broth, then season with nutritional yeast, black pepper, and salt.
- Add vegetables and cook. Add the cooked onion and green chile mixture to the slow cooker, then stir to combine and cover. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours. The cooking time can vary depending on the beans so start checking for doneness at 6 hours if cooking on low and at 3 hours if cooking on high. Continue cooking in 30 minute increments as needed until beans are tender all the way through.
- Serve hot! Ladle your white bean chili into serving bowls and enjoy it piping hot! I love to serve mine with crusty bread for dipping and mopping.
Watch Us Make Slow Cooker White Bean Chili
White Bean Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 8 oz. mild green chiles (2 cans, 4 oz. each)
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 3 cloves garlic (or 4 depending how big they are), finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 6 cups vegetable broth, divided
- 1 pound dried great northern beans
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- dash black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
To Prep Beans the Night Before:
- Pick over the beans to remove any foreign debris (such as small branches or stones).Rinse the beans under cool running water.Place the beans in a large pot or bowl and cover with water by about 2 to 3 inches. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Allow the beans to soak overnight for 8 hours–they will swell up and soften slightly.
To Make the White Bean Chili:
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until translucent–about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the mild green chiles, ground cloves, chopped garlic, dried oregano, ground cumin, and cayenne pepper.
- Stir and continue sautéeing for about 2 more minutes.
- Pour in 2 cups of the vegetable broth. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then remove it from the heat.
- Drain and rinse the soaked white beans and place them in a large slow cooker. Pour in the remaining 4 cups of vegetable broth, then add the nutritional yeast, black pepper, and salt.
- Add the cooked onion and green chile mixture to the slow cooker, then stir to combine and cover. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours. The cooking time can vary depending on the beans so start checking for doneness at 6 hours if cooking on low and at 3 hours if cooking on high. Continue cooking in 30 minute increments until beans are tender all the way through.
- Ladle your white bean chili into serving bowls and enjoy it piping hot! I love to serve mine with crusty bread for dipping and mopping.
