White Bean Chili from the Slow Cooker has a wonderful group of spices that blend perfectly with the beans and green chilies. Simple from the Crock~Pot!
Using a crockpot for cooking beans is a very convenient and efficient way to make dinner. After everything is placed in the crock~pot you just set the temperature, check the time and let it cook – all by itself.
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’.
There is a bit of prep work at the beginning but it’s basic and quick. This White Bean Chili Recipe has a group of spices that work together perfectly with the beans and green chilies. 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 over night. You won’t have to cut your sleep time short 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 da house!
White Bean Chili
Ingredients
- 1 pound Great Northern beans dried
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion large, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic 3-4 depending how big they are, finely chopped
- 8 ounces mild green chiles 2 cans, 4 ounces each
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- dash black pepper
Instructions
- The night before:
- Pick over the beans and rinse.
- Place the beans in a large pot and cover with water by about 2 to 3 inches.
- Let soak overnight - the beans will swell.
- In the morning:
- Drain the beans and place in a large slow cooker.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet.
- Saute the onions until translucent - about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the garlic, chiles, ground cumin, dried oregano, ground cloves and cayenne pepper.
- Saute 2 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of the vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
- Take off of the heat and pour into the slow cooker over the beans.
Add the rest of the vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper.
- Turn on high 10 to 12 hours. Check at 10 hours until as soft as you like. Great Northern Beans take forever.
- All done and ready to serve.
Recipe Notes
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. Just peal 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 a few hours (about 6 hours) before heating. Heat in a large saucepan or in the microwave.
Serve hot.
Any Jo says
Thanks for this recipe! I made it last week and we really enjoyed it. It was a lot too spicy for me, but the rest of the family loved the spicy! I made some cashew sour cream to add to mine and it toned it down enough. Next time I’ll double the recipe (aside from the cayenne :-).)
Ginny McMeans says
The cashew sour cream was a good idea. I do like things spicy and I’m glad your family liked it. Thanks for your hints.
Claire says
I made this over the weekend and loved it! I cut the oil in half, subbed navy beans for great northern, and used cinnamon instead of cloves. The store didn’t have great northern beans and I didn’t have cloves! It was delish. The navy beans only took about 7 hours, which was good (I was hungry). Next time I’ll make at least a double batch as it didn’t make a ton of chili.
Ginny McMeans says
Thank you so much for you compliments Claire. It sounds like you’re a good cook. I’m all about using what I have on hand in a pinch. Double batch is a good idea to me too 🙂
Dorothy says
I’m so looking forward to making this but I can’t find canned mild green chillies in the UK! Can I substitute fresh chillies and still get a good result? If not is there anything else I could use?
Ginny McMeans says
Hi Dorothy. Yes, you can use mild fresh chiles. Canned chiles are roasted before canning though. So if you can roast them first and them peel and chop them it would be perfect. Make sure they are chopped very fine and a mild chili. Poblano or Anaheims would work well. The recipe would be a bit different if you don’t roast them first but it would probably still be good.