Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili Mac
If you’ve made the White Chicken Chili — and you should — this is what happens when you take that same slow cooker and add pasta. Slow cooker white chicken chili mac is the creamy, green chile-spiced chili with rotisserie chicken, white beans, and cream cheese, and elbow macaroni stirred in for the last 20 minutes so it absorbs the whole spiced broth as it cooks. The pasta soaks up the cumin and green chile flavor instead of just sitting in it, and the finished dish is somewhere between a chili and a mac and cheese in the best possible way.
Everything goes into the slow cooker in the morning. The cream cheese melts in over the cook time. You come home, stir the pasta in, wait 20 minutes, and dinner is ready. The grocery list is nearly identical to the White Chicken Chili — if you keep those ingredients stocked, you can make this on any night you decide not to turn on the oven.
Why Rotisserie Chicken
The whole point of this recipe is that the slow cooker runs itself. Using raw chicken defeats about half that purpose — you need to shred it at the end, which adds time and handling. Rotisserie chicken goes in already cooked and shredded, runs in a 4-hour cook on low instead of 7 to 8, and produces the same result. Pick one up at the grocery store on your way home and you’ve got dinner ready in under 5 hours with about 10 minutes of actual work.
If you’d rather use raw chicken, add 1.5 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs at step 1 and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours before shredding. Both the White Chicken Chili and the Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Breast use the same technique if you want a make-ahead version.
The Cream Cheese Method
Add the cubed cream cheese on top of everything before you put the lid on — don’t stir it in. It sits on top of the chili ingredients and slowly melts into the broth over the cook time. By the time you open the slow cooker, it will have completely softened and can be stirred in smoothly. Cold cream cheese from the fridge won’t incorporate as cleanly — let it come to room temperature before it goes in.
Watch the Pasta Timing
Elbow macaroni in a slow cooker on high is done in 15 to 20 minutes. That window is real — it can go from perfectly al dente to soft and overcooked faster than you’d expect. Start checking at 15 minutes. Pull it while the pasta still has a slight bite. It will continue absorbing liquid as it sits on the table.
If you’re not serving it immediately, hold off on stirring in the pasta until 20 minutes before you’re ready to eat. The chili itself holds on warm or low heat indefinitely. The pasta does not.
What to Serve With It
This is a complete meal. Toppings are where you can customize — shredded Mexican cheese, sour cream, sliced green onion, and a squeeze of lime are the standard set. Jalapeño slices for heat, tortilla chips on the side for crunch, avocado if you want it. Cornbread alongside turns it into more of an occasion.
Leftovers and Storage
Keeps for 3 days in the fridge. The pasta absorbs more liquid as it sits — add a splash of chicken broth when reheating and stir over low heat or microwave in 90-second intervals. This does not freeze well once the pasta has been added — the macaroni turns mushy after thawing. The chili base without the pasta freezes perfectly for up to 3 months; add fresh pasta when you reheat.
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili Mac
Ingredients
Meat & Protein
- 3 cups rotisserie chicken shredded
Produce
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 3 green onion thinly sliced, for garnish
- 1 lime cut into wedges, for serving
Dairy
- 4 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature, cubed
- ½ cup sour cream for serving
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend for serving
Pantry & Canned Goods
- 2 cans cannellini beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cans diced green chiles 4 oz each, do not drain
- 1 cup corn frozen or canned, drained
- 3 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 1.5 cups elbow macaroni dry, uncooked
Seasonings & Spices
- 1.5 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ¾ tsp kosher salt plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Add the shredded rotisserie chicken, diced onion, minced garlic, drained cannellini beans, green chiles with their liquid, corn, chicken broth, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if using to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Place the cubed cream cheese on top of the mixture — do not stir it in yet. It will melt into the chili as it cooks.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours or HIGH for 2 hours. The cream cheese will have fully melted. Stir everything together until the cream cheese is completely incorporated into the broth and the chili is smooth and creamy.
- Add the dry elbow macaroni to the slow cooker and stir to submerge in the chili. Switch to HIGH if not already there. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the pasta is tender and has absorbed some of the broth. Check at 15 minutes — it can go from perfect to overcooked quickly once the pasta is in.
- Taste and adjust salt and seasoning. The pasta absorbs a lot of the liquid — if the chili is thicker than you’d like, stir in a splash of warm chicken broth. Serve topped with shredded Mexican cheese, a spoonful of sour cream, sliced green onion, and a lime wedge for squeezing.
