slow cooker spicy white bean potato chili
Slow Cooker Spicy White Bean Potato Chili is the perfect warmer-weather comfort food that requires no explosion of heat via stovetop – rather, it stews peacefully in your friendly neighborhood crockpot for a rich, creamy end result without setting off fire alarms. Unless your crockpot malfunctions. Not my division.
I’m allowing some flexibility in Taco Wednesday by providing other Tex-Mex or Spanish dish options, since I love those types of cuisine and usually feed J something on that flavor spectrum once a week. Foods of those persuasions are generally bright, healthy, and simple to create (unless I make them snazzier with other tricks of the whisk). With Chicago Marathon training in my near future, more of my cooking will occupy the easily-multitasked category, be it slow cooker, sheetpan, skillet, or whathaveyou. Well, and dessert, because no matter how busy life is, I can always set aside some hours for dessert.
This chili is a wonderful weeknight supper that yields tasty leftovers, as soup usually does. Too, extremely easy. Mix up onion, spices, potatoes, green chilis, and some broth or water in the slow cooker and let it cook for, really, as long as you wish. Some components get added later just before serving. Rule of thumb is about 3-4 hours on high and 6-8 hours on low. Then, puree the components with an immersion blender or a standard blender. Be sure to pour the puree back if you do the latter, as forgetting might make for a half-naked crockpot.
Once the creamy potato chili base is safely deposited back in the slowcooker, toss in a can of white beans, some corn, cheese, and lime juice to regain some bulk, level up the creaminess, and elicit even more Cinco vibes even if it isn’t anywhere near Cinco on the calendar. At this point, you can taste for salt and pepper or any other spice of which you think it might need more.
Fast and furiously good is this soup. I topped our bowls off with avocado wedges, limes, fresh cilantro, and served the bowls with a big helping of tortilla chips. I consciously kept my serving size under control with an actual bowl of tortilla chips. We would’ve been done for had I merely set out the bag.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Pair this soup with a Spicy Pineapple Ginger Margarita for a perfect Tex-Mex feast!
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 can green chilis
- 4-5 cups vegetable broth or water
- 2 lb russet potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
- 1 can cannelini or Great Northern beans
- 1 can corn
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 cups shredded monterrey jack cheese
- kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
slow cooker
- To the bowl of a slow cooker, combine diced onion, oregano, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, green chilis, broth or water, and potatoes.
- Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours, or LOW for 4-6. Stir every so often. Depending on your slow cooker, the potatoes may be tender and ready to blend earlier than the prescribed times. Check them occasionally. They should practically fall apart when poked with a fork.
- When ready, use an immersion blender or carefully transfer 1-2 cup batches of soup at a time to a standard blender and puree the soup until creamy. If you moved the soup into a blender, return it to the crockpot. Stir in white beans, corn, lime juice, and cheese. Heat for an additional 10 minutes. Taste for seasonings.
- To serve, ladle into bowls and top with fresh cilantro, avocado slices, and limes. Eat with tortilla chips, if you dare.
stovetop
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil in a large sauce pan or Dutch oven over medium. Saute onions, oregano, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in green chilis for 1 minute.
- Pour in potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil and cook for 8-10 minutes until potatoes are very tender and fall apart when pierced with a fork.
- Puree the soup until creamy with an immersion blender or by carefully transferring 1-2 cup batches to a standard blender. If you moved the soup to a blender, pour it back into the pot. Turn heat to low and stir in white beans, corn, lime juice, and cheese. Heat an additional 5-10 minutes until cheese melts and the beans and corn are warmed through.
