Recipes do not come much more simple than this 2 ingredients Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken. Just add some homemade or store bought salsa in to your slow cooker with chicken breasts and cook until they are ready to shred. Serve with rice or in tacos or on nachos. This easy Mexican chicken is so versatile.
The beauty about slow cooker meals is how easy they are, and it doesn’t get any easier than this. A few chicken breasts and a generous amount of salsa (store bought if you want to make it even easier), and you have yourself a spicy and tender chicken dish that not only has lots of uses, but freezes well too. Perfect for when you are craving Mexican food but don’t want to make much effort to get it.
Why should you try it?
✔ Just 200 calories a portion
✔ SO easy to make
✔ Freezes well
✔ Great for batch cooking
✔ Lots of ways to use it
How To Make Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken – step by step:
One: Place the chicken and the salsa in the slow cooker pot.
Two: Mix well so that the chicken is covered. Close the lid and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
Three: Using two forks, shred the chicken. Mix the shredded chicken well with the liquid in the slow cooker bowl before serving.
This is one of those recipes we have been making for years and we never get bored of it. The brilliance of it is in the simplicity. Chicken and salsa go so well together – this is basically slow cooker heaven. It’s ONLY 2 ingredients and takes 2 minutes to prep. How amazing is that! It almost seems silly sharing a recipe for it, as it’s THAT easy, but I bet there are people out there that haven’t tried this before.
Homemade Salsa
The key to a really good slow cooker salsa chicken is obviously a really good salsa. You can use any salsa, but a really good homemade salsa is worth the effort. We used our Restaurant Style Salsa Recipe, which is really easy and uses just a few simple ingredients.
You could use a store bought salsa though, and that would save you even more time. If you do use store bought, you might want to add a bit more chilli if you like things on the spicy side.
What Chicken To Use
We used boneless chicken breasts, as they are the easiest to cook and they make shredding super easy too. But you could use bone-in breasts for even thighs for this recipe. Just be aware that cooking times could vary for this.
To Shred or Not To Shred?
We love shredded salsa chicken, as it is really juicy and tender and has so any uses. But, you could keep whole breasts or even chop them in to chunks before putting in the slow cooker.
If you are keeping the chicken breasts whole and not shredding them, then they will only need to cook on high for 3 hours, otherwise it will start falling apart. If keeping the breasts whole, then why not try adding some grated cheese on to the chicken about 10 minutes before it is cooked so it gets all melty and gooey.
What To Serve Salsa Chicken With
Serve this salsa chicken with some soft tortillas, shredded lettuce and avocado for a really simple taco – great for feeding a crowd. You can also use it as a nacho topping, add it to burrito bowls with some black beans , in a quesadilla or simply on rice. We have also served it on a baked potato, and had the leftovers on salad as well. There are SO many ways that you can use this.
How To Store and Reheat
The shredded salsa chicken will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for 4 days. It also freezes really well, making it great for batch cooking, and it will keep in the freezer for 2 months.
You can also freeze this before cooking. Simply add the chicken and salsa to a large zip lock back and then freeze. Defrost thoroughly before adding it to your slow cooker and following the cooking instructions.
To reheat leftovers of this, just add it to a pan and gently cook for 3-4 minutes until completely heated through.
Can I Cook it in an Instant Pot?
Yes, you can cook salsa chicken in an Instant Pot. You will need to add about 60ml of water to the salsa and chicken. Then shut the lid and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 15 minutes and then let all the steam release before opening and shredding.
Extra Tips:
- Spray the bowl of your slow cooker with a little oil. This makes the clean up a little bit easier, without having to use a slow cooker liner.
- Cooking times will vary depending on your slow cooker and the size of the chicken breasts that you are using. So always make sure that the chicken breasts are cooked through before serving.
- You can leave the chicken breasts whole rather than shredded and then melt some cheese on them 10 minutes before serving.
- You could use chicken thighs rather than breasts.
- This freezes really well and you can even freeze it before cooking for an easy prepared ahead of time meal.
Want to try some other slow cooker recipes? How about these:
Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken
Slow Cooker Beef Curry
Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken
Slow Cooker Baked Beans
Slow Cooker Moroccan Chicken
Slow Cooker Beef Casserole
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
Slow Cooker Spanish Chicken
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DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE RECIPE ↓
Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken
Instructions
- Place the chicken and salsa into the slow cooker bowl.
- Mix well so that the chicken is covered. Close the lid and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
- Using two forks, shred the chicken. Mix the shredded chicken well with the liquid in the slow cooker bowl before serving.
Notes
- Spray the bowl of your slow cooker with a little oil. This makes the clean up a little bit easier, without having to use a slow cooker liner.
- Cooking times will vary depending on your slow cooker and the size of the chicken breasts that you are using. So always make sure that the chicken breasts are cooked through before serving.
- You can leave the chicken breasts whole rather than shredded and then melt some cheese on them 10 minutes before serving.
- You could use chicken thighs rather than breasts.
- This freezes really well and you can even freeze it before cooking for an easy prepared ahead of time meal.
Danielle says
Such a colorful recipe – exactly what salsa chicken should be. And 2 ingredients sounds perfect to me! :-)
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
What a delicious way to serve chicken! I love that it can be made in a slow cooker too!
kim says
Love this recipe! It was so easy, yet had so much flavor! I will definitely be making again!