Oh good grief.
I have been making slow cooker shredded chicken for years. And I have been making homemade salsa for years and years and years. But it was not until this year that the lightbulb finally decided to click on, I realized that chicken and salsa were a ridiculously obvious match made in crockpot heaven.
Brilliant or obvious? You decide.
Either way, if you love Mexican shredded chicken, this one falls in the must-try category. Why?
It only requires 2 ingredients. It takes less than 2 minutes to prep. And then once your slow cooker has worked its magic, it takes less than 2 minutes to shred. And then this wonderfully seasoned, simple, juicy, flavorful chicken is yours “2” enjoy on countless dishes. (Couldn’t resist.)
Here’s the how “2”. (Ok, somebody help me.)
Sorry, I still can’t get over the fact that it took me until I was 30 to think of this. Moving on…
To make this salsa chicken, just pop some raw chicken in a slow cooker. (I didn’t want to mess with bones, so went with chicken breasts for easy shredding.) Then cover it with lots of your favorite salsa. (I used the restaurant-style salsa that I posted yesterday.) Season it with some extra salt and pepper, give it a stir, and then let your slow cooker do its thing.
After about 4 hours (or all day long while you’re at work), pop off that lid, and the chicken should fall apart into shredded, juicy, salsa-y perfection.
I popped half of mine into some tortillas along with avocado to make these simple chicken soft tacos. But the salsa chicken would work perfectly on just about any other Mexican chicken dish you can imagine — quesadillas, taquitos, salads, chimichangas, you name it.
The key is just to use really good salsa, since the seasonings in the salsa are obviously what will flavor the chicken. Remember, too, that the chicken will release plenty of its own juices during cooking. So don’t be afraid to use some salsa with an extra “kick”, since the intensity of its flavor will get watered down slightly while cooking. I also recommend seasoning the meat with extra salt and pepper before cooking. (And if you like heat, feel free to throw in an extra jalapeno too.)
I mean seriously. Shredded Mexi chicken could not get any easier. You’ve gotta try it.
2-Ingredient Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 lbs total)*
- 2 cups favorite salsa
- salt and pepper
- (optional: fresh lime wedges for serving)
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in a slow cooker and cover with salsa. Toss until the chicken is covered.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours (or low for 6-8 hours), or until the chicken shreds easily with a fork. Shred the chicken in the slow cooker and toss with the remaining salsa and juices until well-mixed. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. (This chicken also freezes well.)
- *You can really use just about any cut of chicken for this recipe. For easy shredding though (so that you don’t have to mess with bones), I recommend boneless chicken breasts or thighs. This should be about 2 lbs of chicken total.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Two ingredient slow cook chicken salsa
I made this recipe over the weekend very healthy and delicious! It was so easy to make just like the recipe says just put everything in the crockpot and let it cook. Everybody loved it .
Thanks again for the delicious recipes
Kathy, we’re so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed this, thanks for giving it a try! :)
This looks amazing! I don’t have a crockpot unfortunately…do you think I could put it in a pot on low heat? For a few hours? Thanks!
Absolutely! Just give it a stir every now and then so that it doesn’t burn, but that will work well!
I also sprinkle one package of taco seasoning on the chicken. Delicious!
Clever and so easy! I just plopped some chicken in the cooker and splashed in some salsa and VOILA, I’m done! I’m looking forward to tacos tonight. Thanks for this recipe.
Thanks Andrea, we’re so happy you liked this! :)
The chicken looks delicious but flour tortillas? Guess that’s just the standard Americanization of foreign foods. Use corn soft tortillas people for tacos, they’re much much much better.
Hey Nick, we realize corn tortillas are historically more authentic. We used flour because that was our personal preference. Certainly feel free to use corn tortillas if that’s your preference! :)
I make this but with green (verde) salsa – it is heavenly! Just make sure that the verde salsa you buy has tomatillos as the first ingredient because some use green chilies instead. I’ve made homemade tomatillo salsa and it’s really good with the chicken also. My co-worker made this & I got the recipe from him.
Thanks Rhonda, we’re glad you enjoyed it! Thanks also for your tip on the salsa verde, that’s good to know! :)
I have been making this for years and I make this monthly.. i just sprinkle taco seasoning in it also.. and i serve over rice… perfect everytime.. i have even thrown frozen chicken tenders in and it still cooks perfectly….
That’s awesome, Lisa! We’re so glad you like it!
Doing this tonight. See how well it goes.
salt pepper lime cilantro and avocado are all ingredients…
Also try the 2 ingredients but add condense cream of chicken and some taco seasoning. 4hrs on high . After that shredded the chicken and add some sour cream . Awesome!!