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!
Loved this recipe but took it one step further and added a packet of taco seasoning. Yummy!
I have been doing this for years and I love it too. (I am not trying to one up anyone) I just use Pace Picante over chicken, beef, short ribs,and pork. I haven’t tried it with seafood like shrimp or fish but it might be worth a try! Just thought I would share.
How many people will it feed
SInce 2 is the minimum number of ingredients, I don’t think it can get any easier than this.
It also tastes great.
We served it with BLACK rice on the side.
If you’re really ambitious, you can throw a can of black beans, drained, into the crock pot
I made this in a selfish / spiteful mood. “Fine” I said, “cooking is complicated. I understand that.” I showed them 2 pounds of chicken (I used boneless, skinless thighs) and a jar of salsa. “Watch this.”
A few hours later hubby was having a carb-friendly chicken lettuce wrap. I was having a chicken burrito with shredded cabbage (cole slaw), sour cream and tomatoes. Mother in law was having a chicken salad, with all kinds of vegetables – – and she doesn’t eat veggies!
5 stars. Lightly spiced shredded chicken can satisfy any non-vegetarian. Thank you for this family and multi-diet friendly recipe.
Making this tonight. :)
Wonderful!! Easy and delicious!
Delicious recipe! Thanks!
I shredded two of the cooked breasts, but with the other two I just cut them into three large pieces each. I wanted to try it not shredded, too, and it’s very good. I served the salsa chicken on white rice topped with a little bit of shredded cheese. It was a HUGE hit with my family and we will definitely be making it again. (For salsa I used half thick and chunky hot salsa and half mild picante sauce- It was excellent)
This is seriously delicious. I highly recommend this recipe. Made this yesterday exactly as described and it turned out so amazing. The chicken can be shredded in the pot simply by stirring with a fork. This is now my favorite taco recipe and is so easy to make.
So easy, so good! BAM! Thank you!