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
- Prep Time: 1 minutes
- Cook Time: 240 minutes
- Total Time: 241 minutes
- Yield: About 6 cups shredded chicken 1x
Description
All you need are 2 simple ingredients to make this slow cooker shredded chicken — good salsa and 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.
What a great recipe! It’s easy & it looks delicious. I’m definitely going to have to make this SOON! :)
I followed your guide and used one jar of Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde and one jar of Trader Joe’s corn salsa. Shredded the chicken and used it for tacos with all the fixings. Family and friends raved. They all thought it must have a been a complicated prep. Anything but! Literally threw chicken breasts and two different kinds of salsa in the slow cooker and 4 hours later, the house smelled amazing and we had a delicious meal that could not have been any easier. Thanks so much!
Hi Ali,
Just wanted to let you know that I made both your salsa and this shredded chicken, and both recipes were AWESOME! I used the chicken in burritos, quesadillas and wraps for lunches & dinners. I definitely am keeping this recipe in my regular rotation. Thanks for the delicious recipe… I now have bookmarked many of your others to try!
Alannah
Chicken w Salsa….
Dinner meal….
What do i serve this with?
If you want to make tacos, I recommend making chicken tacos with corn tortillas, chicken, cilantro and chopped white onion. Then you could serve those with sides like a Mexi salad, veggies, or beans. Enjoy!
Holy moly! This is easy enough for me to try! My slow-cooker scares me.. but this sounds too tasty to pass up.
Made this for dinner tonight and my kids (5&7) devoured it! It is definitely a recipe to keep in regular rotation. Thanks so much for the delicious & easy meal idea!
I made this today and it was SO GOOD. Flavorful and tender chicken with no work. Added to the weekly menu, thanks for sharing!
This is a brilliant idea and made a fabulous easy quick meal for the two of us , with left overs for the next day…many thanks…Cat
I’ve been making this for a long time, but I like to check other people’s interpretations on the recipe and see if I can get some new variations on the theme. I know this is a great way to cook some shredded chicken, but I wanted to weigh in just because of how gorgeous your pictures are. Great photography!
Just made it and loved it. Bliss