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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.
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.
Hi – I’ve made this before for others and it’s always been a big hit but as a vegetarian I haven’t been able to try it myself. I am wondering if Jack Fruit would work in place of the chicken or if you have any other meat alternative suggestions?
Christine McDonald —
Hi my daughter is vegan and I’m not, I tried and made up a chicken salsa and a tofu for this. I cooked and pan seared tofu first and she really enjoyed it
I’ve made this for mealprep a dozen times by now for freezer burritos, and fed it to friends who promptly added it to their own repertoire.
I make my salsa according to a recipe of ArnieTex on youtube, which I now also send to everyone.
And use chicken thighs, because the extra fat adds to the flavour.
Yum! This was incredibly incredibly easy and super delicious. Ours didn’t taste a lot like Salsa–it was more like really yummy chicken that will be versatile in lunches and dinners.
Used picante salsa as it was the only thing around. Added in a tablespoon of hot taco seasoning mix and my house smells incredible. Did about a pound of chicken with the same amount of salsa as listed in the recipe as we wanted it a bit more “wet.”
Incredibly simple and only slow-cooked for about 3 hours with the amount of chicken we used. Fantastic!
Easy and good, added cilantro n 1T chili pwd.powder., shredded it put it in a warm taco shell. I am alone, used the smal crock pot, with the fixens
Can you use ground chicken or turkey for this recipe?
Hi – I’ve made this before for others and it’s always been a big hit but as a vegetarian I haven’t been able to try it myself. I am wondering if Jack Fruit would work in place of the chicken or if you have any other meat alternative suggestions?
Hi my daughter is vegan and I’m not, I tried and made up a chicken salsa and a tofu for this. I cooked and pan seared tofu first and she really enjoyed it
Can’t wait to make this!
Can you use turkey thighs(2lb) with bone but no skin? If so would the cooking time change on low?
I made this tonight and it was delicious! My husband raved about how good it was too. Thank you for this recipe. Oh, I added a can of Rotel to it.
Make this often. So so easy and good. I add beans and sometimes onions and peppers the last 30 minutes or so. Yummy
At the moment my chicken is frozen. Any chance using this or should I wait for it to thaw?
I’ve made this for mealprep a dozen times by now for freezer burritos, and fed it to friends who promptly added it to their own repertoire.
I make my salsa according to a recipe of ArnieTex on youtube, which I now also send to everyone.
And use chicken thighs, because the extra fat adds to the flavour.
Yum! This was incredibly incredibly easy and super delicious. Ours didn’t taste a lot like Salsa–it was more like really yummy chicken that will be versatile in lunches and dinners.
Used picante salsa as it was the only thing around. Added in a tablespoon of hot taco seasoning mix and my house smells incredible. Did about a pound of chicken with the same amount of salsa as listed in the recipe as we wanted it a bit more “wet.”
Incredibly simple and only slow-cooked for about 3 hours with the amount of chicken we used. Fantastic!
Making this today. Looks easy and yummy.
My go-to for an easy weeknight dinner. So effortless but so, so good! Thank you for this recipe.
QUESTION – can you put in FROZEN chicken breasts? Or should I defrost first?