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Weeknight dinner made easy with this slow-cooker salsa chicken! Tender flavorful chicken that only takes 5 ingredients to make. It’s a versatile recipe the whole family will love!

For other slow cooker recipes, try these out slow cooker barbacoa beefslow cooker stuffed bell peppers or slow cooker chicken fajita soup.  The slow cooker is my favorite for busy days where we are out and about all day and all come home hungry.  I love the feeling of walking in the house after a long day to the smell of dinner ready!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Recipe

I always like to throw a good Mexican dish into the mix. This one is definitely one to try. It is so easy. And the flavor is amazing. The part my hubby liked best was the leftovers the next day. The possibilities are endless for lunch the next day. Try tacos, eat if over a salad, or make delicious nachos!

This was really a recipe the whole family went crazy over.  It was such a big hit! Even with the kids!  We set it up like a taco bar and everyone went down the line and chose their favorite ingredients to add to this delicious chicken.  I just laid out the cheese, beans, tortillas, chips, rice, corn, sour cream and cilantro.  The best part was everyone got to make it their own way.  No picky eater drama for us! I especially love this chicken when hosting friends for dinner.  Everyone is able to make it their own.  It is such low prep and such great results!

Salsa Chicken Ingredients:

  • Chicken Breasts: I buy mine pre-trimmed at the store which saves me a little prep time.
  • Salsa: Choose a high-quality salsa since this is where much of the flavor will come from.
  • Taco Seasoning: I always use my homemade taco seasoning. It lasts up to 6 months and is so quick and easy to make!
  • Chicken Broth: Adds flavor as it cooks all day in the chicken broth.
  • Lime Juice: Fresh lime juice is a must!

How to Make Salsa Chicken Recipe:

  1. Prepare the slow cooker:  Place the chicken breast, salsa, taco seasoning, chicken broth, and lime juice into a crockpot.
  2. Shred chicken: If shredding the chicken, pull the breasts out and shred; return back to slow cooker.
  3. Add toppings: Add the toppings of your choice! I garnished it with fresh cilantro and lime wedges. Feel free to add shredded cheese, black beans, or sliced green onions.

How to Serve Salsa Chicken:

  • In soft tacos! Stuff the chicken, salsa, corn, and beans into warm tortillas. Top with shredded cheddar cheese, lettuce, sour cream, green onions, olives, guacamole, or any of your other favorite toppings.
  • In quesadillas! Slice (or shred) the chicken and stuff it inside quesadillas. Use the corn and bean salsa as a delicious topping just before serving.
  • On taco salad! Keep it really light and enjoy the salsa chicken over a bed of crispy romaine. Add toppings if you like, but it’s certainly not necessary!
  • In a burrito bowl! Bowls are the new craze everywhere so join the fun and let everyone build their own bowl with rice, cheese, corn, black beans, or whatever else is a favorite at your house.

Tips for Making Salsa Chicken:

  • Don’t be afraid to use a salsa with a little more kick to it since there are so many other mild flavors to tame the heat.
  • To make cleanup easier, line your slow cooker with a slow cooker liner or spray with nonstick spray.
  • An easy way to shred the chicken is using a standing mixer.  Two forks will do the trick as well, I just find that the chicken shreds easier and better with the mixer.  And a bonus to using the mixer is when you are adding in the cream cheese it helps spread it evenly throughout the chicken.

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Crockpot Salsa Chicken

By: Alyssa Rivers
Weeknight dinner made easy with this slow-cooker salsa chicken! Tender flavorful chicken that only takes 5 ingredients to make. It's a versatile recipe the whole family will love!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 6 people

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Place the chicken breast, salsa, taco seasoning, chicken broth, and lime juice into a crockpot.
  • Set the crockpot to low and cook for 6 hours. At this point either pull the chicken out and shred it before returning it to the pot, or serve whole.
  • Serve chicken with cilantro, shredded cheddar cheese, and lime wedges.

Notes

Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 201kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 33gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 850mgPotassium: 792mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 503IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 33mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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9 Comments

  1. Can you omit the cream cheese? I understand it will be less creamy/cheesy but I’m not a fan of cream cheese.

    1. It needs something to substitute the thickness. Maybe greek yogurt or try it without to see how you like the consistency.

    1. You can either use a package of taco seasoning from the store or my taco seasoning that is homemade and that would be 1 tablespoon because of the flavoring.

  2. Love your recipes but I have to say that videos playing showing recipes while I am viewing recipes is a little distracting especially since the recipe I am viewing is not the one playing. Just sayin.

  3. Can you use cream cheese instead of the sour cream? I have all the ingrdents except I don’t have a whole cup of sour cream! I wanted to mke this tonight….

      1. I did half sour cream half cream cheee I loved this meal! So good! For sure will be making this again 🙂