Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

This easy salsa chicken recipe only costs about $10 total and feeds all 5 of us. Everyone loved it! Bonus!! It’s one of the favorite healthy crockpot recipes we make every single month since it’s so good.

I am all about dinner cooking by itself all day, thus I’m a little obsessed with my Instant Pot and slow cooker! If you’re in a hurry you can shorten the cooking time by using our Instant Pot salsa chicken recipe. Both ways are fantastic but some days you may just not have time to get this going in the morning, I get it.

This creates burrito bowls in essence. Or put inside small flour tortillas to make soft tacos topped with lettuce and cheese. Both ways are delicious but we love tacos with this or with our Crockpot jerk chicken so we opt for that choice most of the time.

Ingredient Notes

You will want a few Boneless skinless chicken breasts or make with slow cooker boneless skinless chicken if you prefer. The amount you use depends on how many people you’re feeding but I usually use 4 medium size breasts. I don’t like using really large thick breasts because they won’t become as tender. If that is all I can find though I will just cut them in half before putting them in.

I like a jar of medium chunky Salsa but any heat level will work. There is enough liquid in that jar and the juices that come off the meat when it cooks to allow you to make this without any other moisture needed.

Taco seasoning will give this whopping flavors, use a packet or make your own. You could alternatively use chili seasoning if need be.

Variations

You can really load this slow cooker salsa chicken recipe up with lots of bell peppers and onions, or add just a few. They add great flavor even if you don’t eat them when the chicken is done. It’s super easy because you only need a few items with little prep beforehand.

You can add a drained can of black beans, can of diced tomatoes will make more sauce, salt and pepper to taste, chiles diced right out of the can. And sour cream is a great topping once it is done! We love sliced avocado too. 😉

How Long to Cook Salsa Chicken in Slow Cooker

Timing will depend on how large and thick your breasts are but medium to large sizes will typically take about 6 hours to break down in order to shred easily. If you wanted to serve whole and slice it could be ready in 5 hours but I prefer to shred and allow to soak in the sauce for 30 minutes before serving so it can absorb more of the flavors.

How Long to Cook Salsa Chicken with Frozen Chicken

You can start with Crockpot frozen chicken or thighs to begin with. Surprisingly the cook time won’t really change as long as they are medium sized and separated from one another initially. Then just add the seasonings and salsa to the top and it will cook tender enough to shred just the same as if it were fresh meat.

We typically serve this over ninja foodi rice or throw inside tortillas with cheese for a taco Tuesday night. It is a versatile meal, and super healthy!

What to Make with Leftovers

You can use the meat chopped up in our 5 ingredient chili instead of using the beef. Add some more sauce with this meat and make slow cooker chicken cacciatore. After you enjoy this one here are a few other slow cooker dinners you will love; Healthy Crock pot chicken noodle soup