Slow Cooker Shredded Salsa Chicken
Chicken breasts braised low and slow in salsa until they shred themselves — dump it in before work, pull it apart for dinner.
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 6 hrs
- Written
Method
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Stir the salsa, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and salt together in the slow cooker.
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Nestle the chicken breasts into the sauce and spoon some over the top so they’re mostly submerged.
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Cover and cook on low until the chicken shreds apart with no resistance, 6 to 7 hours (or high for 3 to 4 hours).
-
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks.
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Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir until every piece is coated in sauce.
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Stir in the lime juice and taste for salt.
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Serve warm, topped with cilantro.
Notes
The salsa is most of the flavor here, so use one you’d eat with a chip — a thin, watery jarred salsa makes a thin, watery sauce. If it looks loose after shredding, tip the lid off and cook on high for 10 minutes to tighten it up.
This is built to become something else: tacos, burrito bowls, nachos, quesadillas, a baked potato topper. It keeps four days in the fridge and freezes well in its sauce, so it’s worth doubling.