Creamy chicken poblano recipe with boneless skinless chicken thighs in Crockpot is great. Make spicy or mild, our cheesy Mexican shredded chicken dinner will become a new family favorite one pot meal.
You have got to try poblano chicken tonight! You can choose to add all sorts of different peppers to add into this dish. Not only do they add color and texture but if you love heat there are many choices to do that too. Just one of many Crock pot recipes we have on our site with very little prep.
Slow Cooker Poblano Chicken Recipe
Love stuffed green peppers? Us too!! You don’t have to spend all afternoon preparing all the ingredients to stuff the insides. Instead dice or slice them up and cooked with meat they really add a lot of flavor. Choose one or a few different types to make this classic Mexican dish.
But wait, we are making this a creamy Crockpot chicken recipe version with some cheddar cheese and cream cheese too, that is right. I mean you can’t go wrong with those two added ingredients right? Need it to be dairy free? NO problem, I have done it that way too for my husband who needs lactose free foods.
Ingredient Notes
You are going to want to start off with a few pounds of chicken boneless skinless thighs or breasts will work too. I prefer thighs with dark meat because it is the tenderest with the most flavor.
- I like yellow or white onion sliced to add flavor and texture
- You want some taco seasoning in a jar makes it easy
- I add minced garlic in everything we make because it is healthy
- 3 poblano peppers roasted, seeded, thinly sliced
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 c cheese shredded
Chicken Poblano with Frozen Chicken
As for meats you can use either breasts or thighs, but I love tender dark meat really. Have a forgetful moment and need to throw Crockpot frozen chicken for this? Yep, that isn’t an issue either. I have been there y’all and have done it all. Just make sure they are separated and boneless.
Our frozen chicken thighs in slow cooker work too. Believe it or not the timing stays the same. The only thing you need to make sure of is that your pieces are apart. If not run cool water over them and break apart with your hands so they cook evenly.
Substitutions
Poblano peppers are the only ones we used here but there are so many options out there to use. If you love bell peppers you could slice and add some of those too. Red, yellow and orange are more on the sweeter side whereas green is more savory of the 4.
Then you could go into the spicy options, some are green like roasted jalapenos where others may be red. Know the scoville level of what you are adding. Once you add heat you really can’t take it back.
How Long to Cook Chicken Poblano in Slow Cooker
Cook time for this is about 6 hours, depending on the size of the meat. If you use breasts like in our slow cooker chicken parmesan it may be an additional hour. Bone-in works but will be more work for you at the end as you pull the meat off and shred. You could on the other half make our half chicken recipe, shred and use that so it takes less time..
Another substitute we have used when it is the right time of year has been a few diced smoked chiles!! I mean those have incredible flavor but you are only in season quickly during the summertime so not always fresh and available.
Chicken Poblano Recipe
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs chicken, boneless skinless thighs or breasts
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1/4 c taco seasoning
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 3 poblano peppers, roasted, seeded, thinly sliced
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 c cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Prepare a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. In the bottom layer the onions and chicken. Top the chicken with the taco seasoning, garlic, and poblano peppers.
- Dot the cream cheese over the top. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours.
- Shred the chicken thighs with two forks. Stir the chicken and vegetables until the cream cheese is melted. Serve topped with cheese and freshly chopped cilantro.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to serve
There are many ways you can serve this up really, I mean you don’t have to use our suggestions but we are pretty amazing so why wouldn’t you. 😉 lol. Usually this will be served over a bed of rice if I am in a pinch. If I think ahead to have all the things I will make chicken tacos out of it with cool cole slaw on top.
For more of a Chicken Poblano Soup you would just add more broth or thicken it up with a bit of cornstarch whisked with liquid. Add 30 minutes before, or some heavy cream will make it creamier.
To make this on the stovetop use a deep pan with a lid. Add some olive oil into your pan with medium size defrosted slices of meat. If you were using leftovers or pre-cooked toaster oven chicken breasts you could skip this step.. Season with salt and pepper and reduce heat to low. Allow to cook for bout 20 minutes, turning over after 10 until it can be pulled apart easily with two forks. Then add all other ingredients and stir occasionally to coat all pieces.
1. Preheat your broiler to high heat.
2. Rinse and dry the peppers, and place them on a baking sheet.
3. Roast the peppers for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until the skin is charred and blistering up.
4. Remove and place them in a paper bag or into a glass or metal bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let them steam for 10-15 minutes. This will make it easier to remove the skin.
5. Once the peppers have steamed, remove and peel off the skin.
If you want to remove the seeds and membranes, cut off the top of the pepper and gently scoop out the insides.
Yes, on the scoville rating bells are at a zero, nothing, where as poblanos are at about 1,500. If you want a mild substitute to poblano peppers you could use green bells instead.
If you remove all the seeds they will become a bit milder. But you would need to remove the rib and scrape the flesh out of the insides to remove more of the capsaicin which makes them spicy.
There is no liquid listed…is that correct?
Correct, because the meat as it cooks will release juices and the cream cheese will melt down enabling it to steam to fall apart status