Here is our 3 ingredient slow cooker salsa chicken recipe that is so easy you can prep it in just 5 minutes. A healthy one pot meal our whole family loves to use to make tacos or serve on top. of rice all year long.
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.
Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Recipe
Video
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2-4 medium chicken breasts, boneless skinless, 2 large cut in half or 4 small breasts, frozen or fresh
- 16 oz salsa, chunkier the better
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
Instructions
- Put chicken breasts on bottom of your crockpot. If you have very large breasts cut in half and make sure all pieces are the same size so they cook evenly.
- You can sprinkle a sliced onion and bell peppers on top now if you like, sprinkle taco seasoning if you are adding that, then pour salsa over the top of everything.
- Put lid on and set on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Serve on top of rice or shred and serve inside small tortillas for soft tacos.* Longer time on low turns out best.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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
I have a large family. If I wanted to double this recipe, how long would I cook it for? Thanks!
Maybe another hour? Depends on size of breasts
How would I make this with cooked chicken. Thank You
If it is already cooked and just left over you wouldn’t want to cook in crockpot because it would dry it out. I would just fold in enough salsa with shredded cooked meat until coated. Then heat in microwave until warm or in a pot on the stove on medium
We just had this for dinner and I just had to come back right away to leave a review. This chicken is amazing. I’m iron deficient so I added a drained can of black beans to the recipe so upped the salsa to a 24 oz jar of Walmart’s garlic and lime salsa. I used chicken tenderloins from wal-mart and put one diced (large chopped) yellow onion on top and then two chopped (large chop) red peppers. I then added the drained beans and sprinkled the taco seasoning over the top. I poured the entire jar of salsa over it and cooked on high for about 4 – 4.5 hours. I didn’t stir at all before cooking it. This recipe is truly as easy as it says it is. I only added a little shredded cheddar when serving. I’ll make this at least a few times a month. Lots of leftovers. I use my slow cooker all the time, but this recipe is one of the best I’ve tried. I’m going to pass it along to family too. I didn’t serve it with rice or tortillas, but I’m sure it would taste fantastic with them as sides. It’s actually great just by itself.
Thank you so much or posting it.
Oh yeah so glad it was a hit
white or yellow onion?
I always use yellow but it is preference
It doesn’t get much easier than this! On dinner rotation in our house.
This is one of my family’s favorite recipes! We make it at least 3 times a month!
Yeah!!
We made this for dinner last night, and it was a total hit! The chicken was so moist and delicious. Thanks so much for sharing!
Yeah so glad you loved it
This will be a staple in our home…the chicken is delicious and can be used in a variety of ways. Perfect to make and then freeze in smaller portions.