Holy Moly…. I made something tonight that I have to write down and share ! This Mexican Crock Pot Chicken is super easy, super versatile, Gluten Free, Paleo and Keto – and WW friendly so listen up ! What else could you ask for ?
It was so so good – I needed to come here and write it out for all of us!
Winning at the Grocery Store
All of this started because Chicken breasts were on Sale – so I snapped up a large package (4 ++ lbs) and knew I’d figure out what to do with it… With all the inflation and high prices we are all experiencing – take advantage of chicken on sale next time you see it! I knew I’d done a chicken crock pot mexican dish previously, all I needed to do was FIND that recipe…
Once again making up recipes based on others…
I had to go way back and pull this one out of the history books. Went all the way back to 2019 when I made this last?! I scoured my pinterest recipes and came across one from Carlsbad Cravings (who is a fantastic cook / blogger – We have eaten a TON of her recipes over the years https://carlsbadcravings.com/) and then I realized that wasn’t the recipe I’d made previously – so I went through my posts and found it at 2019. And then I said to myself – wait – what’s the difference between these two recipes ? And, I then took the best of both of them. I Scribbled my notes on a 3X3 piece of paper. I tossed everything into the crock pot and went back to my desk to work. Given it was such a raging success…here we are !
Gather up your chicken and the rest of the ingredients. Once you have them all out / ready the preparation is super quick. Note – not shown is the oregano! Be sure to add the oregano!
4 lbs of Chicken is a LOT
You can eat this chicken 100 different ways. (Well, maybe not 100, but you get the idea!). Think tacos, burritos, tostadas, taco bowls with rice, enchiladas, nachos, quesadillas… think of all the menu items at your local Mexican joint and say, “I can do that with this chicken”. We ate this over taco sized (carb balance) tortillas, with sour cream, cheese, cilantro and fresh tomatoes (easy peasy!).
After hubster and I each had two big tacos – I made large lunch time containers – which went into the freezer for another day – and still had a BIG BOWL of chicken that went into the fridge for weekday lunches and maybe even a dinner or two this week.
(Note: recipe copied from a Facebook post – written a couple of years ago when I was still working. Tested and updated Mar 2024!)
Mexican Crock Pot Chicken for Tacos and Burritos
Equipment
- Crock Pot
Ingredients
- 4 lbs Chicken Breasts skinless / boneless
- 1 medium Onion diced
- 5-8 cloves Garlic minced
- 14 oz Can diced fire roasted tomatoes whole can (NOT drained)
- 6 oz Can diced chiles green chilis
- 4 Tsp Chipotle Chili’s in adobo sauce diced / minced – this is fairly spicy so consider your family before adding
- 1 tsp Ground Pepper
- 1.5 tps Each: Salt, Cumin, Chili Powder, Smoked Paprika, and Oregano
- 1/4 C Chicken Stock *Maybe – see Note
- 1 tsp Liquid Smoke
Instructions
- Place Chicken Breasts into the crock pot.
- Chop onion and garlic.
- Add all other ingredients into the crock pot – spreading out a bit so the ingredients get moderately mixed.
- Put the lid on your crock pot and turn on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. I’m sure you are familiar with your slow cooker and whether it cooks hot or not. Mine cooks hot – so I put mine on low for 6 hours and the chicken was fall apart ready.
- When the chicken is ready to fall apart, shred Chicken using two forks. Mix all of the ingredients fairly well.
- Choose your serving preference. Consider adding cilantro, avocado, lettuce, cabbage, cheese, salsa, fresh tomatoes, jalapeno – whatever your heart desires!