Enjoy the savory taste of Crockpot Mexican Shredded Chicken. This slow cooker chicken tastes amazing on tortillas and is great to use in other recipes when preparing chicken flautas and enchiladas.
What’s in Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken?
Do you want to make chicken that’s full of flavor? If so, you need this recipe for Crockpot Mexican Chicken in your life. The slow cooker will do most of the work for you, leaving you with juicy, tender chicken that falls apart with ease and tastes amazing in lots of dishes.
- Chicken: I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but you could also use thighs.
- Taco Seasoning: Gives this chicken the perfect Mexican flavor.
- Corn: Canned corn kernels add a hint of sweetness and crunch. Feel free to substitute an equal amount of frozen or fresh corn for the canned corn.
- Black Beans: A perfect compliment to the corn.
- Salsa: Use homemade or your favorite brand of mild, medium, or hot salsa to customize the spice level.
- Lime Juice: Adds a touch of acidity.
- Cilantro: Adds herbal freshness. Feel free to swap out for parsley if you’re not a fan.
Pro Tip: For a fun twist, swap regular salsa for salsa verde!
Variations on Slow Cooker Shredded Mexican Chicken
- For juicier, darker meat shredded chicken, swap the chicken breasts for boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- For spicier shredded chicken, add cayenne pepper in with the taco seasoning or add diced jalapeños or a can of diced green chiles.
- Feel free to add extra veggies you love, like diced bell peppers or tomatoes.
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Use a crockpot that is at least 6 quarts in size for the best results.
Yes! You can oven bake this shredded chicken in a covered Dutch oven at 300°F for 90 minutes.
You can use any salsa of your choosing. Go with a brand that you know and love, or make your own. Choose a hot salsa for extra spicy chicken or a salsa verde for a unique twist.
Absolutely! Follow this quick and easy recipe and you’ll always have some on hand!
There are many easy ways to shred chicken. I usually use two forks, but you can also use meat shredding claws or even toss the meat in the bowl of a stand mixer and let it do the work for you!
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover crockpot Mexican shredded chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave in 30-second bursts until warmed through.
How to Freeze
Freeze crockpot Mexican shredded chicken in individual portions in separate airtight containers or Ziplock bags for up to 2 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Serving Suggestions
There are so many ways to eat this Crockpot Mexican chicken! Use it to spice up any of your favorite shredded chicken recipes. Serve it over a Mexican-style salad, cilantro lime rice, or street corn pasta salad. Use it in air fryer chicken taquitos, chicken enchiladas, chicken quesadillas, or baked chicken tacos.
Crockpot Mexican Shredded Chicken Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 ounce taco seasoning (1 packet)
- 15.5 ounces canned corn kernels drained (1 can)
- 15.5 ounces canned black beans drained and rinsed (1 can)
- 1 cup salsa store-bought or homemade
- ½ lime juiced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro for garnish
- 1 cup cooked rice optional, for serving
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Add the chicken breasts to the bottom of the crockpot. Season the tops of the chicken breasts with half of the taco seasoning.1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1 ounce taco seasoning
- Dump on the corn, beans, salsa, and remaining taco seasoning on top of the chicken.15.5 ounces canned black beans, 15.5 ounces canned corn kernels, 1 cup salsa
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through and the internal temperature has reached 165°F.
- Remove the chicken to shred with a fork and return to the crockpot. Stir in the lime juice and garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve immediately over a bed of rice or use for tacos. Enjoy!½ lime, 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro, 1 cup cooked rice
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- Feel free to substitute an equal amount of frozen or fresh corn for the canned corn.
- Use your homemade or your favorite brand of mild, medium, or hot salsa to customize the spice level. For a fun twist, try salsa verde!
- For best results, I recommend cooking this chicken on low. If you’re pressed for time, you can also cook this chicken on high for 3-4 hours instead.
Nutrition Information
Tastes great, but a little too salty, how do I fix it and make it taste less salty?
There are a few possible culprits here for the saltiness. Make sure you drain and rinse the canned goods to get rid of any excess salt. You can also make your own taco seasoning (click here for a recipe!) and omit the salt from that completely. Store-bought tends to be pretty salty.
I was pinched for time last week so I chose this very easy recipe. I was pleasantly surprised, It was restaurant quality!! It was so delicious and flavorful! I’m making it again now !
We’re so happy to hear you love this recipe, Johnny!
Absolutely delicious. So easy and healthy meal! A must make
Can you use rotisserie chicken? If so, how would that alter the cooking time?
You could, but I don’t think it would be quite as flavorful! Make sure to drain everything fully so there’s no excess liquid and cook just until everything is warmed through!
Do you drain the corn and rinse the black beans before adding to crock pot?
Yes!
What if you didn’t
I would use a bit less salsa if you haven’t already added that! Otherwise, after you remove the chicken to shred it, you can pour the sauce into a saucepan and cook it down a bit before adding the chicken back!
Very easy to make and very versatile. Put it in crock pot before work and even after 9 hours it was great. Before serving I mixed it with cooked egg noodles. I love that you can use almost anything you’ve got in the house to make this. A little extra hot sauce spices it up too!
We’re so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Carole!
This was super to make and very delicious! I do have a question though if your were to want to cook this in an instate pot how long would you cook this for?
We would do 12 minutes plus natural release!
This was delicious and so easy. We put it on top of nachos and it was better than a restaurant. I used chicken thighs because that is what I have and I also added a can of pinto beans.