This Crockpot Salsa Chicken with cream cheese is an easy, flavorful and versatile recipe that is the perfect solution for busy weeknights. It’s got tender, juicy shredded chicken breasts covered in a cream cheese salsa sauce that tastes great in tacos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, nachos or served over rice.
You can serve this slow cooker recipe in so many different ways that your family will never get sick of it. Our favorite way to serve salsa chicken is in burrito bowls, as seen in the short video below.
Easy Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken
If you are looking to add more meal prep ideas into your life, you will love this recipe for crockpot salsa chicken. It takes just a few minutes to gather your ingredients, toss them into the crockpot and be on your way. The result is tender, juicy chicken in a creamy sauce made from salsa, cream cheese, green chilis and simple seasoning.
You can serve this slow cooker recipe in so many different ways that your family will never get sick of it. Our favorite way to serve Salsa Chicken is in burrito bowls, as seen in the short video below.
It also works great in tacos, enchiladas, nachos or even just served with a squeeze of lime juice over rice, cauliflower rice, mashed potatoes or pasta. Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge or frozen for a quick and easy meal whenever you need it.
Easy Salsa Chicken Burrito Bowls Video Tutorial
And if you’re looking for more easy slow cooker chicken recipes, be sure to try our, Cheesy Chicken and Rice, Chicken and Gravy over Rice, and Chicken Burrito Bowls.
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Key Ingredients
- Chicken – I usually use boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe, but chicken thighs would also taste great.
- Salsa – you can use your favorite jar of salsa, or you could even make your own Homemade Fresh Salsa. Green salsa, enchilada sauce or chipotle sauce would all taste great, too.
- Cream Cheese – this makes the sauce super creamy. I recommend using full fat cream cheese but you could substitute light.
- Green Chilis – canned green chilis add a perfect amount of spice to the dish. You can feel free to use more or less, depending on how mild or spicy you want your salsa chicken.
- Seasoning – this recipe calls for onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. You could also season the chicken with taco seasoning or a dash of cumin.
How to Make Salsa Chicken in Crock Pot
- Add ingredients to the slow cooker. Place the chicken in the slow cooker, then top with the salsa, cream cheese, green chilies, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Stir gently to coat the chicken with sauce.
- Cook. Cover and cook on high for about 3-4 hours or on low for 5-6 hours.
- Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and place into a bowl. Use two forks to shred it, then return the chicken to the slow cooker. Stir the shredded chicken and sauce until the sauce is creamy and the chicken is covered.
- Serve. Serve in tacos, burrito bowls, quesadillas and enchiladas or let it cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
For safety reasons, we don’t recommend adding frozen chicken directly into your crockpot. It takes too long for it to heat up to a safe temperature from frozen, leaving it in the temperature danger zone for longer than is recommended. If you want to use frozen chicken, it’s best to thaw ahead of time.
The easiest way to know whether or not your chicken has finished cooking is to try and shred it with two forks. If it won’t shred easily, toss it back in and keep cooking. The internal temperature needs to reach 165 degrees F for it to be eaten safely, so you can also use a meat thermometer to check.
Absolutely! This is an excellent freezer meal. Just make sure it is completely cooled, then toss into freezer bags with a little extra sauce and freeze flat. It can be stored frozen for up to 2 months, then thawed in the fridge overnight.
Storing Salsa Chicken
- Refrigerator: cool completely then transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: cool completely then transfer to freezer bags and store frozen for up to 2 months.
- To reheat: you can reheat in the microwave, or add to a saucepan with a splash of water or chicken stock and reheat over medium low heat until warmed through.
Crockpot Salsa Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts
- 2 cups salsa
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 4-ounce can green chilis
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Into the bottom of a crockpot, add the chicken breasts, salsa, cream cheese, green chilis, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Stir gently to coat the chicken with sauce.
- Cover and cook on high for about 3-4 hours, or on low for 5-6 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and place into a bowl. Use two forks to shred it, then return the chicken to the slow cooker. Stir the chicken and sauce until the sauce is creamy and the chicken is covered.
- Serve in tacos, burrito bowls, quesadillas and enchiladas or let it cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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This Crockpot Chicken and Salsa is tender, juicy, creamy, delicious and super versatile. Use in tacos, enchiladas, burrito bowls, quesadillas, toss on pizza or nachos or eat over a bowl of rice.
Categories:
Chicken, Crockpot, Easy Weeknight Meals, Fall Recipes, Gluten-Free, Main Dish, Meal Prep, Nut-Free, Tex Mex, Videos, Winter Recipes,
OMG! So easy and everyone liked it, from my 18 month old, 6 year old and the adults! It was well liked!! We added black beans and Mexican rice. We will make this again!
If I wanted to add rice to this, could I cook it in the crock pot with the chicken? When would you add it in?
I haven’t tried it with rice. We usually just cook it seperate. Let me know how it goes!