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Home Blog Course Main Course

3 Ingredient Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken

Cheryl Malik
Cheryl Malik Posted: 05/25/19 Updated: 05/15/22
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Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken Pinterest Image

This slow cooker Mexican shredded chicken uses only three ingredients is super easy to throw together, and is perfect in all your Mexican dishes, from tacos to burritos to salads. Inspired by our favorite Mexican restaurant, this chicken is made easily in the Crockpot or Instant Pot, naturally Whole30 and paleo.

Shredded Mexican chicken in a white bowl

I’ve been making this 3 ingredients slow cooker Mexican shredded chicken for almost a decade now, and there’s a reason why.

No, there’s like many reasons why.

Why This Recipe Is So Good

  • It’s inspired by our the shredded chicken from our favorite Mexican restaurant. Talk about restaurant-quality!
  • It’s crazy easy to make. Stir together with a few ingredients, let it cook in the Crockpot or slow cooker, then shred the chicken, and you’re done!
  • I have a great hack for making the chicken super easy to shred.
  • The chicken is tender and moist and full of flavor.
  • This slow cooker Mexican chicken is really versatile and is delicious in tacos, burritos, chimichangas, on salads, or on burrito bowls.
  • This recipe is quite economical, too!
  • Hello – three ingredients!

I shared an Instant Pot version of this slow cooker Mexican chicken in my cookbook, The Paleo Instant Pot, and I really think you should grab a copy! It’s all about smarter not harder: delicious and healthy food made easily and quickly in the Instant Pot. No brainer, eh?

How to Make It

Oh, oh, oh, it’s so easy. Are you ready?

Combine the chicken breasts, salsa, and taco seasoning in the slow cooker. Add a few good pinches of salt if your taco seasoning does not include it. Cook covered on High for 3 hours or Low for 5 hours.

Chicken breasts with salsa and Mexican seasoning in the slow cooker

Shred your chicken. I like to do this by simply using my hand mixer and beating (Really!) the chicken on low speed until shredded. Or you can use two forks to shred the chicken by hand.

A hand mixer shredding chicken breasts in the slow cooker

Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and stir it around in all the juices. Cook uncovered on High for 30 minutes or Low for 60 minutes. Serve!

Variations & Tips

  • Make your own taco seasoning. It’s really easy, and you can control the additives and sodium content. Ideal if you’re on a Whole30 and cannot eat many of the anti-caking agents or sugars found in commercial taco seasoning blends.
  • Shred the chicken oh so easily but using your hand mixer. Make sure you beat the chicken on low speed, otherwise you’ll end up with salsa splattered on your walls!
  • Use a slow cooker liner for super easy cleanup.
Slow cooker Mexican chicken tacos

What To Make With It

  • In tacos with cheese (Queso fresco is great, and we like shredded cheese, too, for a gringo taco), avocado salsa, or chipotle aioli.
  • As a burrito bowl. Simply replace the carnitas with chicken in this recipe.
  • In a burrito with rice, beans, shredded lettuce, cheese, and salsa.
  • In chilaquiles.
  • Over nachos. Try this vegan queso if you’re dairy-free.

Instant Pot Directions

Prefer to use the Instant Pot or an electric pressure cooker? No stress. Follow these directions:

  • Combine chicken breasts, taco seasoning, and salsa in Instant Pot. Do not add water. Secure lid with valve in Sealing position and cook on Manual High Pressure for 20 minutes. Quick Release.
  • Remove chicken breasts from the pot. Shred with two forks then return to pot. Stir on Sauté mode a few minutes until sauce is absorbed.
Shredded Mexican chicken in the slow cooker

Other Recipes You’ll Love

  • The Best Shredded Chicken
  • Top 30 Shredded Chicken Recipes
  • Chicken Tacos in Lettuce Wraps (Paleo, Whole30, Low Carb, Keto)
  • Mexican Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
  • Best Sheet Pan Fajitas with Steak
  • Steak Taco Bowls (Street Taco Style)
  • Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla-Less Soup
  • Shredded Chicken Tacos
  • Mexican Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing

Hey – you’ve made it this far, so now we’re basically best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a quick review & star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook, too!

Shredded Mexican chicken in a white bowl
5 from 23 votes

Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken

Prep:10 minutes
Cook:3 hours 30 minutes
Total:3 hours 40 minutes
A simple Mexican shredded chicken made in the slow cooker with only three ingredients. This recipe makes such tender and flavorful chicken, you’d never guess it was so easy!
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4

Ingredients

  • 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts a little less than 2 pounds
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
  • salt if desired

Instructions 

  • In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients and stir. Do not add water. Add a few pinches of salt if your taco seasoning does not contain it.
  • Cover and cook on low for 5 hours, or on high for 3 hours. 
  • Shred the chicken, either with two forks or with a hand mixer. See Note for more detail.
  • Return chicken to slow cooker, if you shredded it on a cutting board or plate. Stir and cook uncovered for 30 minutes on High or 60 minutes on Low.
  • Serve in tacos, enchiladas, burritos, salads, or burrito bowls.

Storage Notes

  • Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes

  • To easily shred chicken, beat with a hand mixer on low speed. Alternately, transfer cooked chicken breasts to a stand mixer and beat on low or medium speed with the paddle attachment.
  • If you’re on a Whole30, make sure both your salsa and your taco seasoning are compliant.
  • To make this recipe in the Instant Pot, combine all ingredients in the Instant Pot and stir. Do not add water. Seal and cook High Pressure for 20 minutes. Quick Release, shred the chicken breasts, then return chicken to Instant Pot. Cook on Sauté mode for a few minutes until liquid is absorbed.

Video

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 117kcal, Carbohydrates: 5g, Protein: 18g, Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 54mg, Sodium: 657mg, Potassium: 498mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 455IU, Vitamin C: 2.8mg, Calcium: 24mg, Iron: 0.7mg, Net Carbs: 4g

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

 

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

 

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

© Author: Cheryl Malik

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Cheryl Malik

Meet Cheryl Malik

Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She's been a blogger for 10+ years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of three who lives in Memphis, TN.

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  1. Becky says

    Posted on 7/24/22 at 2:38 pm

    How many tacos does this recipe make approximately?

    Reply
    • Megan | 40 Aprons TeamMegan | 40 Aprons Team says

      Posted on 7/24/22 at 6:01 pm

      Hey, Becky! That would depend on a few things like the size of your tortillas (6-inch vs. 8-inch) and how much chicken you put in each taco. I would guess you could get 8 tacos out of this easily, but you may be able to get as many as 16 or more depending on the amount of chicken you put in each one.

      Reply
  2. Cali says

    Posted on 7/11/22 at 9:37 am

    Does anyone know how long the cooked meat can safely stay warm in the crockpot to serve at a party?

    Reply
    • Megan | 40 Aprons TeamMegan | 40 Aprons Team says

      Posted on 7/11/22 at 9:42 am

      Hi, Cali! In general, once the chicken is fully cooked, it should only be kept in the slow cooker on warm for 2-3 hours. After that it should be transferred to an airtight container and refrigerated, then reheated as needed.

      Reply
      • Cali says

        Posted on 7/19/22 at 5:21 am

        Thanks for your reply. The wedding reception goes for 4 hours with the food being prepped for serving beforehand. Not sure how this will work to keep the shredded chicken food safe for that long…if you have any helpful ideas, I’d appreciate it.

      • Megan | 40 Aprons TeamMegan | 40 Aprons Team says

        Posted on 7/22/22 at 6:41 pm

        Oh, I’m so sorry, Cali, but we won’t be much help here! I’d recommend reaching out to a caterer or someone with experience feeding a large number of people over a long window of time and see if they could offer any suggestions.

  3. Laura G says

    Posted on 5/23/22 at 5:12 pm

    Looks delicious! Thank you! I will be trying this next weekend. I don’t like any store bought salsa, but I love the salsas they use at the Mexican restaurant. Do you have any good recipe for a good homemade salsa to try this with? Thanks again!5 stars

    Reply
    • Anna Claire | 40 Aprons TeamAnna Claire | 40 Aprons Team says

      Posted on 5/23/22 at 9:11 pm

      Absolutely! This one would work well with this recipe: https://40aprons.com/roasted-salsa/.5 stars

      Reply
  4. Ariana says

    Posted on 5/6/22 at 10:47 pm

    If tripling the recipe (birthday party) do you also have to increase cooking time? If so by how much?

    Reply
    • Megan | 40 Aprons TeamMegan | 40 Aprons Team says

      Posted on 5/18/22 at 9:07 pm

      You shouldn’t need to increase the cook time, no. Keep an eye on everything though and stir/flip the chicken periodically so everything cooks evenly.

      Reply
  5. Emma says

    Posted on 5/5/22 at 8:40 pm

    If I were to double this recipe would the chicken cook correctly if it’s stacked on top of each other?

    Reply
    • Megan | 40 Aprons TeamMegan | 40 Aprons Team says

      Posted on 5/18/22 at 1:05 pm

      Hey, Emma! Thanks for the question. That should work out fine – you may want to give it a stir halfway through the cook time just to rotate the chicken and ensure they cook evenly.

      Reply
  6. EV says

    Posted on 4/28/22 at 6:11 pm

    Can you use chicken thighs? Will it be the same cooking time?

    Reply
    • Anna Claire | 40 Aprons TeamAnna Claire | 40 Aprons Team says

      Posted on 5/1/22 at 3:45 pm

      Yes and yes!5 stars

      Reply
  7. Kathleen says

    Posted on 4/23/22 at 7:22 pm

    Great tasting easy recipient.5 stars

    Reply
    • Anna Claire | 40 Aprons TeamAnna Claire | 40 Aprons Team says

      Posted on 5/1/22 at 4:03 pm

      So glad you enjoyed it!5 stars

      Reply
  8. chris says

    Posted on 3/23/22 at 7:06 am

    if I don`t have slow cocker, how do I cook it in a simple pot?5 stars

    Reply
    • Anna Claire | 40 Aprons TeamAnna Claire | 40 Aprons Team says

      Posted on 4/5/22 at 9:03 pm

      As directed, but cook over low and allow it to simmer.5 stars

      Reply
  9. Mark says

    Posted on 3/21/22 at 6:00 pm

    You can’t call it three ingredients when one ingredient is salsa and another one is Mexican seasoning! That’s around ten ingredients right there and you haven’t even bothered to give recipe for them. This is useless.

    Reply
    • Megan | 40 Aprons TeamMegan | 40 Aprons Team says

      Posted on 3/21/22 at 8:23 pm

      Hey, Mark! It’s intended that you’d use store-bought salsa and taco seasoning so no need for a recipe for those, and they do each count as one ingredient for this recipe. Of course, you’re more than welcome to make your own salsa and/or taco seasoning if you’d rather. Hope you’ll give it a try!

      Reply
  10. imsen says

    Posted on 2/8/22 at 5:15 am

    This is the best recipe I have found for chicken in the slow cooker. And the tip for using your stand mixer to shred it is so good! It worked perfectly. All of your tips and suggestions are great, thank you for sharing.5 stars

    Reply
    • Anna Claire | 40 Aprons TeamAnna Claire | 40 Aprons Team says

      Posted on 2/16/22 at 6:17 pm

      So happy to hear this! Thanks for sharing. 🙂5 stars

      Reply
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