Chicken Salsa Crockpot Recipe

This chicken salsa crockpot recipe is so easy and delicious that it’s sure to become one of your staples for busy weeknights. Made with 5 simple ingredients that can be added to your slow cooker.

As a mama to 8, I love meals that I can quickly throw into a crockpot at the beginning of the day and not have to think about again. This Salsa Chicken is a great meal to serve up when you have a busy evening or everyone is eating in shifts.

It can be made into chicken tacos, chicken nachos, served on a salad or as a side to beans and rice. My whole crew loves it!

Why you’ll love this Chicken Salsa Crockpot Recipe

• It’s a simple, protein-packed recipe that pleases most palates.
• There are multiple ways to serve it, so you can make the most of leftovers and get multiple meals out of this recipe. Use it to make tacos, burrito bowls, or taco salad.
• This recipe is easily adaptable. If you want to make it spicier, add some diced jalapeno or red pepper flakes. If you want to bulk it up a bit, add some black beans or corn.
• It’s a great meal prep recipe. Cook up a big batch on the weekend and portion it out for quick and easy weekday lunches or dinners.
• It takes very little time to prepare and then you can set it and forget it. Let your slow cooker do all the work for you!
• This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, and Whole30 compliant. If you’re gluten-free, just be sure to use a taco seasoning blend that’s GF.

Ingredients for making this Crockpot Salsa Chicken

• Chicken Breast – It makes up the majority of the dish and provides lean protein for the meal. Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for the best result.
• Salsa – This is the sauce for the chicken. Be sure to get a good quality salsa, or make your own. Whatever favorite salsa you usually have on hand should work perfectly. Traditional red salsa is a great choice, but you can also use salsa verde, or even a mango salsa.
• Taco Seasoning – Add flavor to the chicken with your favorite taco seasoning blend. You can use a packet of pre-made seasoning, or make your own.
• Cilantro – I love cilantro, but if you’re not a fan you can leave it out altogether or substitute it with another fresh herb like parsley.
• Lime Juice – The acidity of the lime brightens up the flavors in this dish. Fresh is always best, but you could also use bottled lime juice to make this recipe even quicker and easier.

How to Serve the Crockpot Salsa Chicken

We love serving this flavorful chicken in taco shells (soft tortillas or crispy shells), on top of rice (white rice, brown rice or cauliflower rice) or with a side of pinto beans. It’s a great dish because the entire family can customize how they prefer to eat it.

I’ll typically have a bowl of shredded cheese, diced black olives, chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce and sour cream to serve with our shredded chicken. Put out some tortillas and tortilla chips, and everyone can create the meal of their choice. It’ll quickly become a family favorite!

Tell me about this Chicken Salsa Crockpot Recipe

• Texture – The chicken is cooked until it’s tender and shreds easily with a fork. The salsa sauce is thick and coats the chicken well. You can shred the chicken as finely as you want to. My family loves this recipe because of the tender chicken.
• Taste – The flavor is that classic taco we all love, brightened up. The acidity of the lime juice completely freshens up the flavors and prevents the dish from tasting too one-dimensional. The kind of salsa that you choose will also play a part in the flavor. We prefer a mild salsa, but if you prefer use a more flavorful salsa for spice!
• Ease – This recipe is so easy to make. Just dump everything into the crockpot and let it do its thing. Then you just have to shred it before serving. Make sure to use a slotted spoon when serving so you aren’t serving up too much broth with your shredded salsa chicken.
• Time – This recipe only takes a few minutes to prepare and then it’s hands-off cooking. The total cook time will depend on what temperature you cook it at, but you can set it up to be ready within 4-8 hours.

Tips and Tricks for Crockpot Salsa Chicken

• If you want to make this recipe ahead of time, just prep everything and put it in the crockpot. Cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to cook. When you’re ready to cook, just set the crockpot to low and let it go.
• This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if you’re feeding a crowd.
• If you want to make this recipe spicier, add some diced jalapeno or red pepper flakes.
• If you want to bulk it up a bit, add some black beans or corn.

Tools needed to make this Crockpot Salsa Chicken Recipe

All you need is a slow cooker and two forks for shredding the chicken. If you want to reduce your clean-up at the end of the meal, you could use a slow cooker liner.

How to make this Chicken Salsa Crockpot Recipe

First, sprinkle the taco seasoning on the chicken breasts evenly before placing them at the bottom of your crockpot.

Arrange the meat so that the breasts aren’t sitting on top of each other so it can cook as evenly as possible.

Pour your favorite salsa over the meat to cover it completely.

Chop the cilantro and sprinkle it over the salsa-covered chicken, along with the lime juice.

Set the crockpot to low and cook it for 8 hours or cook it on high for 4 hours. If your crockpot has a warming function, you can turn it on after the cooking time is up to keep the chicken warm until you’re ready to serve.


Check the internal temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer to make sure it’s cooked through. It should be at least 165 degrees F.

Once the chicken is cooked through, use two forks to shred the chicken to your desired texture. I like to shred it as finely as possible, but you can leave it in larger chunks if you like them.

Serve it with tortillas, over rice, or with fried bread. You can even eat it as-is with some chopped fresh cilantro and green onions for garnish. Enjoy!

Freezing for another Meal

This slow cooker salsa chicken recipe is a great one to make a double batch to freeze for later. Use a freezer bag or an airtight container and pop the slow-cooker salsa chicken into the freezer for another night.

You can defrost it in the freezer or place the frozen bag/container into the fridge 6 hours before you’re ready to warm it up on the stove.

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