This Crockpot Salsa Verde Chicken is a slow cooker shredded chicken recipe made with boneless skinless chicken breasts, jarred salsa verde, diced green chiles, onion, garlic, and cumin.

It turns out juicy, flavorful, and ready to go into tacos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, or anything else you want to pile it on. Three ingredients do most of the work and the slow cooker handles the rest.

This is a strong choice for weeknight meal prep because it stores well, reheats easily, and works across multiple meals.

Taco night, burrito bowls for lunch, nachos on the weekend.

I usually serve it over rice with sour cream and shredded cheese alongside a side of Healthy Mango, Cucumber and Avocado Salsa for a bright contrast to the tangy verde sauce.

If you’re building out a slow cooker chicken rotation, these are worth adding:

• 10+ Best Chicken Breast Crockpot Recipes for Easy, Delicious Meals
• 12 Kid Approved Crockpot Dinners To Make
• 23 Easy Crockpot Party Food Ideas To Feed A Crowd
• Homemade Barbecue Pulled Chicken Sliders

Ingredients You’ll Need

The ingredient list for this crockpot salsa verde chicken is minimal.

The salsa verde does most of the flavor work, so use a brand you actually like the taste of (jarred salsa verde varies a lot in heat level, so taste yours before deciding whether to skip the green chiles or include them). Chicken breast shreds cleanly once cooked and works perfectly here.

Important Recipe Notes

• Choose your salsa verde carefully. The brand and heat level of the jarred salsa is the biggest variable in this recipe. Some are mild and slightly sweet; others carry real heat. Taste yours before deciding how much green chile to add alongside it.
• Don’t overcook the chicken breast. Check it at the 4-hour mark on low. Once it shreds easily, it’s done. Overcooked chicken breast in a slow cooker turns dry and stringy, and it doesn’t recover well.
• Lime juice at the end, not the beginning. Adding citrus at the start of a long cook can make the chicken slightly tougher from the acidity. Stir it in right before serving for the brightest flavor.
• The sauce will be thin at first. Once you shred the chicken and let it sit in the liquid on warm for a few minutes, it absorbs quite a bit and the overall consistency improves. If it’s still too soupy for tacos, drain a little of the liquid before serving.
• Great for meal prep. The shredded chicken stores well in the fridge for up to 5 days. The flavor actually improves after a day as everything settles in together.
• Freezes beautifully. Portion into zip-lock bags or airtight containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a pan over medium heat with a splash of chicken broth.

How to Serve, Store & Customize This Recipe

Serving: Pile the chicken into warmed flour or corn tortillas for tacos, or spoon it over cilantro rice for a burrito bowl. Layer it onto nachos with cheese and black beans, or use it as a quesadilla filling. Sour cream, diced avocado, shredded Monterey Jack, and fresh cilantro all work well as toppings.

Storing: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The chicken reheats well in a pan over medium heat with a splash of broth or extra salsa verde to keep it from drying out. For longer storage, freeze in portioned containers for up to 3 months.

Customizing: Add a can of drained black beans or corn to the pot in the last 30 minutes for a more complete one-pot meal. Stir in 4 ounces of cream cheese when you add the shredded chicken back to the pot for a creamy version of the dish. Swap the green chiles for a diced jalápeno if you want a sharper heat.