365 Days of Slow Cooking and Pressure Cooking

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Recipe for Slow Cooker Cafe Rio Salad with Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

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This meal is one of my favorites.  In fact, my whole family loves it.  Maybe it’s because we could drink the tomatillo ranch dressing because it’s that good.  Or maybe it’s because it’s so super easy to get going in the morning with only 5 ingredients!  Whatever the reason, this is a recipe worth trying.  If you’re not a big salad fan, the chicken goes nicely in tacos or even on pizza.
Recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Rio Salad with Tomatillo Ranch Dressing #copycat #slowcooker #easydinner #crockpotrecipe

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Slow Cooker Cafe Rio Salad with Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4-8 hours
  • Total Time: 41 minute
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
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Description

Super easy slow cooker chicken that is similar to cafe rio chicken salad.
 

Ingredients

Scale

For the Chicken:

  • 6 frozen boneless, skinless chicken thighs (doesn’t have to be frozen but if you don’t want to defrost you don’t need to)
  • 1 cup Italian salad dressing
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder

For the Dressing:

  • 1 package Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch mix
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup mayo
  • 2 tomatillos (peel outer skin layer)
  • 1 clove minced garlic (1 tsp of pre-packaged stuff)
  • 1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp lime juice
  • 1 small jalapeno (seeds removed)

Instructions

  1. Place thighs in bottom of slow cooker.
  2. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken.
  3. Cover and cook on LOW for 4-8 hours (if chicken is thawed then closer to 4 hours, if frozen closer to 8)
  4. Shred chicken and serve on top of salad greens with cheese, tomatoes, avocado and any other preferred toppings.
  5. To make the dressing: Place all ingredients into a blender.  Blend until smooth and refrigerate.

Notes

Ideal slow cooker size:  3-4 quart

  • Method: Slow Cooker
 
Recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Rio Salad with Tomatillo Ranch Dressing #caferio #copycat #ranchdressing
 

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Comments

  4. Loraine says

    Thank you so much! I used the chicken to make tostada's tonight and all the fixings as well as the dressing instead of salsa. My family couldn't get enough of it! I saved just a bit to make the salads like originally intended for lunch tomorrow. Can't wait to try your other awesome recipes!!

    Reply

  8. research paper says

    I love to make a very different varieties of chicken salad…I prefer salad because that is possibly low calories food without giving away the taste really…!!
    Your chicken Rio salad has now been added to my top favorite salad list 🙂

    Reply

  10. Traci says

    When you say "peel outer skin layer" of the tomatillos, does that mean the papery-type skin layer, or the actual skin on the tomatillo?

    Reply

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