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February 18, 2014

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

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Recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Rio Salad with Tomatillo Ranch Dressing #caferio #copycat #ranchdressing
 
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15 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Chicken, Salads, Slow Cooker Tagged With: All Posts, 4-6 hours, crock pot recipes, recipes crock pot, slow cooker recipes, 5 stars

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Comments

  1. Lyndi says

    April 1, 2019 at 11:48 am

    Can I submit thighs for breasts? Do I need to adjust the cooking time for the this?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      April 8, 2019 at 3:41 pm

      yes. Use 4 hours of cooking time for thawed and 6 for frozen.

      Reply
  2. gabriela depillis says

    September 15, 2014 at 5:18 pm

    this recipe makes a lot of dressing. How long can I keep the dressing in the refrigerator?

    Reply
    • [email protected] says

      September 16, 2014 at 4:01 am

      I'd say up to 7 days. You may want to halve the dressing recipe.

      Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    March 3, 2014 at 12:41 pm

    https://www.ixwebhosting.com/templates/ix/v2/affiliate/clickthru.cgi?id=wyldaxe

    Reply
  4. Loraine says

    February 25, 2014 at 4:24 am

    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
    • [email protected] says

      February 25, 2014 at 8:55 pm

      mmmmmm tostada's sound so yummy right now!

      Reply
  5. mountain mama cooks says

    February 18, 2014 at 2:53 pm

    This looks great! I love Cafe Rio Chicken and I always get the salad! Thanks for sharing!!

    Reply
    • [email protected] says

      February 18, 2014 at 3:05 pm

      Thanks Kelly! I love it too 🙂

      Reply
  6. sales tax compliance says

    December 25, 2012 at 9:32 pm

    This chicken salad is really amongst my favourite ones indeed…just added to my recipe book and will try it out sooner!

    Reply
  7. iPhone 5 case says

    October 11, 2012 at 4:26 pm

    Chicken rio salad recipie is different and good looking it is very tasty.That fantastic! realy!

    Reply
  8. research paper says

    October 3, 2012 at 11:16 pm

    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
  9. Karen says

    May 24, 2012 at 6:30 pm

    Traci, peel the paper type skin layer. Then wash off the stickiness…ahhhh I love this dressing

    Reply
  10. Traci says

    May 24, 2012 at 6:28 pm

    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
  11. shopannies says

    January 3, 2012 at 5:18 pm

    thanks for sharing this recipe I think it will make everone in family happy come see me at http://shopannies.blogspot.com

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Karen. I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.

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