Viva La Chicken–a dump-and-go slow cooker chicken dinner with only 3 ingredients! This shredded chicken is perfect for tacos, burritos, quesadillas, or bowls.
Viva La Chicken
I loved this recipe because it was seriously the easiest dinner ever with only 3 ingredients. I dumped everything in the slow cooker, walked away, and a few hours later I had perfectly seasoned chicken ready to go. The flavor is bold and zesty, the chicken shreds up so nicely, and it’s such a versatile protein to have on hand. We rolled it up in tortillas with cheese and sour cream and it totally hit the spot. It’s also awesome over rice or in quesadillas. It’s super fast to get going, no chopping, and a great source of protein.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts–frozen is okay. You can use a combination of breasts and thighs.
- Rotel tomatoes–I used mild
- Fajita seasoning–or homemade
Steps
Add chicken, Rotel and fajita seasoning into slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours.
Remove lid. Shred chicken. Serve chicken wrapped up in tortillas, over rice, in quesadillas, etc.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with warm tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, Mexican rice, black beans, or even a fresh corn salad.
- This recipe can be gluten free. Just make sure the fajita seasoning is gluten free. Some brands sneak in wheat flour or other gluten-containing fillers. McCormick’s and Old El Paso usually have gluten-free versions, or you can whip up your own quick mix.
- I like this recipe with a combination of thighs and breasts. You get the best of both worlds! I just use frozen chicken from Costco.
- You can double this recipe easily if you’re feeding a crowd.
- I used my 6 quart ninja slow cooker.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- This recipe makes an awesome freezer meal. You can prep it ahead two different ways! First option: cook the chicken, shred it up, let it cool, and then portion into freezer bags or containers. It’ll keep in the freezer for up to 3 months and makes the easiest heat-and-eat protein for busy nights. Second option: just dump the raw chicken, Rotel, and fajita seasoning into a freezer bag, squeeze out the air, and pop it in the freezer. When you’re ready to cook, thaw it overnight in the fridge and toss it into your slow cooker. Either way, future you is going to be so happy dinner is basically already done!
- Rotel is a can of diced tomatoes mixed with green chilies that adds a little kick of flavor and heat to recipes without any extra work. Other recipes you can make with Rotel are King Ranch Beef Casserole and Instant Pot Sausage Queso Dip.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Viva La Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours on low
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
A dump-and-go slow cooker chicken dinner with only 3 ingredients! This shredded chicken is perfect for tacos, burritos, quesadillas, or bowls.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts (frozen is okay)
- 1 (10 oz) can Rotel tomatoes
- 1 (1.25 oz) package fajita seasoning
Instructions
- Add chicken, Rotel and fajita seasoning into slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours.
- Remove lid. Shred chicken.
- Serve chicken wrapped up in tortillas, over rice, in quesadillas, etc.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Slow Cooker
More slow cooker dump and go recipes…
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3-Can Soup
With just 3 main ingredients (beans, tomatoes and corn) this soup comes together with about 5 minutes of prep time and 5 minutes of cooking time. A perfect recipe for a busy weeknight!
Tropical Island Chicken
Chicken cooked in pineapple juice, orange juice and soy sauce and then stirred together with lime zest. Chicken comes out tender and flavorful! Make this recipe in your Instant Pot or Crockpot.
Devil’s Chicken
An easy dump-and-go slow cooker chicken with a sweet and tangy sauce.Â
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I was wondering about using the slow cooker method with my IP Ultra. Any advice? Thx.
I think this recipe will work fine in the IP using the slow cooker function. I would cook on the highest slow cook setting for 4 hours.
Thank you.
Finally made this today. Awesome! Will try other recipes using the slow cooker function. Love my Ultra!
That makes me so happy to hear!! I love the Ultra too!
Can this be made using pot in pot method in the instant pot?
Yes you could do that. I would maybe just add a half cup of broth, the chicken, rotel and fajita seasoning straight into instant pot and pressure cook for 10 minutes. That would also work
I had always heard that it wasn’t advisable to use frozen chicken in a slow cooker, because there was too long a period in which the chicken was in the “danger” temperature zone. Is that not true for this recipe because of the shorter cook time?
I think with chicken it is okay because they are thin enough pieces that they heat up fairly quickly. Especially newer slow cookers that cook much hotter and faster than the old fashioned ones. But if you’re worried I would thaw the chicken first just to be safe.
Thanks—that makes sense, especially if the chicken breasts are the thin-sliced type I just bought today. Although personally, I would defrost them just in case (I got food poisoning once from a chicken dish, so I’m always cautious).