This week we’re adding to the slow cooker recipe list with a super simple Slow Cooker Chicken Salsa Verde that can be prepped in 5 minutes or less! It’s great for meal prep, made with common ingredients you can find almost anywhere, and impossible to mess up. If you’re looking for some flavor that’ll fit your macros, this is the one to try!

You’re going to start it by putting 3 pounds of fat trimmed and pat dried chicken breast or boneless thighs into a mixing bowl. Both work great and although I typically prefer thighs for their tenderness, I do prefer chicken breast here.

On top of whatever you’re using add 1 tablespoon of ground cumin, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. This is going to help “lock” in some flavor into your chicken versus adding everything directly into your slow cooker.

Wash your hands and flip your chicken around a few times until all of your pieces are coated. Place that coated chicken into the bottom of your slow cooker. Do your best to fit it so that it’s all on one layer, it should end up being pretty snug.

Chop up either a white or yellow (sweeter!) onion and add that in. On top of that, pour in 24 ounces of your favorite salsa verde. This is also where you can choose your heat level by using a mild, medium, or hot salsa verde. Alternatively, you can go mild and add in some spice to your chicken salsa verde portions after.

As is, this is great to eat by itself, in a taco, or you can make some high protein bowls with it! If you want it more like a soup, add in another 8 ounces of the salsa verde. That would be 32 ounces total which is typically 2 small jars.

Put your lid on and let that cook on high heat for 3-4 hours or low heat for 6-7 hours. You want your chicken to cook to at least 165F/73C before pulling it.

Creamy Chicken Salsa Verde

Once that’s done, use 2 forks to shred your chicken by pulling it apart. It should shred without much effort using this method but to make it even easier, you can remove your chicken first. I’ll almost always shred it right in the slow cooker, it takes maybe a few minutes max once you get the hang of it.

Last, I like to throw in 1/2 cup of a plain Greek Yogurt or light sour cream. This is optional to thicken it up a bit and make it creamier.

Finish with 1 teaspoon of dried or 1 tablespoon of chopped up fresh cilantro which will help add some additional flavor (and brightness!) to the chicken salsa verde recipe.

Give that a mix and let it sit for around 20 minutes over low heat. Turn your heat off and portion it out into meal prep containers that you can keep in the fridge for around 4-5 days.

Ready for dessert? How about a Ricotta Cheesecake?