This Crockpot Salsa Chicken is an easy crockpot dump meal! It’s made with six simple ingredients and takes just 5 minutes to prep. Serve this chicken in tacos or burrito bowls, over nachos, in fajitas, you name it!
Love Slow Cooker Chicken Breast recipes? Try this Crockpot Tuscan Chicken, this Crockpot Creamy Garlic Chicken, Easy Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken or this Crockpot Chicken Stew next!
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I love my crockpot. How could you not love a kitchen tool that allows you to just throw everything into one pot, walk away, and come back to a home-cooked meal?
This Crockpot Salsa Chicken is just one of my favorite crockpot recipes.
It’s made with chicken breasts, a few simple seasonings, and your favorite salsa, and finished off with melty mozzarella cheese because who doesn’t love some extra cheesiness?
Serve this chicken in tacos, burritos, over Instant Pot Jasmine Rice, fajitas, or just eat it by the spoonful straight out of the crockpot. It’s hard to resist. 😉
For a fun sweet and spicy flavor variation, check out my slow cooker mango salsa chicken!
Ingredients Needed
This salsa chicken recipe is just about as simple as it gets! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Chicken Breasts: I use boneless and skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. Chicken thighs will work as well, they will likely just take slightly longer to cook all the way through.
- Seasonings: a simple blend of chili powder, garlic powder, and salt creates a delicious flavor base for the chicken. Feel free to use prepackaged taco seasoning if you prefer!
- Tomato Salsa: use mild, medium, or hot depending on your spice tolerance. You can even mix things up and choose a fruity variety!
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese: I recommend shredding your own cheese for the best texture.
How to Make Crockpot Salsa Chicken
This crockpot salsa chicken recipe comes together with a quick 5 minutes of prep!
- Combine all ingredients: Place the chicken breasts into your slow cooker. Mix together chili powder, garlic powder, and salt, then sprinkle the mixture over the chicken breasts. Pour the salsa over top.
- Cook: Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or until the chicken is 165ºF.
- Finish and serve: Once cooked, turn the crockpot off, open the lid, and sprinkle with cheese. Place the lid back on for 5-10 minutes so the cheese can melt, then serve and enjoy.
FAQs for Crockpot Salsa Chicken
This chicken will cook on low in the crockpot for anywhere from 3-4 hours. I recommend checking the temperature at 3 hours and cooking more only as needed. Once the internal temperature of the chicken is 165ºF, it’s ready to go.
Yes! It’s perfectly safe to put raw chicken into the crockpot. If you want to brown the chicken before cooking it, you totally can, but it isn’t necessary.
No. Frozen chicken takes too long to come to a safe temperature. In that extra time, bacteria can form on the meat. If all you have is frozen chicken, I recommend thawing it first.
Yes! To make oven-baked salsa chicken, place the chicken breasts on a lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Coat the chicken in seasoning, top with salsa, cover with foil and bake it in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees F or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.
Remove the foil, top with cheese, and bake just until melted.
You can! To make salsa chicken on the stove, season the chicken breasts and add to a large skillet with the salsa. Bring to a simmer on medium-high heat, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Top with cheese, cover and let melt.
Leftover salsa chicken will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months. To reheat, thaw in the fridge if frozen then microwave or warm on the stove until heated through. If the chicken has dried out slightly, add another scoop of salsa to moisten.
Serving Suggestions
If you’re not eating this salsa chicken straight out of the crockpot with a fork, here are a few ways you can serve it:
- In tacos. Layer it into a soft or hard taco shell with lettuce, pico, guacamole, sour cream, and cheese.
- In fajitas. Serve it in warm flour tortillas with roasted fajita veggies.
- Over rice. Serve it over a bed of brown rice with your favorite taco/burrito mix-ins to make a burrito bowl!
- On nachos. Use it as a topping for cheesy loaded nachos.
- In taco salad. Try it in my chicken taco salad recipe for a fun flavor twist.
More Crockpot Chicken Recipes to Try
If you love making chicken in the crockpot, check out more of my easy crockpot chicken recipes!
Crockpot Salsa Chicken
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup jarred tomato salsa (mild, medium or hot)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in a 3-4 quart slow cooker.
- Stir together chili powder, garlic powder and salt and sprinkle over chicken breasts.
- Pour salsa on top of chicken.
- Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 3-4 hours, until the chicken breasts reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Turn the slow cooker off, open the lid and sprinkle with cheese. Put the lid and allow cheese to melt for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Billie says
Why does this recipe take a 3-4 qt slow cook while the JUICY slow cooker chicken breast used a 2.5 qt crockpot? They both call for 4 boneless chicken breasts. They both call for a 3hr cook time.
Trying to learn how to best use my crockpot and I had assumed if I am using the same amount of chicken (and not adding potatoes or other veggies) I would use the same sized crock pot.
Thanks for helping us all learn.
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Billie, this recipe also includes up to 2 cups of extra liquid (the salsa) versus the other recipe only uses 3/4 cups of liquid, so a little extra space is needed. You can definitely experiment and see what works with your personal crockpot. Hope this helps!
Cait says
Sooooo good
The Recipe Rebel says
Yay! Thanks Cait!
Cheryl says
Super easy and tasty.
The Recipe Rebel says
Thanks Cheryl!
Liz says
My family and I love this recipe! It’s super simple and delicious! Could you cook this on high temp rather than low and if yes, for how long?
The Recipe Rebel says
Glad you enjoyed it, Liz. This works best on low.
Kevin Iacono says
The crockpot salsa chicken was delicious my family loved it
The Recipe Rebel says
Thank you Kevin!