If you’ve got 5 minutes + a slow cooker, you’re on your way to the easiest Chicken Chile Verde you’ll ever make (and love)
This dish literally takes 5 minutes to prep.
I love slow cooked chile verde. Love, love, love it. But I don’t always have an entire day to chop, saute, simmer and wait (shocker, I know). So I created this ridiculously easy Slow Cooker Chile Verde recipe with the ‘set it and forget it’ mentality of the slow cooker. It’s not as saucy as a big bowl of chile verde – and it uses chicken in place of the pork – but it’s super versatile and just mildly spicy so it’s kid-friendly too.
Just toss the chicken into your slow cooker or Instant Pot set to ‘slow cook’, mix the salsa, green chiles, cumin and oregano together then pour over the chicken. Set that slow cooker to LOW and come back in 4-6 hours. To save time (because you’re probably really hungry just smelling this deliciousness) shred the chicken right in the slow cooker. You don’t HAVE to shred the chicken, you can serve it up as is with lots of sauce poured over the top. It’s totally our chicken chile verde awesomeness to create here.
Some like it hot!
If you don’t have little beings who dictate the spice level in your cooking then feel free to make this spicier. It’s so good when it’s spicy! Just make sure it’s ingredients are clean, clean, clean if you’re doing a Whole30!
For this milder version, I used the Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde (Fresh tomatillos, green chile, water, onions, fresh jalapenos, salt and spices). The Hatch Valley Salsa, also from Trader Joe’s, is a bit spicer thanks to those amazing Hatch chiles they grown in the arid dessert of New Mexico. But I digress, this one is super clean too – just Hatch chile peppers, tomatillos, citric acid, lime juice, garlic and sea salt. So good!
Need even more heat? If you live the West or Southwest you’re lucky enough to get fresh roasted Hatch chiles at roadside stands or local farmers markets during late summer and early fall. These can range from “mild” (which I’d have to say is more medium) to hot, hot, hot! Toss a few of those in the pot and revel in their spicy glory. Alternatively, you can grab a can of hot roasted green or Hatch chiles to stand in for the milder ones I’ve listed in the recipe below.
Wasn’t that easy?
With all the time you saved prepping this magical slow cooker meal you can make some cauliflower rice to serve it over and sop up all that tasty sauce (Trader Joe’s has it both frozen and fresh – can you say life saver when you just. want. to. get. dinner. on. the. freaking. table!?) Or you can rice and cook your own too. Here’s a recipe for that.
Or just get on it without any fuss whatsoever and scoop it into lettuce leaves. I like mine topped with lots of fresh lime (because let’s be honest, that zingy lime taste gets lost in the slow cooking process), fresh cilantro, radishes for crunch and of course, some diced avocado because there really isn’t much fat in this recipe. And you need fat to feel satisfied and satiated and happy and to make your food taste even better.
Add this easy and family-pleasing Slow Cooker Chicken Chile Verde to your meal plan this week!
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 12-ounce jar Salsa Verde (such as Trader Joe’s)
- 1 4-ounce can fire roasted green chiles
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh cilantro, lime wedges and/or diced avocado for serving, optional
- Cauliflower rice or lettuce leaves for serving
- Place chicken in slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, combine salsa, green chiles, cumin and oregano. Pour over chicken.
- Place lid on slow cooker and cook on LOW heat for 4 - 6 hours.
- Remove lid and allow chicken to cool slightly before shredding it with 2 forks right in the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer to serving dish, top with chopped fresh cilantro and serve with lime wedges, if desired.
- Serve over cauliflower rice or in lettuce wraps.
What’s your favorite ultra-easy slow cooker recipe? Share in the comments below!
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This was SO delicious and couldn’t be simpler. I served in corn tortillas (recommend doubling up b/c there is a lot of liquid) but I also think it would be amazing with some home fries and a poached egg on top. Took me less than 5 mins to throw together and the crock pot did all the work. Thank you for this easy, healthy win!
Thanks for weighing in on this one, Maura! We couldn’t agree more about the poached egg + homefries idea. Glad you loved the recipe and the 5 minute prep time!!
Great recipe. I added 2 jalapenos with seeds diced, 1 green bell pepper and half a sweet onion. Spice mostly cooks off. Left in crock on low for 7 hours.
Served on plated with white rice and kidney beans. Tortilla chips on the side for scoping.
Thanks you! Happy to hear your enjoyed the recipe. And love the sounds of those additions!
I have made this once before and my husband and I both LOVED it! I made it with fresh chicken then, but do you know whether I can make it with frozen chicken without having to thaw it first? Thanks in advance for your help!
Thanks, Danielle!
You technically could use frozen chicken (people do it all the time for those once-a-month freezer meal deals) BUT know that by using a frozen chicken it will take longer for the temperature of the chicken to get to a safe temperature of 165 degrees. The longer the chicken is at a temperature between 40 – 140 degrees, the greater the likelihood of pathogenic (illness-causing) bacteria will multiply to an unsafe level. My suggestion would be to at least partially thaw the chicken under cool running water in the sink (or a microwave if you use one) before tossing it into the slow cooker to be safe.
Hope that helps!
I made this last night and it turned out perfectly! I added one whole sweet potato chopped into small pieces, a n onion, and then an hour before serving I added a bag of frozen corn. It was great! Will make again.
So great to hear! Love the additions you made too. Thanks for sharing your feedback – we appreciate it!
I have homemade tomatillo sauce to use in place of the salsa verde. Curious what ‘one jar’ means measurement wise. Thanks!
Hi Lisa,
Great question – 1 jar, in this case, is 12 ounces. I’ve updated the recipe to reflect this!
Why thighs and breasts? To keep it moist? What adjustments would I make if I just wanted to use all breasts?
Yes, we have found that thighs work best as breast have more of a chance of drying out. However, feel free to use an equal amount of chicken breasts in place of the thighs – I’ve actually made this recipe with just chicken breast and it turned out great. Enjoy!
Have you tried to make this recipe in an Instant Pot on either the “slow cook” or pressure cooking mode? Just wondering if it might change the cook time. I’m trying today on slow cook mode. Hope it ties out well.
Hi Katie,
I use the Slow Cooker feature on my Instant Pot regularly but find that even on it’s lowest setting (“Keep warm”) it runs much hotter than my regular slow cooker – and the cooking time is nearly halved. I’m not sure if it’s just my Instant Pot since it’s a few years old – or if they all run hot when using the slow cooker function. Perhaps someone else can weigh in on this issue?
If you want to you can use the “Poultry” mode (preset for 15 minutes at high pressure). I live at high altitude and sometimes have to add a few extra minutes to my cooking time (about 10%) when the atmospheric pressure is low (aka it’s really cloudy and overcast) – not sure why but that seems to be the case. Start with 15 minutes then release the pressure and see if it’s cooked through. If it’s almost done, I say turn it to ‘saute’ or ‘slow cook’ to cook a little longer if you have the time or lock the lid back in place and give it another 2-3 minutes. Once you do it the first time you’ll have a good idea of how long it takes to cook that amount of protein.
Hope that helps!
Welp I’m going to make this tomorrow in the slow cooker, I am going all boneless, skinless thighs and I did find the verde in the local Trader Joe’s can’t wait! I am going to serve it with corn tortillas and rice and beans though.. little more fattening but I think it’ll be great! Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome Dave. Those changes and additions sound great! Enjoy!
Hi Stacie!
I made this dish yesterday and it’s true! It couldn’t be more simple and delicious!
So easy, everyone should run out and get the ingredients for this a grand slam for sure!
I froze the rest and will make a nacho variation of this for the next meal. Thanks again for the great recipe Stacie!
Hey Dave!
Glad you loved this dish and thank you for your very kind words! It’s truly one of the easiest things you can make in a slow cooker.
Delish!
We spiced it up a bit with jalapenos and added corn!
Thanks for the recipe!
Nice! I like mine spicy too 🙂