Slow Cooker Chicken Chile Verde

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.

Want it faster?

Don’t worry, we also have Instant Pot directions in the recipe below so you can get dinner on the table even faster. Just toss everything in, lock the lid in place select the ‘Poultry’ setting or set for 15 minutes on high pressure. It really doesn’t get any easier than that.

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 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 desert 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.

Curious about how to choose the best quality chicken? Check out this post where we help you decode poultry labels

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 lifesaver 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!

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Let's Get Cookin'

Slow Cooker Chicken Chile Verde

It hardly gets any easier than this recipe with just 5 ingredients! Look for a salsa verde without preservatives or added sugars – we like the Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde because it’s just tomatillos, green chiles, water, onions, jalapenos, salt, and spices. Serve over cauliflower rice or tucked into lettuce wraps.

• Author: The Real Food Dietitians
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 5-6 hours
• Total Time: 6 hours 5 mins
• Yield: 6-8 1x
• Category: Slow Cooker, Main Dish

Print Recipe

★★★★★ 4.8 from 12 reviews

Ingredients

• 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 (such as Simply Organic)
• ½ tsp dried oregano (such as Simply Organic)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh cilantro, lime wedges and/or diced avocado for serving, optional
• Cauliflower rice or lettuce leaves for serving

Instructions

Slow Cooker Directions:

1. Place chicken in the slow cooker.
2. In a small bowl, combine salsa, green chiles, cumin, and oregano. Pour over chicken.
3. Place lid on the slow cooker and cook on LOW heat for 4 – 6 hours.
4. Remove lid and allow the chicken to cool slightly before shredding it with 2 forks right in the slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Transfer to a serving dish, top with chopped fresh cilantro and serve with lime wedges, if desired.
6. Serve over cauliflower rice or in lettuce wraps.

Instant Pot Directions:

1. Place ingredients in the Instant Pot. Put the lid on and make sure vent is sealed.
2. Set Instant Pot to ‘Poultry’ setting or set the cooking time for 15 minutes at high pressure.
3. Once cooking is completed, allow natural releasing of pressure for 5 minutes then switch the valve to ‘vent’.
4. When all of the pressure releases and lid unlocks, remove the chicken and shred chicken with two forks. Toss chicken back into the pot to coat with sauce (or carefully shred the chicken right in the pot, if you’d like).

Notes

All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to the source recipe here on The Real Food Dietitians. Thank you!

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 4 oz.
• Calories: 195
• Sugar: 1g
• Sodium: 495mg
• Fat: 7g
• Carbohydrates: 5g
• Fiber: 3g
• Protein: 27g

What’s your favorite ultra-easy slow cooker recipe? Share in the comments below!

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Photo Credit: The photos in this blog post were taken by Jess of Plays Well with Butter. 

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