This pulled chicken recipe makes the juiciest shredded chicken in the slow cooker. It’s cooked with a zesty blend of salsa and Mexican-inspired seasonings, perfect for serving in buns or tacos. And the best part is, it cooks itself!
Use this saucy salsa chicken to make pulled chicken sandwiches, or load it into tortillas for tacos, enchiladas, and more. I also have an easy slow cooker pulled pork recipe that you can try next!
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The crock pot has to be the best way to make pulled chicken. Cooking over low and slow heat for hours makes the chicken exceptionally juicy, while the crock locks in all that moisture and flavor. This pulled chicken recipe turned out so delicious, filled with Mexican-inspired flavor thanks to salsa and a few easy spices. I couldn’t wait to serve it between buns for pulled chicken sandwiches the other night, but since the possibilities are endless, I’m thinking tacos are next!
What Makes This Pulled Chicken Recipe So Great
- Hands-free. Since this recipe uses the slow cooker, there’s very little hands-on prep. Assemble everything inside the crock pot or cooker, hit start, and come back hours later to fall-apart tender, juicy chicken that’s ready to shred.
- Versatile. Use this zesty salsa chicken in sandwiches, tacos, nachos, fajita bowls, and more. You can make a big batch and freeze it, too, so you have it on hand for last-minute meals.
- Adaptable. This recipe is easy to customize depending on what you like. Amp up the taco flavor, make it spicy, or try a different flavor profile altogether. I include some easy variation ideas further in the post.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Below are the ingredients I use to make this zesty slow cooker pulled chicken. All of them are easy to find and might already be in the pantry. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the printable ingredients list, amounts, and a photo step-by-step afterward.
- Chicken – I recommend boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs for this recipe as they’re easiest to shred.
- Salsa – Choose your favorite brand from the store, or you can use homemade salsa.
- Brown Sugar – You can also use granulated sugar or another sweetener, like honey, agave syrup, or maple syrup.
- Spices – I use a blend of paprika (sweet or smoked), onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder, plus salt and pepper to taste. You can substitute the individual spices or amp up the flavor with taco seasoning or fajita seasoning.
Tips and Variations
- Check that the chicken is cooked. Chicken is done when the internal temperature reaches 165ºF at the thickest part of the breast or thigh. An instant-read meat thermometer makes it super easy to check chicken for doneness.
- Make it spicy. Use hot salsa or sprinkle in cayenne pepper or crushed chili flakes for extra kick. You could also add a little enchilada sauce to give the recipe more heat.
- Green salsa. Make this pulled chicken more similar to my salsa verde chicken by using green tomatillo salsa instead of red salsa.
- Make BBQ chicken. Replace the salsa with barbecue sauce, and the Tex-Mex seasoning with chicken seasoning for a variation of BBQ pulled chicken instead.Â
Ways to Serve Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken
I like to serve the chicken between fluffy buns for easy pulled chicken sandwiches. It’s great whenever we entertain, since everyone can serve themselves straight from the crock pot. There are a number of ways to enjoy this pulled chicken recipe. These are a few more of my favorite ideas:
- Tacos. Serve pulled chicken tacos topped with sour cream, avocado, shredded cheese (or cotija cheese), guacamole, slaw, and any of your favorite taco toppings.
- Bowls. I love adding this chicken to fajita bowls, rice bowls, and other meal bowls for a protein boost.
- Wraps. Roll this chicken up in flatbread or tortillas for an easy chicken wrap. It makes a delicious light lunch.
- Tex-Mex. Use pulled chicken to make chicken nachos, or try it as a filling in enchiladas, chicken flautas, and more.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Store pulled chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I’ll often serve leftover pulled chicken cold in chicken salad sandwiches or stir leftovers into chicken taco soup.
- Freeze. The chicken freezes wonderfully for up to 3 months. Store it in an airtight container or freezer bag and thaw it in the fridge before reheating or serving.
- Reheat. Warm the chicken in the microwave or on the stovetop before serving.
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Assemble. In a slow cooker, add salsa, brown sugar, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin powder, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken.
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Cook. Cover and cook the chicken on a HIGH setting for 3 hours or on LOW for 4-5 hours.
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Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker. Shred the chicken using two forks, and add ¼ cup of the cooking/salsa sauce to the shredded chicken. Serve in buns or tacos.
- You can substitute chicken breast with boneless and skinless chicken thighs.
- For more flavor, you can use some extra Taco seasoning.
Calories: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 925mg | Potassium: 914mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1611IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken
This recipe follows a similar method to my slow cooker chicken breast. The difference here is that when all’s said and done, we’ll shred the chicken and mix it back into the juices.
- Combine the ingredients. Add your salsa, brown sugar, seasonings to the crock pot or slow cooker. Then, nestle the chicken breasts inside and stir to coat.
- Cook. Set the chicken to cook on High for 3 hours, or Low for 4-6 hours.Â
- Shred the chicken. When the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the slow cooker and use two forks to shred it. Afterward, stir about ¼ cup of the leftover cooking sauce into the shredded chicken. It’s ready to serve! See below for suggestions.
More Crock Pot Chicken Recipes
