Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

23 Comments

5 from 4 votes
5 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes
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Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken is a bold and flavorful dish. Use as a taco filling or make into a tasty soup for an easy weeknight dinner.

Slow Cooker Meals make weeknight dinners easy! Try our other slow cooker meals like Slow Cooker Taco Soup or Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas for easy meals to during the busy week.

Sabrina’s Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Recipe

Salsa Verde is a milder, tangier salsa that mellows it out in the slow cooker. What you get is a super easy, delicious chicken you can serve with rice any day of the week. With so many great ways to serve, it will quickly become a family favorite!

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Recipe

Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken is a bold and flavorful dish. Use as a taco filling or make into a tasty soup for an easy weeknight dinner.
Yield 5 Servings
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes
Course Dinner
Cuisine Mexican
Author Sabrina Snyder
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 5 chicken thighs
  • 1 tablespoon chicken base , optional but highly recommended
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 jalapeno , sliced thinly
  • 14 ounces salsa verde
  • 1 lime , juiced

Instructions

  • Rub the chicken base, salt, pepper and cumin over the chicken thighs and add them to the slow cooker.
  • Divide 1 cup of salsa verde and the jalapeno slices over the pieces of chicken and cook on low for 7 hours.
  • Add in the remaining salsa and lime juice and cook for 1 last hour before serving.

Notes

* See Homemade Salsa Verde Recipe in post.

Nutrition

Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 1130mg | Potassium: 413mg | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 615IU | Vitamin C: 10.2mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1.1mg

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About this Recipe

This Salsa Verde has all the amazing flavors you will find at your favorite Mexican restaurant. It tastes almost like Creamy Chicken Poblano Pepper Soup but with a little Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili flavor mixed in. You can adjust the spices to taste by add more or less depending on your preference. With so many great ways to serve, you will be adding it to your list of favorite menu options for dinner!

Ingredients

Homemade Salsa Verde Recipe

  • 1 pound tomatillos, husk and core removed
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 serrano chile pepper, chopped
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
  • 3 cups water

Add the ingredients to a large Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, for 15-20 minutes, or until the tomatillos are soft and breaking down. Puree with immersion blender off the heat carefully to avoid splatter.

What to Pair With

This Salsa Verde Chicken is great served over rice or roasted corn, shredded into tacos, burritos, tamales, quesadillas and more. You can also add Fajita Vegetables to the side as a healthy side dish.

Alternative Cooking Technique

Oven Method

Add the ingredients as directed and brown the chicken well on both sides in a Cast Iron Skillet. Add the peppers and salsa on top and bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through. Top with additional salsa before serving if desired.

Variations

  • Salsa Verde Chicken Casserole: Add a box of seasoned cornmeal mix to a pan and bake, then top with this shredded chicken.
  • Salsa Verde Chicken and Rice: Instead of adding the ingredients into a slow cooker add them exactly the same way to a baking dish. Add in rice and broth.
  • Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas: Add to tortillas with cheese and sour cream, roll into cigar shape then top with the cooking liquid and more jack cheese. Bake at 375 degrees until cheese is hot and bubbly.
  • Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos: To use in tacos you can shred as is, or you can swap for thin chicken breasts and cook for 3-4 hours before removing and cutting into cubes.
  • Salsa Verde Chicken Pasta: Make a butter/flour mixture in your pan (4 tbs of each) and whisk until the flour is cooked, then add in cream, jack cheese and 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Allow to thicken, stir in pasta and top with chicken.

More Slow Cooker Recipes

salsa verde chicken recipe

These photos were in a previous version of this post

slow cooker salsa verde chicken
Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken
Salsa Verde Chicken

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. This looks delicious! For a smaller crock pot, would recommend reducing the number of thighs in the pot or would it still be alright if I could squeeze them all in?

    Reply

    1. You’ll want to make sure not to over crowd the slow cooker. Make sure that whatever amount you use can easily sit in a single layer at the bottom of the slow cooker. Enjoy!

      Reply

  2. If making the pasta dish you mention, how much cream and jack cheese should be added to the roux and 2 cups of cooking liquid? This was delicious with southwestern rice and I plan to also use the meat for tacos as you suggest! Thanks for yet another easy, flavor-bomb triumph! You’re a staple in our kitchen!

    Reply

    1. I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes! I’m so sorry this comment got stuck in the spam filter and I just came across it. I know your meal is long gone now. I would do 4 ounces softened cream cheese and a cup of shredded jack cheese.

      Reply

  3. Can this dish be cooked on a high setting, slow cooker, or is it best to cook it slow for 7 hours? I’m making it tomorrow. Sounds delish! I love salsa verde!

    Reply

  4. I made the recipe as directed, but I used a small 2 lb pork butt for taco filling, It was very good.

    Reply

  11. Slow Cooker .. chopped onion, garlic in bottom, 4 – 5 chicken thighs, cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt pepper and bottle salsa verde. Cook high 2 hrs. I add 3 big chunks green zucchini. Cook 2 1/2 hrs high. Delicious.. add cilantro towards end

    Reply

  12. Recipes sounds great! Do you offer any for the Instant Pot ? Is there a way to convert your slow cooker recipes for the Instant Pot? Thanks!

    Reply

    1. I haven’t tested this using an Instant Pot but I’m sure you could find a recipe online with similar ingredients and follow that. Hope this helps!

      Reply