Salsa Verde Chicken (Slow Cooker or Instant Pot)

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Salsa Verde Chicken is a quick, easy, and flavorful protein made in the slow cooker with pantry ingredients! Great for meal prep and freezer cooking.

Welcome to the first post for Mexican May on the blog! In this post, I am sharing the recipe for one of my favorite proteins to meal prep, and I make this at least once a month (if not more often). Flavorful slow cooker chicken does not have to be hard!

When giving friends and family new meal prep ideas, Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken is one of the first recipes I always recommend because it is quick to prepare, has a short amount of ingredients, and most importantly, it tastes delicious!

Plus, this is great for a low-carb diet because it is a quick way to add flavor and protein to your meals. Per serving, there are only 3 g of net carbs and 23 g of protein.

Only 8 ingredients (6 if you don’t include S&P)!

This salsa verde chicken recipe calls for chicken, salsa verde, and spices (onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper). That’s it! Everything is added to the slow cooker and cooked for a few hours until the meat is tender and can be easily shredded with a fork.

All of the ingredients, except for the chicken, can be kept in your pantry for whenever you need a quick protein that cooks while you are at work or running errands.

Coming home to the smell of this slow cooker chicken cooking is absolutely divine. Is there anything better than cooked food you didn’t have to slave over all day?

Salsa Verde

Salsa Verde is Spanish for “green sauce”, and it is made from tomatillos, onion, jalapeños , lime, and cilantro. If you’ve never had a a tomatillo before, they have a tart, sweet, fruity, and slightly herbal flavor.

To keep preparation easy, use store bought salsa verde which can be found near the other salsas and enchilada sauces. As an alternative, you can prepare your own too which is also very easy and delicious!

My preferred brand of salsa verde is Herdez, but there are several delicious varieties that can be used.

Herdez’s Mild Salsa Verde is a great option for people who do not like very spicy food. It is mild but still has tons of flavor from the ingredients. When I meal prep, I usually use this variety of salsa verde because it won’t be too overpowering in whatever I end up using it for.

Herdez’s Medium Roasted Salsa Verde is also delicious and provides a slightly spicier and more complex flavor. I love using this when I know I will be making quesadillas or burritos with the chicken.

Slow Cooker Chicken Meal Prep

If I am making this salsa verde chicken for meal prep, I will let the chicken cool to room temperature after it is prepared. Once the chicken is cooled, I portion the chicken and the sauce into individual servings sizes in plastic baggies and freeze them. When ready to use it, microwave the chicken in the baggie for about a minute and a half. Then, you can continue using it in whatever recipe you are making.

Feel free to double or triple the recipe and freeze for quick and easy protein. Be sure to label the outside of your plastic baggies with the name of the food and the date it was prepared.

Prepared chicken should last up to a week in the fridge, and I’ve used prepared and frozen salsa verde chicken for up to three months.

Uses for Salsa Verde Chicken

There are so many uses for this slow cooker salsa verde chicken:

• Over cooked white or brown rice
• As a salad topping
• Protein for quesadillas
• For a flautas or taquitos filling (see recipe here)
• Component in burritos or tacos
• Nachos topper
• Taco Soup
• And more…

I love this recipe, and I know you will too! If you make this recipe, send me a picture on Instagram, or leave me a comment below with your favorite way to eat it!

Also be sure to check out these recipes: Slow Cooker Queso Chicken and Copycat Cafe Rio Chicken (Slow Cooker).