Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken

Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken — 🎉💃🙌 An EASY recipe for fiesta ranch chicken that the whole family LOVES! There’s tender chicken, cream cheese, salsa, black beans, green chiles, and more which creates a little fiesta in your mouth! Serve it as-is, over rice, or in tacos. Perfect for busy weeknight dinners or make it for your next game-day party! 

The BEST Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken Recipe

With back-to-school season just around the corner, having an easy chicken dinner recipe in your back pocket that the whole family loves is such a relief!

This slow cooker fiesta chicken is just that recipe.

There’s tender shredded chicken mixed together with cream cheese, salsa, black beans, corn, green chiles, fiesta ranch seasoning mix, and an array of other spices. It’s got a great Mexican meets Tex-Mex vibe to it.

The finished dish is great served as-is, over rice. Or, enjoy it as fiesta ranch chicken tacos. That’s how we love to enjoy this comfort food dinner the most! I mean tacos are always a good idea.

To save on cleanup, this family-friendly slow cooker chicken meal is made in one pot which is actually a Crock-Pot in this case. 

As a bonus, there’s nothing to sear or start off first in a skillet. Everything for your slow cooker fiesta ranch chicken is made right in the slow cooker.

Ingredients Needed

There are lots of ingredients in slow cooker fiesta ranch chicken. However, all of them are easy to find and very common fridge and pantry staples including the following:

• Ground cumin
• Smoked paprika – Smoked paprika gives such an awesome smoky flavor but regular paprika is fine
• Chili powder
• Onion powder – Try a bit of actual diced white onion rather than onion powder
• Garlic powder – Freshly minced garlic works instead of garlic powder
• Salt
• Olive oil
• Boneless skinless chicken breasts – Feel free to use boneless chicken thighs instead
• Reduced sodium chicken broth (or water)
• Cream cheese – Don’t use reduced-fat cream cheese or any type of “lite” cream cheese. It is made with more water, rather than fat, and your fiesta chicken mixture could be soupy if you use a lite cream cheese product rather than full-fat
• Dry fiesta ranch seasoning mix
• Salsa – I am partial to red salsa but a tried and true salsa verde is okay. If you want thicker and chunkier fiesta chicken, use a thicker and chunkier salsa – perhaps one with beans and corn in it, too
• Corn – Frozen or fresh corn are acceptable swaps for canned corn
• Canned black beans
• Canned diced green chiles
• Corn tortillas (or flour tortillas), if serving as tacos 
• Queso fresco (or Mexican shredded cheese blend), optional for garnishing
• Mexican crema (or sour cream thinned with milk), optional for garnishing
• Cilantro, optional for garnishing
• Lime wedges, optional for garnishing

Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.

How to Make Fiesta Chicken in a Slow Cooker

To make this crock pot fiesta chicken recipe, follow these basic, easy, straightforward steps:

1. Combine the dry spices and salt in a small bowl.
2. Rub the chicken with olive oil and then coat all sides with the spice mixture.
3. Place the chicken in a slow cooker with the chicken broth or water and slow cook on high for 3 hours.
4. Shred the chicken when it’s done.
5. Place it back in the slow cooker along with the cream cheese, fiesta ranch seasoning mix, salsa, corn, black beans, and green chilis, stir, cover, and slow cook for 2 to 3 hours before serving as desired!

What to Serve with Fiesta Chicken

Skinny Mexican Bean Salad with Corn

Mexican Rice, Beans, and Quinoa Medley

Creamy Mexican Grilled Corn and Zucchini Salad

Cheesy Baked Mexican Street Corn Dip

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4.91 from 10 votes

Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken

By Averie Sunshine

🎉💃🙌 An EASY recipe for fiesta ranch chicken that the whole family LOVES! There’s tender chicken, cream cheese, salsa, black beans, green chiles, and more which creates a little fiesta in your mouth! Serve it as-is, over rice, or in tacos. Perfect for busy weeknight dinners or make it for your next game-day party! 

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours hours

Total Time: 6 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 servings

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Equipment

• 1 Large Bowl
• 1 (7-8 Quart) Slow Cooker

Ingredients 

• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, regular paprika may be substituted
• ▢ 1 teaspoon chili powder, use 2 to 3 teaspoons for a spicier dish
• ▢ 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts*
• ▢ 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth, or water
• ▢ 8 ounces brick-style full-fat cream cheese, cubed and softened to room temp**
• ▢ one 1.1 ounce packet dry fiesta ranch seasoning mix, or your favorite flavor of ranch seasoning mix
• ▢ 12 ounces red salsa***
• ▢ 15 ounces canned corn, drained well (frozen or freshly shaved corn may also be used)
• ▢ 15 ounces canned black beans, drained and rinsed (I use reduced sodium beans)
• ▢ 7 ounces canned diced green chiles, do not drain
• ▢ 10 corn tortillas, or flour tortillas, if serving as tacos

Garnishes (Optional)

• ▢ Queso fresco, or Mexican shredded cheese blend
• ▢ Mexican crema, or sour cream thinned with milk
• ▢ Cilantro
• ▢ Lime wedges

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Instructions 

• In a bowl combine the cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and stir to combine the spice rub mixture.
• Evenly drizzle the chicken breasts with olive oil and then pat on the spice rub evenly all over both sides of each chicken breast.
• Place the chicken breasts in a large 7 to 8-quart slow cooker, add the broth, cover, and slow cook on HIGH heat for about 3 hours, or until chicken is done (165F internal temp).
• Place the chicken on a cutting board and shred it using two forks. Alternatively, you can shred chicken by placing it in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted the the paddle attachment, and mixing on low speed until shredded.
• Add the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker.
• Add the cream cheese, fiesta ranch seasoning mix (or another flavor of dry ranch seasoning mix), salsa, corn, beans, green chiles (do not drain), stir to combine, cover with the lid, and slow cook on LOW for 2 to 3 hours, or until bubbly; OR slow cook on HIGH for 1 hour or until bubbly.
• Serve immediately, as desired – either plain and as-is, over rice, in a lettuce leave like a lettuce wrap, or in tortillas. Tip – Soften tortillas by wrapping them in a kitchen towel and microwave them for about 30 seconds or just until warmed. Additionally, you can blister or brown them in a dry skillet over medium-high heat. It only takes about 30 seconds per side, at most.
• Garnish with your favorite cheese, Mexican crema, sour cream, cilantro, lime juice; all optional and as desired. Fiesta chicken will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Reheat gently and on low heat.

Notes

*You need two pounds of chicken for this recipe and if you are buying the very large boneless skinless chicken breasts from your butcher that are about 1 pound each, you may want to consider pounding them a bit thinner or even slicing them in half. Thinner chicken cooks faster and for me, that’s always better.

If you’re buying the two pounds of chicken as 4 or 5 breasts, then no need to concern yourself with pounding or halving.

**Don’t use reduced fat cream cheese or any type of “lite” cream cheese. It is made with more water, rather than fat, and your fiesta chicken mixture could be soupy if you use a lite cream cheese product rather than full fat.

***If you want thicker and chunkier fiesta chicken, use a thicker and chunkier salsa – perhaps one with bean and corn in it, too. I am not a fan of thinner Mexican restaurant-style salsa for this recipe and prefer salsa with a chunkier texture. But it's up to you. You can use red or green salsa although visually, and for me the taste, red salsa is preferred.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 488kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 41g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g, Cholesterol: 114mg, Sodium: 1282mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 7g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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