Description

Saucy shredded chicken, yellow rice, pickled onions, greens, and cilantro pesto on top. It’s a flavor and color delight

Ingredients

Units Scale

Crockpot Chicken:

1 lb. chicken breasts
8 ounces of a simmer sauce or enchilada sauce that you like (see notes for my recs)
1 tablespoon cornstarch whisked into 1–2 tablespoons water
extra seasoning to taste – I often add a few shakes of chipotle powder, salt, and pepper

Yellow Rice:

1 cup white rice
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon turmeric

Cilantro Pesto

1 1/2 cups cilantro leaves
1/2 jalapeño, ribs and seeds removed
1 clove garlic
juice and zest of 1 lime
1/4 cup olive oil or avocado oil
1/2 cup roasted salted pistachios

Other stuff for the bowl:

Pickled onions (a must for me, every time)
Sour cream and/or your favorite salsa (see notes)
A salad mix

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Instructions

For the Crockpot Chicken: Put the chicken in a slow cooker and cover with sauce; cook for 2 1/2 – 3 hours on high. Shred chicken directly in the slow cooker. Add the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce. Season to taste.
For the Rice: Rinse the rice in a fine mesh colander. Add the rice, water, butter, salt, chili powder, and turmeric to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the cover, fluff it up, and season to taste.
For the Cilantro Pesto: Blend everything up in a small chopper or food processor until smooth-ish (I leave some texture in mine)! It’ll be a very thick sauce, which I love – you can add water as desired to thin it out.
Build Your Bowls: I love the combination of the yellow rice with a scoop of chicken, some salad greens, pickled onions, and a dollop of that cilantro pesto on top!

Notes

Favorite simmer sauces: I love Frontera’s Red Chile Sauce, Somos Al Pastor Sauce, and Siete Enchilada Sauce.

Favorite salsas: Thank you for asking – my favorite salsa, which I am passionate about right now, is the Siete Casera Mild Salsa Roja. It’s smoky and delicious and mild enough for my kids to love it, too. I also love the Mateo’s Salsa.

For meal prep: Store components separately so you can reheat the chicken and rice, while keeping the sauce, pickled onions, and salad greens cold, crispy, and fresh.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Category: Dinner
Method: Crockpot
Cuisine: Mexican-Inspired

Keywords: chicken bowls, crockpot chicken, slow cooker chicken, rice bowl