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It’s embarrassing how much I make this recipe! I add black beans and corn (both canned and drained) at the end. Love, love, love that my husband requests this meal so often!
This? Ohhhhh, this.
Yeah.
This is possibly the easiest homemade Mexican food. Ever. Also known as soul-warming, snuggle-up-and-get-cozy sweatshirt and blankie comfort food. Also known as my life, minus the sweatshirt and blankie. And never again will I use the word blankie in writing. Bleh.
Ironically it’s something like 110 degrees here, which is not a joke AT ALL and yet still I felt the need to use the sweatshirt analogy? Maybe I’ve been thinkin’ too much about those yummy sweatshirts from Albion Fit. <– pst, that’s a giveaway and you should enter.
This ridiculously easy 5-ingredient crockpot Mexican chicken recipe starts with my love of beans.
When I think of beans, I think of… well, first I think of lentils. I can’t even start on that one because we all know this post will be overtaken with lentil stuffs. And I mean Oooooovertaken.
But coming in at a close second is today’s beloved bean: the pinto.
Pinto beans and I have really gotten close in the last few years. I think it has something to do with these perfect veggie burgers that my friends Alex and Sonja introduced to me (seriously – they are perfect), and then the crockpot chalupas that have become a weekly part of my life, and just my love for Mexican-style beans and all Mexican food in general.
Dear Chipotle, I miss you.
So how exactly is it possible that this recipe has just FIVE ingredients? I don’t even know.
What I do know is that somehow I still managed to get mildly stressed out trying to do a three minute grocery trip to find five ingredients. Bah! This is an unnecessary thought right now (that’s me cryptically reassuring my mom that I’m not pregnant) but sometimes I worry about what my life will be like when we have kids. Someone tell me it’s not just straight up chaos all the time. Someone?
When you need to slow your life down a little bit and not run all over the grocery store in a tizzy, because I’m sure you’re more capable at the hunt for five ingredients than I am, this is your winner.
Five ingredients stand between you and crockpot Mexican chicken. Unless you still need to buy a crockpot. Go! Go now.
Speaking of slow, this guy needs to cook for a long time. Blame it on the beans – they take forever and a half to cook. I started to worry that my chicken was getting dry, so I took it out when it was done and just let it chill (yep) in the refrigerator while the beans cooked their slow selves away. Then a year later when the beans were done, I added the chicken back in the crockpot and shredded it up.
And before this post ends, I’m going to mention just a few of the endless possibilities for customizing this Mexican crockpot goodness into your favorite thing ever.
- Leave out the cream cheese.
- Add all the cream cheese.
- Add corn.
- Use canned beans: omit most of the water and reduce the cooking time.
- Add corn before cooking.
- Add sauteed peppers after cooking.
- Use homemade salsa.
- Use less beans.
- Use more chicken.
TRUTH: the best thing you could give yourself with this warm, saucy crockpot Mexican chicken is a big ol’ burrito with a smashed avocado in there for good measure. I repeat: smashed avocado. Do you disagree? Too bad. Not allowed.
On second thought, I will also accept dipping with chips.
It’s unnatural how much I love Hint of Lime.
By the way, how many of these ingredients do you already have?
Burrito, coming your way.
Crockpot Mexican Chicken
- Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
Description
A 5-ingredient recipe for crockpot Mexican chicken and pinto beans. Perfect for easy burritos, tacos, and enchiladas. Quick and easy dinner!
Ingredients
- 1 jar of your favorite salsa (I like to use 1 1/2 jars… just because)
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 1 lb. chicken breasts
- 1 lb. dry pinto beans, rinsed
- 2–3 tablespoons taco seasoning (1 packet if using store bought)
- 2 ounces or more light cream cheese (totally optional – just adds creaminess)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Place the pinto beans, salsa, and water in a slow cooker or Crockpot. Stir to get the liquid in and around the beans. Place the chicken breasts on top. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8 hours.
- After about 3 hours, remove the lid and check on the mixture. Stir to keep the beans from sticking to the bottom and add a little more water if necessary. Don’t open the lid more than once or twice – it adds to the cooking time.
- When the beans and chicken are cooked, gently shred the chicken with two forks. It should shred very easily. Add the taco seasoning and cream cheese and let the mixture sit for another 15-30 minutes. Serve with rice, tortillas, or chips. Top with avocado, cheese, and cilantro.
Notes
If you use canned beans, omit the water and reduce the amount of cooking time. Also, if you are worried about the chicken getting dry, remove the chicken breasts after 3 hours or so when they are fully cooked, store in the fridge, and add them back in at the end. I have tried it both ways and they’ve both worked fine.
This makes about 8 cups, so I’m roughly calculating 16 servings (about 1/2 cup each).
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: crockpot mexican chicken, mexican chicken, shredded chicken
This didn’t work out for me! The beans are super hard so I took out the chicken and I’m turning my instant pot to pressure cook… Will definitely use canned next time.
I made this tonight and itās outstanding! Super easy, perfect length to cook, and flavorful (used chicken thighs). We added tortillas & sour cream to make it burrito night with a flare. Thanks!
Let me start by saying the end result of this recipe was delicious, perfect Mexican beans and chicken and was quickly devoured! Flavor wise this recipe is 5 stars but I’m giving it 3 stars because it desperately needs to be tested and rewritten.
Here was my experience: Based on comments, I decided to soak the beans overnight. I added the pinto beans and 1 Tbsp of salt to a bowl and covered with water such that the water level was 2 inches above the top of the beans. Gave it a quick stir and let it sit covered for ~12hrs. In the morning I drained the beans and followed step 1 as written (with the exception that my chicken was still frozen upon entering the crockpot). I set the crockpot to high and left it for 4 hours. When I came back the chicken was cooked through so I pulled it out, shredded it and put it in the fridge. The beans were still VERY hard so I let the crock pot continue to run, in the end it was for another 4 hours on high (8 hours total on high for the beans)! At this point it was too late in the day to eat it so I let the crockpot with the beans cool and stuck it in the fridge. The next evening I took half the beans and half the chicken and reheated them in a pot on the stove. I added 1 Tbsp of homemade taco seasoning and 1 oz of cream cheese and stirred until the cream cheese was melted and evenly dispersed. I served it as taco filling with Spanish rice on the side.
Overall, very yummy flavor but it took much longer than advertised (there is no way those bean would have been edible at 4 hours on high). I will be making this again but now I can be prepared for it to take all day. This is definitely a weekend kind of meal since the chicken needs to be pulled out after 3-4hrs and the beans needed to be stirred every few hours. Not something I could comfortably leave cooking while I’m gone at work.
The recipe says it makes 16 servings. But uses 1 lb of chicken. Does that make each serving 1 Oz? I track macros so I use the nutrition information provided, but the #of servings seems off. Can you clarify?
Hi Lisa! This recipe makes about 8 cups, so we roughly calculated 16 servings (about 1/2 cup each).
Do you have an Instant Pot variation of this?
Also, you don’t need to soak the beans first?
Hi Lindsey! We don’t have an Instant Pot version of this recipe, but we think it could be easily adapted to work in the Instant Pot. Just not sure on timing. Lindsay didn’t soak her beans when she made the recipe, but she would recommend doing so overnight.
This was delicious but I made it with dry pinto beans and it took 8 hours for the beans to cook! My family loved it but it was not ready when I thought it would be.
I normally read recipe comments but today was pressed for time & since I highly regard ur site I just went ahead & made this faulty recipe with DRIED EFFING BEANS that aren’t done so kids will have mac tonight, I’m SO disappointed that u couldn’t just edit ur recipe. How hard is that to do?! I knew in my heart of hearts I should’ve used can beans, such horse#$&@.
This dish looks amazing. I wish I could eat that right now!
YUM! Made this today and loved it! Used 3 cans of beans instead of dry beans due to all the comments about timing. Cooked on high for about 3.5 hours before shredding, adding taco seasoning, and cream cheese. Turned out great! Served it on tortillas with cilantro lime rice, guacamole, and a little cheese, tomato, and sour cream to top it off. Thanks for a great recipe for the whole family!!!
THIS WAS SO EASY + DELISH! used canned beans and no dramas- so good! Thankyou! X
Thanks so much for this delicious looking recipe, Lindsay – looks delicious and can’t wait to try what I’m sure will be another great POY recipe. Question – why wait to add the taco seasoning until the end? I’ve made similar recipes in the past and have always added the spices at the beginning. Would love to hear your rationale! š
I love this recipe. I’ve made it several times. I usually use only half the recommended chicken . Definitely 1.5 jars of salsa:) And leftovers freeze well š
How would you suggest changing the cooking time for chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts? I’m new to crockpotting =)
I made this today. I soaked the bean overnight but it did take many hours of further cooking to get it right. I took the chicken out after 3 hours and set aside. The beans cooked the majority of the day. But the results? Delicious!!!
Hello.
Could you please clarify a few things regarding Crockpot Mexican Chicken? How many ounces of salsa? If using canned beans, how many cans? Should bean liquid be discarded? Thanks!
I’ve been searching for this for ages and finally found it! This was the first serious dinner iv’e ever made and I fell in love with it. I make it at least once a month, have it down in my head step by step, and my family absolutely loves it. This recipe is the reason why I started cooking as a hobby and I have gotten better at it because of this. This recipe though, its to die for. It would make anyone smile, ANYONE. Thank you.
So glad to hear that! š
I love love LOVE this recipe! I have made it multiple times and it is my go to for company. We do it nacho style with chips, sour cream, cheese, lettuce tomatoes etc. All the taco/nacho fixings and let them dress it however they like. Few fresh lime wedges to brighten the flavor. SOOO GOOD THANK YOU!
Glad to hear it, Wendy!
I tried this recipe for dinner and it was a hit with everyone even the picky eaters. š It was simple and easy to make.
OK, so it needs 8 hours in my crock pot – 6 on high, 2 on low with unsoaked, washed pinto beans. Came out fantastic!
Great, Patricia! Thanks for the feedback.
I read a few of the comments and got worried about the beans not cooking. So I placed my washed beans, salsa and chicken (a breast, a little over a lb) into the crock pot, mixed and put it on high for 6 hours. At this point the beans had started to soften so I took the chicken apart like suggested and added 2 more hours on low. Before closing the lid I added a small tsp of chicken base (Better Than Bouillon, from Wholefoods or BJs) and sprinkled some paprika as well as taco seasoning on it (maybe a tsp each?). It’s already tasting awesome after about 30 min. on low. I think the dish will be ready soon (i.e. after 7 hours, 6 of them cooking on high, 1 on low). I might have to add a bit more seasoning but my son loved it as is.
I read a few of the comments and got worried about the beans not cooking. So I placed my washed beans, salsa and chicken (a breast, a little of a lb) into the crock pot, mixed and put it on high for 6 hours. At this point the beans had started to soften so I took the chicken apart like suggested and added 2 more hours on low. Before closing the lid I added a small tsp of chicken base (Better Than Bouillon, from Wholefoods or BJs) and sprinkled some paprika as well as taco seasoning on it (maybe a tsp each?). It’s already tasting awesome after about 30 min. on low. I think the dish will be ready soon (i.e. after 7 hours, 6 of them cooking on high, 1 on low). I might have to add a bit more seasoning but my son loved it as is.
What is the best way to freeze and re-heat this?
Thank you š
Wendy
Hi, Wendy! I’ve frozen this before, and it works great. I waited until the completed recipe had cooled to room temp, then put it into gallon sized freezer bags. When you want to re-heat, transfer from the freezer to the fridge the day/night beforehand to thaw. Once thawed, reheat on the stovetop or put it back in the crockpot to reheat slowly over an hour or two. š
It’s embarrassing how much I make this recipe! I add black beans and corn (both canned and drained) at the end. Love, love, love that my husband requests this meal so often!
Glad you enjoy it!
Made this exactly as the recipe called for (sans cream cheese) and it came out great! I ate it like a chipotle bowl and it was so good.
I think one of the issues with the beans might be due to possible differences in crock pots. I have one with a locking lid, so that might have helped.
Only thing I would change is that it was a little bean heavy for us. I will probably cut the beans in half and the water accordingly.
Great tips Nikki, thanks!