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This Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken is one of those recipes where you toss everything in, walk away, and come back to a kitchen that smells so incredible your family will think you’ve been cooking all day. We’re talking about tender, juicy, perfectly spiced shredded chicken swimming in a sweet and savory pineapple salsa verde sauce that is just perfect. You have to taste it.
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It works in tacos, burritos, enchiladas, burrito bowls, Cafe Rio-style salads, or honestly just on its own with a good side of guacamole and a fork. It is endlessly versatile and absolutely delicious, and I need you to make it as soon as possible.
This Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Pineapple Mexican Shredded Chicken is definitely one of my new favorites, but it’s also a result of being totally lazy, so ya know, there’s that too.
I’m just being totally honest with you. I was feeling a bit worn out and needed a quick and easy chicken recipe. Oh, and because I know some of you are Instant Pot people and some of you are slow cooker people, I’ve got you covered both ways. No matter which you reach for, this Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken delivers every single time.
Ingredients For Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken
Here’s the thing about this Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken, the ingredient list is short, but every single one of these things is pulling its weight in a big way. Here’s what you’ll need and why it matters:
- Chicken Breasts: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts work best.
- Salsa Verde: Brings a bright, tangy, slightly spicy base that makes this chicken taste like it came from your favorite Mexican restaurant. Use whichever brand and heat level your family loves best!
- Crushed Pineapple: Don’t skip this! The pineapple adds the most wonderful subtle sweetness that balances the heat of the salsa verde and makes this sauce completely unique and totally addictive.
- Heavy Cream: This is what gives the sauce that rich, slightly creamy finish that ties everything together beautifully. It also helps the sauce thicken up during the long slow cooker cook time.
- Fire Roasted Tomatoes: These add a deep, smoky, slightly sweet tomato flavor that takes the sauce to a whole new level. Fire-roasted makes all the difference here, so do not swap them out for regular canned tomatoes if you can help it!
- Coriander, Smoked Paprika, and Cumin: This trio of spices is the warm, smoky, slightly earthy backbone of the whole dish.
- Salt: Simple, but essential!
That’s the whole list! Simple, pantry-friendly ingredients that come together into something that tastes like you worked way harder than you did. You’ll find the exact measurements in the recipe card below!
How to Make Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken
This might be the easiest part of the whole post to write, because making this Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken is genuinely as simple as it gets. Ready? Here we go:
Crock Pot Instructions:
- Add:. Toss all of the ingredients into your slow cooker and give everything a good stir to combine. You want it all evenly mixed so nothing sticks to the bottom. The flavors will get well acquainted right from the start.
- Cook: Place the lid on and cook on low heat for 3 hours. Walk away! Go do literally anything else. The crockpot has got this.
- Shred:. After 3 hours, remove the chicken breasts and shred them on a cutting board using two forks. Place the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker and let it cook for one more hour. This will allow it to soak up all that incredible sauce.
- Serve: Pile it into tacos, spoon it over rice, stuff it into burritos. The possibilities are truly endless.
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Drain: Before adding anything to the Instant Pot, drain the excess liquid off of the salsa verde and crushed pineapple. This keeps things from getting too watery since the Instant Pot doesn’t have the long cook time to reduce things down.
- Add: Place all of the ingredients into the Instant Pot, stir to combine, place the lid on, and set the valve to seal.
- Cook: Set to manual high pressure for 10 minutes. That’s it!
- Shred: Remove the chicken, shred it on a cutting board, then return it to the Instant Pot and toss with the sauce before serving.
And if you haven’t seen our Instant Pot Cheat Sheet, go check it out!
Whether you go the slow cooker route or reach for the Instant Pot, this Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken could not be easier to pull off. You’ll have a dinner table full of very happy people. That’s my kind of recipe!
Substitutions and Variations
- Tomatillo Salsa Swap: Salsa verde and tomatillo salsa are essentially the same thing. Use whichever you love and whatever heat level works for your family: mild, medium, or hot all work beautifully here!
- Frozen Chicken: In a pinch, you can use frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot! Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes with a natural release. Just know that frozen chicken releases extra water, so for the best flavor, drain off the excess liquid after cooking. Then, add the remaining ingredients, and cook for another 5 minutes to let everything come together.
- Spice It Up: Love bold flavor? You can customize the spice blend on this Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken all you want! Try adding chili powder, adobo, cilantro, cayenne, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, onion powder, or a pinch of Mexican oregano to take things in a different direction.
- Make It Dairy Free: If you need to skip the heavy cream, you can leave it out entirely. The sauce will be thinner but still absolutely delicious. You can also swap for coconut milk.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
This Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken is a dream to make ahead! In fact, the flavor gets even better the next day as the chicken sits and soaks up all that sauce! Let it cool completely and store in a sealed airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, making it perfect for meal prepping tacos, burrito bowls, and easy lunches all week long.
To reheat, simply warm it in a skillet over medium-low heat or microwave covered in 1-2 minute increments, stirring in between. It also freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Just thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat when you’re ready to go!
What To Eat With Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken
This chicken is so versatile that the hardest part is deciding what to serve alongside it! Our Cilantro Lime Rice is the perfect bright and buttery base, and a scoop of our Mexican Black Beans on the side makes it feel like a full restaurant-worthy meal right at home.
For corn lovers, our One Skillet Creamed Mexican Street Corn is sweet, creamy, and ready in just 10 minutes. Round it all out with our Spanish Rice, and you have a Mexican feast the whole family will absolutely love!
Once you make this Slow Cooker Pineapple Mexican Chicken, I promise it is going to become one of those recipes you come back to again and again. The combination of sweet pineapple, tangy salsa verde, fire-roasted tomatoes, and warm spices creates a sauce so good you will want to put it on everything.
More Crock Pot Recipes:
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice
- Slow Cooker Garlic Chicken
- Crock Pot Cafe Rio Chicken
- Slow Cooker Smothered BBQ Beef
- All our CROCKPOT and SLOW COOKER recipes here!
Watch How to Make This Recipe…
Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken Breasts, Boneless Skinless
- 16 Ounce Salsa Verde, La Victoria Chunky
- 8 Ounce Pineapple, Crushed
- 1 Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes, 14.5 oz
- ½ Cup Heavy Cream
- ¼ teaspoon Coriander, Ground
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Cumin, Ground
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Slow Cooker Instructions
- In a slow cooker or crockpot set to low heat, add all of the ingredients, stirring to combine.4 Chicken Breasts, 16 Ounce Salsa Verde, 8 Ounce Pineapple, ½ Cup Heavy Cream, ¼ teaspoon Coriander, ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika, 1 teaspoon Cumin, Salt to taste, 1 Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- Place the lid on and allow to cook for 3 hours. Remove the chicken and shred it on a cutting board. Place back in the slow cooker for 1 more hour.
- Serve!
Instant Pot Instructions
- Drain the liquid off of the salsa and pineapple so there isn’t too much in the instant pot.16 Ounce Salsa Verde, 8 Ounce Pineapple
- In an instant pot, add all of the ingredients, stirring to combine.4 Chicken Breasts, 16 Ounce Salsa Verde, 8 Ounce Pineapple, ½ Cup Heavy Cream, ¼ teaspoon Coriander, ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika, 1 teaspoon Cumin, Salt to taste, 1 Can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- Place the lid on, setting the valve to seal and turn the instant pot on to manual high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Remove the chicken and shred it on a cutting board. Place back in the instant pot and toss with the sauce.
- Serve
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Loved this! I made it in my crockpot
and deviated from the recipe only a little: had to use a smooth salsa since I couldn’t find chunky, and I added a bit of diced onion. The flavor and fragrance were both heavenly! I served it over rice, sprinkled on a bit more smoked paprika, a little cheese, and some chopped cilantro.
Next time I make it, I’ll use a slightly hotter salsa or maybe add a little bit diced jalapeno.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it Jennifer!
This sounds so good, I am going to try this. I LOVE chicken this is something that I can enjoy.
You’re going to love it! Let us know what you think!
Looks yummy. But does it really yield 68 servings? I’m guessing it was supposed to be 6-8, cause 22 calories per serving doesn’t sound possible!
Ugh! Our nutrition calculator has been acting up lately. Yes, it should be 6-8 servings, and I’ll look into the calories per serving. Thank you for letting us know!
Hey Cheryl! Thank you!! We got it update so the calories reads correctly.
For some reason I got a burn warning twice on this. I didn’t drain anything or add anything else. When it was finished I have to say it was really soupy. I haven’t ever had a burn on something with quite this much liquid before. To make it weirder, the second burn warning came up after it was already at a pretty high pressure; so I opened the valve, and then after 5 seconds or so of venting at high pressure, the burn notice went away and the timer started. So I closed the vent and let it go. It turned out but I have never had that happen before and I use the IP like 3-5 times a week lol. Anyway, I’ll probably try it again because this got good reviews from the family. I will probably deliberately add a bit of liquid (chicken broth or something) and serve it with rice as more of a stew than what I was hoping for, which was tacos. We ended up eating it in bowls, with a scoop of some beans and corn I cooked up on the stovetop, with tortillas on the side.
Thank you for the feedback Jamie! That is very interesting! We haven’t had that issue before. We had another read add a cup of rice and extra broth and made it a rice dish!
I had the same problem. After the second burn notice, I deglaced the pot, put it into saute until it boiled, deglaced again then put the life on so it sealed instantly. Was good but watery so I added some cornstarch.
I added 1 cup white rice and upped the time to 15 minutes and it came out great!
Thank for letting us know! I’m totally trying it the next time I make it!
Soooo ono! I used frozen precooked shredded chicken plus red bell peppers and onions. It did make the sauce more brothy than creamy. Then added rice with a little chicken broth, cooked a second time. A lovely zesty chicken stew. Can’t go wrong in the instant pot!! This thing will save my marriage.
Hahahahhaha! How did we ever live without the instant pot?? That sounds so yummy! I want to try it as a soup now too!
For the IP version are you using a natural release or quick release
Hi Jacki! Both work just fine.
Has anyone done this in the regular slow cooker? If so, was the cook time mentioned to be on high or low? Worried about the cream being in a crock that long and maybe separating. Just don’t have a lot of experience in knowing for sure if that would be a problem, Thanks!
I made this tonight in my instant pot and it was a huge hit! It was incredibly easy as well as delicious. The store was completely out of crushed pineapple so I bought a can of chunks and threw it in the blender after draining it. I did increased the amount of the spices to a rounded tsp and added ancho chili powder bc I was out of coriander. I also added fresh chopped cilantro after shredding the chicken and adding it back to the sauce. I thickened the sauce with a little cornstarch so it wouldn’t make my tortillas soggy. This will definitely go into my weeknight rotation.
Yum! I love your tweaks and improvising! So glad it was a hit in your house!
This recipe sounds delicious. Could you add uncooked rice to the instapot and keep the liquid from the salsa, and pineapple to make a one pot meal?
That is a great question! I haven’t tried it, but it sounds like it would work great to me!
This sounds great! What do you serve it with?
Thanks Amanda! We like to serve it over our Cilantro Lime Rice (https://ohsweetbasil.com/cilantro-lime-rice-cafe-rio-copycat/) or you can make the chicken into burritos and serve the rice on the side. Or here is our Spanish rice recipe: https://ohsweetbasil.com/quick-easy-3-ingredient-spanish-rice/
Or our elote corn salad is also an awesome side: https://ohsweetbasil.com/elote-grilled-mexican-corn-salad-recipe/