Slow cooker chicken for burrito bowls make for a tasty hands-off meal for busy weeknights. I love to make the flavorful chicken burrito filling in the slow cooker for tender, fall-apart chicken, and whip up cilantro lime rice for the base.
Prepare ingredients: slice the red onion, mince the garlic, mince the jalapeño (remove the seeds and pith if you don’t want any spice), and remove the stems and seeds of the bell peppers and slice into strips. Drain and rinse the black beans.
Combine the salsa, chicken broth, and spices (oregano, cumin, cayenne) in the slow cooker.
Add the chicken thighs and sprinkle with salt, then submerge the chicken thighs in the sauce. If not submerged, add a little more chicken broth or water.
Add the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker - add all the vegetables - red onion, garlic, jalapeño, and bell peppers, and add the black beans.
Optionally, give everything a stir. Cover with a lid and cook on low for 5-8 hours or until the chicken is fall-apart-tender.
Remove the chicken thighs from the slow cooker and shred them in a bowl with two forks, or in your stand mixer.
Return the chicken to the slow cooker and stir to combine, then serve! I serve mine directly from the slow cooker, but you can add it to a fancy serving bowl if you’d prefer.
Add a scoop of cilantro lime rice (or any) to each bowl, along with a scoop of the slow cooker chicken, bean, & veggie mixture, and your toppings of choice. Although this is a complete meal as is, it is a true burrito bowl once you add sour cream, cotjia cheese, avocado,lime juice, and fresh cilantro. Feel free to top with your hot sauce of preference as well!
Notes
If you don’t have access to cotija cheese, crumbled feta is a good alternative.I have not tried this with chicken breasts, but I think it would work well. Here is my suggestion: after shredding the chicken, return it to the slow cooker on warm for 30 minutes to help the chicken stay moist before serving.Be sure to store the leftovers with all the juices from the slow cooker to ensure it stays moist and flavorful!I have made this with bone-in chicken thighs as well and it works perfectly. Just be aware that this will be a little harder to shred and will yield a little less meat.Cost breakdown: pricing and nutrition do not include the “for serving” toppings or the Cilantro Lime Rice.Nutrition: just a reminder that nutrient numbers and the below nutritional label is just an estimate.