Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken

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Crock pot Mexican Shredded Chicken is perfect for tacos, burritos, salads, or nachos.  

Are you ready for the BIG game?  I have more than enough food planned.  I’ve briefly entertained the idea of having fancy appetizers for the super bowl….like these stuffed mushrooms….or maybe baked brie ….or even corstini with goat cheese.

It’s hard to break out of a traditional mode of beer with dips and finger foods you’d find in a bar.  I mean…we are watching football….and all those fabulous commercials.

So at our house we are having Mexican layered dip with baked corn tortilla chips.  I need to balance the junk food so I will also have a HUGE tray of fresh veggies with hummus.

We also need something a bit more substantial, I will have a taco bar with this Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken.

The beauty about this shredded chicken is it is made in a crock pot.  That and it can be made ahead of time….oh, and you could totally freeze this and have enough chicken for another night!

 Can you ask for anything more?  Well, you could…but WHY?  I used a whole chicken because we raise, butcher and process our own chickens and we only actually cut up a few chickens.  The rest are left whole.

We have a ton of whole chickens in our freezer.  I try to use a whole chicken with any opportunity.  If you don’t have a freezer full of whole chickens and don’t want to buy a whole one, this could also be made with a cut up chicken, chicken thighs, or boneless chicken breasts.  The choice is all up to you!

Not only did I use a whole chicken, but I used a whole frozen chicken.  Yep, I never even thought about pulling the chicken out of the freezer ahead of time to thaw.  

Sometimes my planning is….well….very last minute (another way to say no planning at all!)  Lucky for me this worked perfectly even with  frozen chicken!  Just keep in mind, that the cooking time will vary if you use a frozen chicken.

I used our homemade canned stewed tomatoes but store bought canned tomatoes work great too.  For the chilies, any kind of roasted chili will work. I used Anaheims because we grow them and they are fairly mild.  I keep a batch of roasted chilies in our freezer after the summer harvest.

Canned chilies are also available at the grocery store and can be purchased with different levels of heat….mild or hot!  This recipe is really flexible.  You can add what you have on hand and tailor it to your tastes!

This shredded chicken would work perfectly in these chicken burritos from Gimme Delicious. 

5 from 4 votes

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Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

5 hrs

Total Time

5 hrs 5 mins

 

Shredded chicken can be used in tacos, burritos, salads or nachos

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: chicken recipes, crock pot chicken, Mexican chicken, shredded chicken

Servings: 12 people

Calories: 61 kcal

Author: Kathy

Ingredients

• 3-4 pounds chicken whole or cut up
• 1 quart stewed tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 whole roasted Anaheim chilies
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients, except chicken in crock pot. Stir together.
2. Place chicken on top
3. Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 8 hours
4. Remove chicken and let cool just enough to handle
5. Remove skin and chicken from bones.
6. Shred chicken with two forks
7. Add chicken back into crock pot and heat through.

Nutrition Facts

Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken

Amount Per Serving

Calories 61 Calories from Fat 18

% Daily Value*

Fat 2g3%

Cholesterol 13mg4%

Sodium 386mg17%

Potassium 208mg6%

Carbohydrates 5g2%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 240IU5%

Vitamin C 6.5mg8%

Calcium 32mg3%

Iron 1.5mg8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.