6-Ingredient Slow Cooker Enchilada Chicken
This easy recipe for shredded chicken for enchiladas is totally simple, completely delicious and the perfect weeknight crockpot recipe.
The chicken recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free, Paleo, and Whole30 compliant too!
“This twin mama thanks you for this tasty and quick meal option. My 10 month old twins thought it was tasty too!“ Erin S.
This Slow Cooker Enchilada Chicken recipe makes a regular appearance at our house because it is just so darn simple and versatile, plus it uses ingredients that are likely on hand in the pantry and fridge or freezer.
No special trip to the grocery store required!
The saucy chicken is also free of artificial ingredients, preservatives, and is gluten-free and dairy-free so it will work for just about everyone.
Easily one of my favorite slow cooker chicken recipes.
uses for shredded enchilada chicken
If you’ve read my book, then you know I’m all about simplifying things.
Less decisions = less stress.
At least one dinner a week, I make an easy slow cooker chicken recipe and this is one of my family’s favorites.
This enchilada chicken comes together with just 5 minutes hands-on prep time and can be used to build lots of different meals.
You can use it to make:
- enchiladas
- tacos
- burritos
- burrito bowls
- serve over rice or with my easy slow cooker refried beans
Just like my favorite slow cooker carnitas, we love that this makes a lot of leftovers that can be used lots of ways.
We enjoy this enchilada chicken tucked into warm tortillas, in lettuce wraps (Bibb or romaine lettuce work well), on brown rice, topping a heaping bed of greens, or atop baked potatoes to make it a complete meal.
The Slow Cooker I Use
Here’s the slow cooker (affiliate) I use for all my recipes, this size works great for our family and I love how easy it is to use!
recipe adaptations & suggestions
After you throw this easy recipe in the slow cooker just put out additional toppings such as avocado, cilantro, radishes, sliced green onions, grated cheese, and/or sour cream and you’re good to go.
If you like spicy, go ahead and add a few healthy dashes of hot sauce, too.
A quick note that this recipe makes plenty of yummy enchilada sauce to go with the chicken, but if you prefer something a little less saucy, simple half the amount of tomato sauce used.
I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe but you can also use chicken thighs if you prefer.
If you want to make this in the instant pot instead of your slow cooker, I have a full post showing you the pressure cooker version.
this recipe is…
Dairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreePaleoWhole30
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6-Ingredient Slow Cooker Enchilada Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
- 1 28-oz can tomato sauce
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon mild chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, or thighs
- Juice of 1 lime
- Hot sauce, optional
Equipment
Instructions
- Add the sliced onions, tomato sauce, salt, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder to a 6-quart slow cooker, stirring to combine.
- Nestle the chicken into the slow cooker, making sure it is well covered by the tomato mixture.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7, until the sauce has thickened, the onions are soft, and the chicken is falling apart.
- Remove the chicken and shred with two forks. Add the shredded chicken back to the slow cooker, stirring to combine.
- Add the lime juice and additional salt if desired. Serve warm, adding hot sauce to taste.
Notes
- This recipe makes 4-6 servings
- Be sure to use canned tomato sauce in this recipe. Diced or whole tomatoes will not work well. Tomato sauce brands very in consistency from thin to thick, so if you want a thicker sauce add less tomato sauce.
- Serve tucked into warm tortillas, in lettuce wraps (Bibb or romaine lettuce work well), atop baked potatoes, on rice, or topping a heaping bed of greens.
- Add additional toppings such as avocado, cilantro, radishes, sliced green onions, grated cheese, and/or sour cream if desired.
- You can also make this in the instant pot
Nutrition Information:
this post contains affiliate links
I can’t seem to find the recipe for this. Am I missing something? Thank you!
Hi Lia. You can find it by clicking Recipes (under Real Food), then Main Dish.
This twin mama thanks you for this tasty and quick meal option. My 10 month old twins thought it was tasty too so I froze small portions to serve along side some rice as they navigate feeding themselves:) Great for a baby led weaning chicken option.
Erin, you’re so welcome! LOVE the idea of freezing little individual portions and so glad your twins liked this one. 🙂
I think that I am just going to have to try this next week as I love enchiladas and having MS by doing it in the slow cooker means that I don’t have to stand up for long.
I will post pictures after I have cooked it and let you know my families verdict. Hope it ends up looking as good as yours.
Amanda, looking forward to hearing how what and your family think! Love those recipes that can be prepped in just a few minutes!
Trying this one this week!!
Yay! I hope the whole family love it. 🙂
Great and easy recipe! We used it to make tacos and nachos. The chicken was very tender and delicious. We were working in our back yard while it cooked. Every time we opened the door, it smelled so good! Thanks for sharing! We will definitely make again.
Lori, love the idea of using this for tacos and nachos, yum! Thanks so much for leaving a review!
I just put everything into my slow cooker! I am so excited because it smells so good! Thank you so much for this recipe. I am subbing the lettuce leaves with corn tortillas.
Yay, I hope you enjoy Janice. Lettuce wraps sound like a perfect substitute! 🙂
Just made, smells amazing! Will this freeze well?
Jessica, yes, leftovers freeze well!
Do you think I could throw it in the insta pot for 20 min?
Vanessa, you can definitely try! I’ve found that some Instant Pots have a very sensitive burn sensor, and the tomato sauce starts to burn to the bottom before the recipe is finished cooking. If you give it a try and it works let us know, though!
Do you think it would work just as well to cook on high for three hours?
Amy, it depends a bit on your particular slow cooker and the size of the chicken breasts you’re using. 3 hours may be enough, so it’s worth giving it a shot!
Sounds amazing, just wanted to query the tomato sauce. Are you talking something like Heinz tomato ketchup or a plain tomato passata style sauce? I am in New Zealand and think the terminology is getting lost in translation! 🙂
Kristie, something closer to a plan tomato passata style sauce! Ingredients along the lines of a smooth tomato puree, salt, garlic, onion. Hope this helps! You just want a seasoned, thick tomato sauce.
Hi Robyn, I didn’t see anywhere in your article or recipe on the amounts for the all ingredients, how many servings does this make?
Hi Catherine, you should be able to view the ingredients and recipe instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. The recipe serves 4-6.
Has anyone tried this in the Instant Pot? Can the chicken be frozen, or does it need to be thawed?
Hi Melissa, this one will work in an Instant Pot as long as yours doesn’t have a sensitive burn function. Some IPs have a very sensitive burn function and the tomato sauce will burn to the bottom and ruin the dish. Some will work fine, though, so I’d say try it if you think your work for a tomato sauce heavy recipe.
Easy quick and delicious
So glad you enjoyed this one, Mel!
I buy frozen chicken breasts at Costco, how much longer should I plan to cook it since the chicken is frozen?
Hi Dana, for food safety reasons, it’s not recommended that you cook chicken from frozen in the slow cooker. If you defrost the frozen chicken in the fridge overnight you should be able to use the amount called for in the recipe.
Hi!. I have a question about the ingredients. In one place it says tomato sauce in another it says tomato paste. Could you clarify, please?
Actually it say tomato purée not tomato paste.
Yep, that should be tomato sauce. I’ve made the update in the recipe. Thanks!
Hi Melanie, it’s tomato sauce! I’ve made the update in the recipe for clarification purposes as well.
Has anyone ever tried adding kidney beans? If so, was wondering when you’d put them in?
I’m excited to try 🙂
Hi Jessica, I haven’t, but I have a similar recipe with kidney beans so I think it will work! Add 1-2 cans, drained and rinsed, to the recipe along with everything else. If you try it let us know how it turns out!
We loved this one! Ate it for days afterwards which says Delicious in our house 😊 I mixed the sauce first in a bowl to get the right amount of heat. Thanks for this…we will be eating it again and again!
Jennifer, yay, so happy to hear this one was a hit! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Hi Robyn, this may be a silly question but I am new to cooking in general 🙂 I am wondering if this would work for green enchiladas if I swapped out the tomato sauce and used a green chili sauce instead? Thanks much!
Hi Dana, I haven’t tried it but I think that would work wonderfully! If you give it a try let us know how it turns out. 🙂
I love this recipe. My daughter has Celiac Disease. Most canned enchilada sauce is not gluten free. I love how I can make the chicken and sauce all at the same time, and it is really easy and quick. I use this to make chicken enchiladas. My mom can’t eat salt, so I use the no salt added tomato sauce and don’t add salt. Mom requested it again. I just came back here to print a fresh copy of the recipe and see you have instant pot instructions, so I am trying that tonight. Thank you!
Kris, so happy to hear this one is a hit with your family and so great you’re able to adapt it to be salt-free. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Very easy to make and tasted amazing! It did however feel like it was missing something but I’m not sure what. If you’re looking for a great dinner that’s easy to make and leaves you with tons of left overs this is the dish for you!
Xander, glad this was a hit, and thanks for leaving a review!
This might be the answer to my prayers. I spend over an hour a night trying to make dinner using whole foods. This is so easy to make, so delicious, and then so versatile. I’d recommend spicing it up a bit but it was nice to have the option to make it spicier for adults and the kiddos could have the tame version.
Yay, so happy to hear this recipe will help you cut down on cooking time! And yes to adding more spice to fit your and your family’s tastes. Cheers!
This recipe was so easy and really did come out amazing. The flavor was so good and all the seasoning measurements were spot on. We used the initial chicken batch for tacos and plan on using the leftovers for enchiladas. This ended up in our dinner favorites folder.
Yay, so happy that you enjoyed this one – great idea to use the chicken for multiple dinners. So smart! Thanks so much for leaving a review!