This 4 ingredient slow cooker pulled chicken is made with beans and cheese and perfect for stuffing inside a tortilla or serving with rice for a simple dinner.
If spices don’t count (and they don’t in my mind because who doesn’t have an unorganized, overflowing spice cabinet in their house with bottles that fall out and hit you in the head every time you open it?) that whole 4 ingredient thing is true.
If they do count in your mind then consider that my disclaimer before you question whether or not I passed 1st grade math.

I have a weird relationship with the slow cooker.
First of all, I never use it in the winter. I have no good reasoning for why, it totally doesn’t make sense so don’t even bother trying to figure it out.
Secondly, my track record with it sucks. I can wing a stove-top dish with no problem, but there’s something about having to throw all the ingredients in at once with the slow cooker that just doesn’t work for me.
I usually try to go complex with the flavors, throw a million things in there and somehow I get one nasty end result. And my last issue with it is that any recipe that looks worth making out there always seems to have a “before” step.
The only reason I drag this thing out from it’s hiding place in the bottom corner cabinet is because I don’t want to clean 10 different pots and pans that day.
Multiple step slow cooker recipes should just be banned for being completely counter-intuitive to the slow cooker cause.

They say you forget about the pain of childbirth after a few months (and apparently that’s true since plenty of people purposely get knocked up again a year or so later), well I can’t relate to that one…but apparently, I forget about the sucktasticness of my slow cooker attempts after awhile and give it another shot.
And then recipes like this 4 ingredient slow cooker pulled chicken happen.
Hard to go wrong when all you need is:
- chicken
- jar of salsa
- black beans
- feta
- and some spices
And if you’re truly pressed for time or just lacking the motivation to shred the chicken, cut the breasts into cubes before cooking in the slow cooker for a chicken bites situation in the final dish.

And amen for short term memory because we’ve finally got a winner with this easy slow cooker pulled chicken recipe.
I’m also pretty sure this chicken gives me way more joy than a kid ever would. So maybe I’ll stick with the slow cooker a little longer.
Looking for more slow cooker ideas? Try one of these recipes:
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Slow Cooker Shredded Mexican Beef Bowls
Slow Cooker BBQ Peach Pulled Chicken
Slow Cooker Balsamic Pulled Pork with Polenta and Avocado Crema
Slow Cooker Short Rib Ragu

4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken
A simple slow cooker chicken, beans & cheese recipe. Perfect for stuffing into a tortilla.
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts/boneless thighs (I used a combination of the two)
- 16 ounces jarred salsa
- 15 ounces canned black beans, rinsed & drained
- 1/3 cup crumbled feta (or grated cheddar)
- red pepper flakes to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pour salsa into slow cooker then layer beans and chicken in that order.
- Cook on high for 3 hours.
- After 3 hours, remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with two forks. It should come apart easily.
- Return chicken to the slow cooker.
- Add the spices and cheese and mix to combine.
- Serve with garnish of cilantro and avocado.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 422Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 149mgSodium: 1543mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 10gSugar: 5gProtein: 53g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.
50 Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes - Primavera Kitchen
Thursday 15th of January 2015
[…] 4-ingredient Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken from Running to the Kitchen […]
Shannon
Friday 19th of December 2014
I found this recipe on Pinterest by chance and it was a HUGE hit! I will certainly be adding this to my usual bag o'tricks for crockpot season.
Running to the Kitchen
Saturday 20th of December 2014
So glad you liked it!
35 Back to School Crockpot Recipes | United Christian Homeschoolers of the Upstate
Tuesday 12th of August 2014
[…] Pulled Pork Chicken // Running to the Kitchen […]
Michelle S
Tuesday 12th of August 2014
if you guys are parents of kids in sports, band, scouts, etc. learn to embrace the crock pot. On nights where we have activities, it saves us from the drive through. Dinner is home waiting on us before we go!
95 Easy Crock Pot Dinners
Wednesday 5th of March 2014
[…] 4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken from Running to the Kitchen […]