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
It’s eerily similar to our oven-baked salsa chicken recipe but perfect for when you want dinner cooking while you’re out of the house.
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
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
You are my slow cooker doppleganger! I felt sooooo alone in the world until I happened upon this via Pinterest. I know I like using the slow cooker in the summer so I don’t have to stand sweating over a pan on a 90 degree day. This chicken looks delish – thanks for sharing.
Fortunately for me I am obSESSED with my slow cooker (during all seasons, try explaining that one) and love finding new recipes to try out- this looks lovely! I bet the feta adds a nice little kick!
I’m ALL about tacos!! And this looks like the perfect filling!!! I’m getting married this December and my husband-to-be and I want to have Taco Tuesday every week so I’ve started a list of all the delicious taco recipes I can find…totally adding this recipe!
I love my slow cooker and this chicken looks so good and easy to throw together!
Love your site, the chicken looks wonderful! I also found some other things that sounded great, that I will try. I loved your pictures on foodguawker, that is how I found you. Thank you for all your ideas.
kym
This looks easy and delicious!
I used my slow cooker whenever I can – I have to get dinner on the table fairly quickly these days – and slower cooker recipes are really working for me!
I make a similar recipe but I add a cup or 2 of frozen corn. yum!
Love it! Thanks for recipe :)
This looks so fabulous, Gina! I’m hosting a big build-your-own taco party soon and needed ideas for the chicken I’ll be serving. Thanks, this is a great recipe!
I have used a slow cooker for many years now, and have three I use regularly. Although I started relying on it more due to health reasons it has become my most use cookware. My friends have dubbed me the crockpot queen over the years since I have learned to convert recipes to be done in it. Of course not everything works but if it wasn’t for it my family wouldn’t have had the meals it provided, when I’m not able to stand for long periods. I do agree with the precooking issue and will tell you I skip it except with ground beef and I can’t see a difference either way. I have even started cooking whole chickens on top of foil balls to keep it out of the drippings and with my buttery herb mixture under and on the skin I get a nice browned chicken. Then I throw in everything I have been saving and make wonderful stocks overnight. Please don’t be discouraged because it can be such a help to so many. If I could give you one tip out of everything I have learned, even if a recipe States to add dairy at the beginning and it is cooking over a few hours, don’t add it towards the end…