Name: Slow-Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Ingredients: 4 chicken breasts ((800 g)); 3/4 cup chicken broth; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup lime juice ((2 limes)); 3 cloves minced garlic; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon black pepper; 2 teaspoons cumin; 1 teaspoon paprika; 1 pinch cayenne pepper ((use more if you want it spicy)); 1 teaspoon onion powder; 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro ((15 g))

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Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken – a super easy slower cooker meal that takes no time to make and is packed with flavor. This juicy chicken dish is perfect for tacos, burritos, salads or on top of rice. Made with a few simple ingredients, this cilantro lime chicken can be a simple healthy dinner for you and your family.

Slow Cooker Dinners

I don’t know about you guys, but at my house dinner time is a mad house. My oldest is always hangry (hungry+angry) well before dinner. I’m usually trying to quickly cook dinner with a baby on my hip and keeping my 4 year old out of the garage or something else dangerous.

Enter my friend…the slow cooker. I love slow cooker meals like slow cooker white beans and chicken tortilla soup. I haven’t gotten into the Instant Pot craze mainly because I’m scared I will blow up my kitchen, but the slow cooker will always be my go-to for easy dinners.

And, this slow-cooker cilantro lime chicken recipe is so simple and versatile. You’re going to love it!

How to Make Cilantro Lime Chicken

Here’s how to make the cilantro lime chicken:

Place the chicken into the slow cooker
Make the sauce
Pour the sauce over the chicken
Cook on low for 7-8 hows or high heat for 3-4 hours
Shred and serve

So easy, right?

It’s Not Just for Tacos!

There are so many ways to serve this cilantro lime chicken and it’s not just tacos. Here are a few of my favorite ways to serve it up:

Fill them in soft or hard shell tortillas with all the fixin’s
Put it on top of Mexican rice and a side of refried beans
Make a taco salad with shredded lettuce topped with all the fixin’s and crunchy tortilla chips

Cilantro Lime Chicken FAQs & Tips

Can you freeze this? Yes! You can place all these ingredients into a large freezer bag and store it in the freezer. It will stay good in the freezer for about 2 months. Then when you are ready to use it, just thaw it out and add it to the slow-cooker.
Can you use dark-meat? Yes but be sure to use boneless skinless dark-meat like thighs. I normally find that dark meat is juicer than chicken breasts, but with this sauce it keeps the meat tender and moist (sorry there isn’t another word for it).
What’s the best way to shred the chicken? I love my shredder claws. They look scary but they shred any meat super easy and I can use them to scoop up the shredded meat and place it back into the slow-cooker.
Do I need to put it back in the slow-cooker? You can serve the shredded chicken immediately, but I find putting it back in for even just 15-30 minutes after you have shredded it helps the meat soak up all the juice and flavor.

Slow-Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword cilantro lime chicken

Prep Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts (800 g)
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice (2 limes)
3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 pinch cayenne pepper (use more if you want it spicy)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro (15 g)

Instructions

Place chicken breasts into the bottom of the slow-cooker.
In a medium mixing bowl, add the chicken stock, olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cilantro and seasoning. Stir and pour over chicken.
Cook on low for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.
Once chicken is cooked, remove it from the slow-cooker and shred the chicken.
Place the shredded chicken back into the slow-cooker for 15-30 minutes.
Serve.

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