Crockpot Fiesta Chicken

Updated 4/9/25

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Our easy crockpot fiesta chicken is a delicious “dump and go” recipe for a creamy Mexican-style chicken dish. It makes a great taco filling with incredible flavor! This recipe is a best friend to any busy person because it has just a few easy-to-find ingredients and virtually no prep time! The crockpot does all the heavy lifting.

You throw everything in the crockpot in the morning, and when you come home, shred the chicken, add the cream cheese, and serve it on tortillas, nachos, or over rice.

If you love Mexican-inspired food as much as we do, I hope you’ll try our white chicken enchiladas, cheesy chicken enchiladas, unique chicken posole, and hearty stew-like Mexican chicken soup.

CROCKPOT FIESTA CHICKEN INGREDIENTS LIST

• Chicken: I use boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Beans: I like to use either black beans, kidney beans, or pinto beans.
• Green Chiles: Save some time and buy the chopped version. They have very little liquid in the can, so go ahead and add it.
• Diced Tomatoes: I like to use petite diced tomatoes. Add the liquid too.
• Corn: You can use canned or frozen corn. If you use canned, drain and discard the liquid.
• Black Olives:
• Onion: Use a yellow onion. It’s added raw to the crockpot, so there’s no need to sauté it first.
• Taco Seasoning: I like to use mild taco seasoning to keep this recipe kid-friendly.
• Cream Cheese: Do not add until the chicken is cooked. Then stir into the mixture.

TIPS

Temperatures: Remember that all crockpots run a little differently, so the cooking time may vary slightly.

Add Cheese: Feel free to add shredded cheese to the mixture. Add when you add the cream cheese.

Add Some Kick! Add minced jalapeno peppers, hot sauce, or red pepper flakes.

STORING + FREEZING

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? This slow-cooked chicken will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge.at
• Reheat: Reheat leftovers in the microwave.
• Can You Freeze This? This crockpot creamy fiesta chicken is fresh and the best. It’s so quick to put together, so why bother freezing it?
• Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety, check out this link.

SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS

If you’re using this slow cooker fiesta chicken recipe to make tacos, burritos, or burrito bowls, serve with tortillas, cilantro, salsa, sour cream, lettuce, avocados, guacamole, pico de Gallo, and tomatoes. I like to have a small plate of lime wedges so everyone can add a squeeze of fresh lime on their tacos or burritos. This really may be the easiest way to cook chicken tacos!

If I’m short on time, I serve this over cooked white rice, but when I have time, I serve it over my restaurant-style Mexican rice. We like to serve this with jalapeno cornbread, KFC coleslaw for some freshness, or my Mexican corn salad.

Try my non-alcoholic margarita cake. If you’d like a cocktail, try our pink margaritas and pineapple margaritas to top things off!

HOW TO MAKE CROCKPOT FIESTA CHICKEN

• Add all ingredients to the crockpot except the cream cheese.
• Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8 hours or until chicken is extremely tender.
• Remove and shred chicken with two forks. Add it back to the crockpot. Add the cream cheese, cover, and continue to cook on high for 30 minutes. Stir well. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper, and serve with tortillas or over rice.

***See the full instructions below.

HOW TO MAKE FIESTA CHICKEN IN THE INSTANT POT

Ingredients: The Ingredients for the crockpot fiesta chicken below are the same, except we need to add 1/4 cup of water and 1 cup of shredded pepper jack cheese.

Instructions:

1. Lay chicken breast on the bottom of the instant pot, then add water (1/4 cup), beans drained and rinsed, green chiles not drained, tomatoes not drained, corn not drained, olives drained, onion, taco seasoning, and dry ranch mix.
2. Lock the lid and set the valve to seal. Set the function to “manual mode-high pressure” for 20 minutes. The Instant Pot will start on its own.
3. When the cook time is finished, do a QUICK RELEASE of the pressure.
4. Transfer the chicken to a plate and, when it’s cool enough to handle, shred it.
5. While the chicken is out of the pot, stir in cream cheese and pepper jack cheese.
6. Turn the Instant Pot onto the saute function. Stir or whisk the mixture until the cream cheese and pepper jack cheese are melted, and the mixture is thick and creamy.
7. Return the shredded chicken to the instant pot.
8. Serve as a filling for tacos or burritos.

MORE MEXICAN-INSPIRED RECIPES

• Carne Guisada
• Pozole Verde
• Carne Picada
• Taco Chili 
• Mexican Spaghetti 
• Mexican Pollo Asado
• Charro Beans
• Fiesta Chicken

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Crockpot Fiesta Chicken

Our easy crockpot fiesta chicken is a delicious "dump and go" crockpot recipe that makes a creamy Mexican-style chicken for a great taco filling!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time4 hours hrs

Total Time4 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Author: kathleen

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 boneless and skinless chicken breast halves
• ▢ 1 (15-ounce) can black beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• ▢ 1 (7-ounce) can chopped green chiles, with liquid
• ▢ 1 (15.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
• ▢ 1 (8-ounce) can corn, drained
• ▢ 1 (6-ounce) can black olives, drained
• ▢ 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• ▢ 1 envelope taco seasoning
• ▢ 8 ounces cream cheese, cubed and at room temperature

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Add all ingredients to crockpot except cream cheese.
• Cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8 hours or until chicken is extremely tender.
• Remove chicken and shred. Add back to crockpot. Add cream cheese (8 ounces), cover and continue to cook on high for 30 minutes. Stir well and serve with tortillas or over rice.

Fans Also Made:

• 
  Crockpot Chicken And Gravy
• 
  Crockpot Creamy Ranch Chicken
• 
  Crockpot White Chicken Chili
• 
  Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore

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Nutrition

Serving: 1/8 of the recipe | Calories: 353kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 1344mg | Potassium: 810mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1019IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 3mg

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