Crockpot Chicken Taco Bowls

•  Video

Crockpot Chicken Taco Bowls 🌮✨Recipe below & follow for more easy meal ideas!

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Ingredients:

• -1½ Ibs chicken breast
• -1 packet mild taco seasoning
• -1 (16 oz) jar Pace Mild Chunky Salsa
• -¼ cup water
• -1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
• -1 can corn, drained
• -1/2 lime, juiced
• -Cooked rice
• -Shredded cheese
• -Avocado

Instructions

1. Add chicken breast to the crockpot

2. Sprinkle taco seasoning over the chicken.

3. Pour salsa on top.

4. Add ¼ cup water to the salsa jar, shake, and pour into the crockpot.

5. Add black beans and corn.

6. Stir everything together.

7. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for

8 hours.

8. Shred chicken, juice of 1/2 a lime, and stir everything together.

9. Serve over rice and top with cheese and avocado.

Option with Ground Chicken

Switching to ground chicken is a great swap, but because ground meat behaves differently than whole breasts in a slow cooker, you'll need to make three key adjustments:

1. Pre-brown the Ground Chicken

Ground chicken put straight into a slow cooker raw will release a lot of moisture, clump into a single dense block, and end up with a boiled, rubbery texture.

• What to do: In a skillet over medium-high heat with a dash of oil, brown the ground chicken completely, breaking it into small crumbles. Drain off any excess liquid before adding it to the crockpot.

2. Cut the Cooking Time in Half

Chicken breasts take 4–8 hours to cook through and become tender enough to shred. Pre-cooked ground chicken only needs enough time to absorb all the salsa and taco seasonings.

• New Cooking Time:
  • LOW: 2 to 3 hours
  • HIGH: 1 to 1.5 hours (Cooking it for the full 8 hours will make ground chicken dry and mushy.)

3. Skip the Extra Water & Skip "Shredding"

Whole chicken breasts absorb and trap liquid, but ground chicken doesn't need extra hydration.

• Omit Step 4: Skip adding the extra \frac{1}{4} cup of water—the salsa provides plenty of moisture on its own.
• Skip Step 8's Shredding: Since the meat is already crumbled, you just need to stir in the lime juice at the end!

Adjusted Instructions Summary

1. Brown the Meat
   Essential for texture and flavor
   Cook 1\frac{1}{2}\text{ lbs} ground chicken in a skillet over medium-high heat until fully browned, breaking it into small crumbles. Drain excess liquid.
2. Load the Crockpot
   Add the cooked ground chicken, taco seasoning, jar of salsa, drained black beans, and drained corn to the slow cooker. (Omit the \frac{1}{4} cup water).
3. Stir & Cook Short
   Stir everything together. Cover and cook on LOW for 2–3 hours (or HIGH for 1–1.5 hours).
4. Finish & Serve
   Stir in the juice of \frac{1}{2} lime. Serve over cooked rice and top with shredded cheese and fresh avocado.