This Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken is the kind of meal-prep you’ll rock again and again. Juicy, lightly sweetened with honey, and finished with just the right kick of heat, it shreds perfectly for tacos, bowls, or quesadillas. Make it once, and dinner will feel a whole lot easier all week long.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- ⏲️Ready In: 4 hrs 10 mins
- 👪Serves: 6
- 🍽 Calories and Protein: 242 kcals and 34 grams of protein
- 📋Main Ingredients: Chicken breasts, chipotle peppers in adobo, tomato paste, chicken broth, and honey.
- 📖 Dietary Notes: Dairy-free, gluten-free, grain-free.
- ⭐ Why You'll Love It: It’s a set-it-and-forget-it meal that delivers tender, smoky-sweet shredded chicken perfect for bowls, wraps, or easy meal prep all week.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
Slow cookers genuinely save my sanity as a mom of three, and that’s not an exaggeration. This slow cooker chicken with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce is tangy, juicy, and packed with smoky heat, yet takes almost zero effort. It’s the kind of meal I love knowing is waiting for me at the end of a long day, already cooked and ready to shred.
That bold flavor makes this shredded chipotle chicken feel special, but it’s practical enough for year-round dinners when you’re too busy to think about cooking. I use this shredded chipotle chicken in tacos, chicken fajita bowls, salads, and wraps all week to easily bump up protein, similar to how slow cooker teriyaki chicken works in our rotation and why I lean so heavily on these high protein chicken recipes.
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💭Why You'll Love This Recipe
Easy to make: A dump-and-go recipe at its finest. Pop everything into your slow cooker and come home to shred the chicken and enjoy.
Flavorful: The chipotle peppers with the honey give the shredded chicken a tasty, sweet, and spicy flavor.
Versatile: You can adjust the chicken flavor with a few additions and use this chipotle shredded chicken in so many ways, from nachos to pasta.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Above is a quick snapshot of the ingredients you need to make the dairy-free chicken recipe.
- Chicken breasts: Know that boneless, skinless chicken breasts work better than thighs for shredding. Thighs also add more juice to the mixture, so the texture will be a bit different if you choose to switch. This is the case for slow cooker Hawaiian chicken, too.
- Chiptole peppers in adobo sauce: Brands of adobo peppers vary in spiciness. If you don’t love spice, scale back the amount a bit and taste test as you go.
- Chicken broth: I don’t always have homemade bone broth on hand (though it’s one of the crucial foods I think everyone should have in their diet). When this is the case, I use bone broth powder. All the homemade, healing qualities of bone broth, but without the effort. You can grab bone broth powder with code mamabear10 from Perfect Supplements, and all you have to do is boil water and mix it.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Serve It
This shredded chicken can be made into multiple meals. We love it simply with a side of roasted green beans and potatoes. Below are a few of our other favorite ways to enjoy it.
- Mixed in with gluten-free noodles to create a pasta.
- On top of steamed rice with gluten-free roasted vegetables on the side.
- For family taco night with all the fixings.
- On top of a salad the next day.
- In a wrap with some crisp lettuce.
- The base of nachos or quesadillas for the easiest Friday night.
How To Make Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken
Step 1: In your slow cooker, place the peppers, tomato paste, and honey.
Step 2: Whisk in the chicken broth, onion, garlic, and seasoning.
Step 3: Add the chicken.
Step 4: Coat the chicken in sauce on both sides.
Step 5: Cook on low for 4-6 hours before using a fork to shred.
Step 6: Serve it over rice, spaghetti squash, or gluten-free noodles.
Expert Tips
Use two forks to shred the slow-cooked chipotle chicken. Though it may look like a lot of liquid when you shred the chicken, it’s quickly absorbed once you mix it in.
Scale back the amount of chipotle powder and adobo sauce you use if you don’t like a lot of heat.
Store it in the fridge in an airtight container, once fully cooled for up to 4 days. Enjoy it cold on top of a salad or heated up in the microwave or stovetop.
Store it in the freezer for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe bag. Make sure to get some of the liquid in with the chicken, as it’ll help to reheat it. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight before you need it.
Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken FAQs
You can add more or less Chipotle spice and adobo peppers to the mix to adjust the spiciness. If you enjoy spice, add some sliced jalapenos to the slow cooker or upon serving.
If making this shredded chicken into tacos, contrasting flavors work best. Add some fresh limes, pickled onions, and avocados to the table for toppings.
More Dairy-Free Slow Cooker Chicken Dinners
If you tried this Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes!
Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken (Dairy and Gluten-Free)
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup Chipotle peppers in adobo
- ½ cup Tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons Honey
- 1 cup Chicken broth
- 1 Onion diced
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Chipotle powder
- 2 pounds Chicken breasts
Instructions
- Place the chipotle peppers, tomato paste and honey in the crockpot.
- Pour in the chicken broth and whisk all ingredients together.
- Add in the diced onion and garlic, whisk together, then whisk in the seasoning.
- Add in the chicken breasts and then toss in the sauce to coat completely.
- Set the crockpot to low for 4-6 hours, or 2-3 hours on high.
- Shred the chicken, discarding of any bones, if necessary.
- Serve over rice, gluten-free, noodles, spaghetti squash, or vegetables.
Notes
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Nutrition
Shelby S says
This is such a delicious recipe for meal prep. I make and freeze it to use for crazy nights!