What a wonderful way to make chicken that will be good in tacos, burrito bowls, enchiladas, quesadillas, tostados or even on a sandwich. Because it is made in a slow cooker it is a perfect dish to make during the warmer months. I often will plug it in on my deck! There are many versions but I chose to go spicy and the chilpotles in adobo sauce provided some nice smokey heat.
The brand I bought lists the ingredients as chipotle peppers, tomato puree, onions, vinegar, canola oil, sugar, salt, paprika and garlic. It is spicy and you need to be familiar with the chipotles you use and add them to taste. We all have different heat tolerances.
Chipotle chiles are dried, smoked jalapenos. Adobo is a tangy, slightly sweet red sauce. Put the two together and you have a wonderful smoky heat in the chiles with a sour-sweet sauce.
Mexican Shredded Chicken
I adapted this recipe from recipetineats
- 1-1/2 lbs. chicken breasts, boneless and skin removed
- 1/2 cup Chilpotles in Adobo Sauce – usually about 4 peppers and sauce (see update below)
- 14 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. onion or garlic powder
- 2 tsp. sugar
- pepper
I chose to make this in the slow cooker on my deck as the temperature today is approaching 90. This is one of the reasons I love my slow cookers!
Spray your slow cooker (crock pot) with Pam. Place the breasts, then all of the sauce ingredients on top. Mix up the ingredients and cook on low for 4 hours or until the chicken shreds easily with a fork.
To finish:
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 1-2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
Remove the chicken and shred with a couple of forks; set aside.
Add lime juice (I used 1 tbsp.) and 1 tbsp. olive oil to the sauce. You should have 2 cups of sauce. Use a stick blender or blender to puree the sauce. Adjust seasonings…
Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add 1/2 the shredded chicken and fry until golden brown, stirring and turning. Repeat with the other half… I started to follow this step and I disagreed with it. Nagi wants crispy bits but I felt it was overcooking the chicken and for me was not worth it. Of course you can decide…
Toss chicken in the sauce.
Use for whatever you wish – I made tacos that were delicious. I loved the smoky flavor of the chicken and that flavor does come through.
Freezes well – up to 3 months.
UPDATE: After eating this a couple of times I decided I would prefer less chipotle in adobo sauce.
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
Mmmm. I can imagine the aromas filling your kitchen. 🍃🌶💫
Mmmm – my deck smelled good as that is where I plugged it in!
Great flavors in this dish! 🙂
Yes, Mexican cuisine always has great flavors 🙂
This looks so good. I LOVE chipotle.
Me too! Way back Gene built a smoker just so I could smoke my jalapenos from the garden. He was such an engineer… but I never got around to making the adobo sauce.
That is so cool!
Thank you for instructing chicken recipe in Mexican style. Surely I’m going to try in my home.
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