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shredded salsa chicken | confections of a dietitian

Somehow, January has turned into a crazy month for me. All of my commitments slowly started to pile on and I didn’t realize until a few days ago just how much time each was going to take. All of that means that I need some easy, healthy dinners for the coming weeks! I have to think I’m not the only one who has crammed a lot into the month of January, so I wanted to share this super simple, delicious dinner option with all of you.

This recipe probably isn’t new to most of you, but I just discovered it a couple of months ago and it’s been meal changing. I’m talking about slow cooker shredded salsa chicken. I can’t believe it’s taken me years of cooking and living on my own to discover this recipe! You literally pour salsa over chicken breasts in a slow cooker, cook on high for 4 hours, shred the chicken into pieces and, viola, I give you the most delicious, tender shredded chicken. How easy is that?!?

shredded salsa chicken | confections of a dietitian shredded salsa chicken | confections of a dietitian
Now, just a quick note on the salsa. You need to use a good salsa, since that’s where the chicken gets all of its flavor. The first time I made this, I just used a plain jar of salsa and it was only ok (for obvious, geographical reasons, Mexican food items are hard to find in Japan). Recently, I found Frontera Grill’s tomato salsa (this Chicago girl was doing a happy dance) and it made a world of difference! I know that those of you in the U.S. have tons of salsa options, so just use your favorite, most flavorful jar of salsa or, if you’re really awesome, make your own! Trust me, you won’t regret it!

For a quick dinner, we use the chicken as a filling for tacos or taco bowls with all of our favorite toppings (extra guacamole anyone?). I love using it in any recipes that call for shredded chicken, like soups or my chicken chipotle skins, or adding it to wraps or quesadillas for an easy lunch. Another great thing about this recipe is that it freezes well, so you can easily make a big batch and portion it out for quick additions to meals or a weeknight dinner that’s ready to go. You’re going to want to make a big batch too, because I have another phenomenal recipe to share with you next week that uses this chicken as the filling.

Now that we have another delicious, easy and healthy dinner option, maybe January won’t be quite so crazy after all.