The year started with a little home comfort, a little continental taste, and a little sweet.
Now, I decided, it needed a little spice.
I had found a wonderful Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken recipe last summer, but just never got around to making it. I thought that the middle of winter would be a great time to brave the drizzle and spice up our week.
Unfortunately, our fairly new grill was knocked over during a wind storm over the holidays and has decided not to work. (Hubs is ecstatic, as you can imagine.)
So, I went to Plan B.
The Recipe:
Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken, adapted from Pip & Ebby
24-oz jar medium salsa verde
juice from one lime
1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped
1 1.25-oz. package taco seasoning
2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed
(If you do not have or want to use a packet of taco seasoning, you can substitute the following:
1 T chili powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 t dried oregano
1/2 t paprika
1 1/2 t ground cumin
1 t sea salt
1 t black pepper)
In crockpot, mix everything but the chicken. Add chicken and cover with salsa sauce. Cook on low for 6 hours. Serve on rice or shred and serve in tacos.
The Results:
I wanted spice – and boy, did I get spice!
(Now, that doesn’t mean you can’t tweak my version to make it a little less spicy – for example you could use mild salsa and no jalapenos. I think that would bring the heat down a tad.)
But I like things a little spicy, so this was right up my alley. Plus, it included two of my most favorite food flavors: cilantro and lime. I swear if they had a cilantro and lime perfume, I’d buy it. Really.
I also liked figuring out my own ‘taco seasoning’ to use. (If you want it milder, remove the red pepper flakes.) I saw several ideas online and kind of picked and chose the seasonings I liked.
And I loved the color combinations in my crockpot.
Unfortunately (for the looks) but fortunately (for the flavor), everything kind of melded all together to make a brownish-green sauce. It certainly wasn’t pretty, but it was chock-full of spicy, citrusy, cilantro-y taste. We served it over rice last night and are using the leftovers for tacos tonight.
Another super simple crockpot recipe to add to my growing collection of easy dinners.
Enjoy!
I live with a man who is an amazing cook. I am definitely not. But I'm learning. Join me as I share the ups and downs of figuring out this cooking thing.
You know I love easy! This sounds fabulous and I don’t think I’ll adjust the heat one bit. I’ve been on a spicy kick lately. Great recipe Courtney! And sorry about your grill…grrrr. No fun.
This would have gone perfect with my black bean quinoa salad I made for lunch today! I love quick and easy recipes. I need to post more crock pot recipes!
Too bad about the grill!! But then we got this new recipe for the slow-cooker!!! I am also a big fan of lime and cilantro… big fan!! Don’t worry about the photo… we totally get that… and have taken one like it ourselves:)
If you find out how to take a photo of this kind of dish, would you let me know?? Thanks:)
I just bet your husband was excited about that grill not working.. he gets to get him a new grill LOL. My father would be the same way. And I LOVE a good and easy chicken recipe, so this Cilantro Lime Chicken sounds like the perfect dish on a lazy day. And that fact that’s its in the slow cooker.. just makes me even happier
What a fabulous crockpot meal! I have never tried chicken in the crockpot because I’ve worried about the texture. But apparently I had no reason to worry. Your chicken sounds like it was a big hit! So glad you shared this! Happy Hump day. Two day until Friday…
Salsa verde and cilantro, sounds like a winner.
HI! I made this last weekend, too (found it on Pinterest). I used red salsa and got a very dark red sauce. Our grocery store was out of Cilantro so I had to buy the ‘tube’ of pre chopped (maybe mixed w/ olive oil?) Cilantro so not sure how that affected the Cilantroness of it. I used one jalepeno as my hubby sweats bullets from spicy food but it turned out GREAT. Also had chicken tenders vs chicken breasts but, again, fine. Have eaten it in soft shell tacos, over salad and over Spanish rice. Perfect winter food. Thanks for your take!
I do like spice so this would be perfect for me!! I’ll pull out my crockpot on the weekend if I know I’ll be out all day and love to come home to a comforting meal!! During the week my hours are way too long to use it!! This will be making it to one of my crockpot weekends for sure!
Oh my! They look delicious – and I love extra spices too, especially in our cold winter nights in Iowa
Thanks for sharing!
Forget the looks, I love the flavours in this and would happily go back for seconds. And thirds. Love cilantro and lime.
[...] I would also recommend slicing the jicama julienne style and tossing in some cilantro (just for you Courtney!). I think it will be even better that way. And if Miss A and I ever get the hankering for some [...]
I love cilantro and lime also and your recipe sounds delicious. As far as jalapeños, sometimes you can get a really hot one and sometimes you will get one that has no heat at all. I’m definitely trying your recipe.
When I first read this post I knew I had to try it! I, too, love anything cilantro and lime. I had to leave out the jalapeno’s because Pat is allergic to the capsaicin in peppers. I did do my own taco seasoning and Pat can do small amounts of things like chili flakes so that worked out well. We have it started in our crock pot this morning and I can’t wait for the 6 hours to go by to see how it turns out! Thanks for the recipe!
[...] Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken by Courtney from {Mis}Adventures in Cooking [...]