Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas

3 June 2011 Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas
Oh. My. Word. These are amazing. Actually, amazing doesn’t even cover it. They are stupendous! Spectacular! Dreamy! Totally Tubular! You want to make these soon. Very soon. In fact, you’re already too late. Gosh, you’re so slow……cooker. Slow cooker, get it? Okay, sorry.
I found three marked down peppers at Food City so I knew immediately I’d make fajitas with them…..then I decided to use my crockpot too. Y’all are sure bossy and keep asking me for more crockpot recipes. GOSH! The color of the peppers doesn’t matter, but the orange and yellow sure are pretty. You also need an onion, chicken, chicken broth, chili powder, cumin, salt, lime juice, tortillas, and tortilla fixings…really simple stuff that combines to make something totally tubular. You can count on hearing that at least two more times today.
Slice your veggies. It helps them not disintegrate in the crockpot…..or something like that. Actually, it just makes it easier to serve – and it’s easier to slice than chop. Unless you’re like me and have a stinking awesome Slap Chop.
Throw your peppers and onions into the bottom of your crockpot (grease it first) and put your chicken breast on top. I left mine whole because I knew I was going to shred it. I just like shredded chicken. Most fajita recipes tell you to slice the chicken…..and you can do that if you like, but I like to be different……or weird. One of those.
Pour 1/4 to ½ cup of chicken broth over the ingredients. Normally you don’t add water to a crock pot recipe, but I wanted to make sure there was plenty of moisture down in there. It really helps the chicken be nice and moist….no one likes tough chicken.
Sprinkle the chicken with the chili powder, cumin, and salt. I love cumin…..I use it regularly. It will seem like a lot of seasoning, but it’s really not. It’s just right.*NOTE – see recipe for other seasoning options.*If you want to use a pre-made seasoning, try Holgrain Fajita Seasoning from Vitacost - it’s free of MSG and non-GMO.Use my affiliate link for $10 off your first $30 order!
You’ll need to squirt lime juice over the top of the chicken. I just used bottled lime juice since I didn’t have any fresh limes. If you do, you’re totally tubular. It was probably one or two tablespoons that I squeezed in there. It really gives it a great flavor. I should grow a lime tree. I should grow any tree……actually, I should just grow SOMETHING.
You’re going to cover the crockpot and let it cook on low for 4-8 hours (depending on the cut of chicken used). It’s going to make your house smell good all day long. You’ll get belly growls. Your child will chant “Yum, yum!” all day long. Your neighbors will come knocking.Instead of standing around and twiddling your thumbs, waiting for it to be done, why don’t you make up a batch of homemade cleaner and attack the floor? I hear that works for some people.
It will look like this when it’s done. Yes, I realize this looks nothing like something you would want to serve for dinner. It looks like something that’s been on the buffet line too long. It’s not burned…..it just looks burned. Well, I hope yours isn’t burned. Mine wasn’t.

 

 
Shred your meat with two forks and then it will look lovely and delicious like this. Oh yeah, baby. Come to Mama! Stir the meat back down into the juices and veggies.  Serve it with a slotted spoon. I used my spaghetti spoon and it worked great.
Here is what we had with ours – tortillas, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and salsa. Oh yeah. Fixings. I just like saying it….but around here it sounds more like “Fixuns.”
It’s going to be messy. They are very moist and juicy, which I LOVE. You’ll make a big mess while eating it. I served ours with rice and just let my juice drip on the rice, making it delicious and totally tubular. This isn’t something you want to serve on a first date or if you’re trying to be prim and proper….it’s something you want to serve to your best friend who doesn’t care if you’re still in your pajamas at 6pm. They are really great leftover too. I took a big ole bite of cold meat before I warmed it up and it was so good I almost stood at the counter to devour the bowl cold.Totally Tubular.

The leftover chicken works GREAT in Fiesta Chicken Nachos from 20 Minute Meals.

**If you like this recipe, you should also check out Crock Pot Beef Fajitas. Beef. It’s what’s for dinner.**

Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas

  • 1 yellow onion, sliced
  • 3 sweet peppers, sliced
  • 1 ½ pounds boneless chicken breast or thighs
  • 1/4 to ½ cup chicken broth, depending on preference (leave this out if you prefer a drier fajita filling)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons cumin
  • 1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
  • Squirt of lime juice
  • Tortillas
  • Fajita fixings

Combine sliced onion and peppers in the bottom of a greased crockpot. Lay chicken on top of veggies. Pour chicken broth over top. Sprinkle everything with cumin, salt, and chili powder. Give a nice quirt of lime juice over the top. Cover and cook on low for 4-8 hours (or on High for 4 hours) or until meat is shreddable. When meat is done, shred with two forks and stir back into juices. Serve meat mixture with slotted spoon on tortillas with your choice of fixings.

NOTE: You can forgo the salt, cumin, and chili powder and instead use Homemade Taco Seasoning or Homemade Fajita Seasoning. If you want to use a pre-made seasoning, try Holgrain Fajita seasoning from Vitacost - it’s free of MSG and it’s non-GMO. Use my referral link for $10 off your first $30 order!

**See also, Crock Pot Beef Fajitas.**

Think this recipe is great? Find 40 more original, unpublished recipes by Stacy Makes Cents in her new e-cookbook, Crock On!

Disclosure: Some posts include links to sponsors or affiliates, which give me a small percentage of the sale. You are not obligated to use these links when you make a purchase, but when you do so it helps to support this site, so thank you!

About Stacy

Stacy is the author of Crock On: A Semi-Whole Foods Slow Cooker Cookbook and a stay-at-home mom to her two children, Annie (3) and Andy (newborn). After an “awakening” in March 2011, her family switched to a more natural, whole foods diet. She likes to blog about how to live on less than you make and how to eat good food while doing it. Her passion is teaching others how to save money and she tag teams with her husband in this endeavor. At Stacy Makes Cents you’ll find information on how to save money in the kitchen, how to have fun with your kids, and how to be thrifty in all areas of life. Her passion is teaching others how to live debt free. Make sure to follow her on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with her daily antics.

Comment Policy: I love hearing your thoughts and input on what I write. Since I write about what works at my house, what pleases my handsome hubby and darling children; I'm sure we'll disagree sometimes. In those cases, do what's right for you and yours. As with any form of communication, please only post comments that move the discussion in a positive direction.

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Comments

  1. Kim :
    April 4, 2013 at 8:22 pm

    Hi Stacy, I think you mentioned you freeze this recipe sometimes? May sound like a dumb question, but do you freeze before or after cooking? We have made this at least 3 times and it is a family favorite. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Stacy :
      April 5, 2013 at 7:25 am

      That’s not a dumb question at all. :-) I prefer to freeze it AFTER I’ve cooked it…because then I just have to thaw and eat – and sometimes I need a quick meal. But you could likely freeze it before with all the spices and just add the peppers fresh.

      Reply
  2. Erica :
    April 8, 2013 at 2:27 pm

    I’m trying this recipe today. I brought my chicken breast this morning so I’m thinking I’ll cook it for four hours on low.

    Reply
  3. Tracy :
    April 13, 2013 at 1:46 pm

    Love this! I bought two packs of chicken breast which amounted to 6 breasts. ( I have two teenage boys). I left other ingredients the same. It was great! Chicken shredded perfectly. I made a rice,corn, black bean, and cilantro as a “fix in” and refried black beans and sour cream, my 17 year old said it was better than Chipotle!! Thanks sooo much! God Bless!

    Reply
  4. Carrie :
    April 16, 2013 at 11:14 am

    I make these all the time. I use 1/4 can chicken broth and 1/4 can enchilada sauce as wella as cumina and garlic salt and they are super yummy. Great as chicken tacos :) I love your site thanx

    Reply
  5. Sue :
    April 22, 2013 at 6:59 pm

    I made this tonight knowing that not all three kids would eat it since that’s just the way it is at our dinner table. Holy Cow! Was I wrong. And happy to be wrong. They even asked for seconds. Hallelujah! It’s always nice to add a recipe to my short list of meals that everyone will eat. Thanks for a great recipe. Not only did my kids like it but it was super easy and healthy!

    Reply
  6. Michelle :
    April 23, 2013 at 5:45 pm

    Hi Stacy-

    I’ve been trying to use my crock pot more so I can’t wait to make these tacos! They look awesome! I used to use the “two fork” shred method too but I want to pass along a trick that I learned recently. Just to save you a bit of time and effort, if you put the cooked chicken in your stand up mixer with the paddle attachment – it will shred it beautifully!!! I haven’t tried it with other meats but I’ll bet it would also work just as well. Happy cooking.

    Reply
  7. Kristin :
    April 27, 2013 at 9:02 pm

    I just cooked this for a group of kids and my husband and everyone loved it!! It was so good and tender.

    Reply
  8. Mama Bear :
    April 30, 2013 at 1:26 pm

    I have the 3 qt crock pot, it is not wide but it is deep. the recipe doesn’t call for much liquid (1/2 c of broth) will my chicken be very dry?

    Reply
  9. Serena :
    May 3, 2013 at 1:19 am

    I am trying to count calories and would like to know how many servings this recipe is and how many calories per serving?

    Reply
    • Stacy :
      May 3, 2013 at 6:38 am

      I’m not sure – we don’t count calories. You could try plugging it into My Fitness Pal and see.

      Reply
  10. Leah :
    May 9, 2013 at 3:00 pm

    Hi Stacy, here’s a really silly question…why did you grease the pot? I mean, later you added chicken broth anyway? Im wondering if greasing the pot is necessary… Thanks! Can’t wait to try it!

    Reply
    • Stacy :
      May 9, 2013 at 3:03 pm

      I just always do…because when I don’t, I seem to have a bigger mess to clean up. Is it necessary? Probably not…but I hate extra scrubbing. ;-)

      Reply
  11. Marilyn Burroughs :
    May 11, 2013 at 10:38 am

    I am offended by your remark about school food. I work in a school cafeteria and our food is very good and appealing.

    Reply
    • Stacy :
      May 11, 2013 at 2:49 pm

      Marilyn, please do not be offended. :-) It’s a joke between my mother and I. She was a cafeteria worker my entire school life – and I hold the utmost respect for her and her colleagues.

      Reply
  12. Tiffany :
    May 11, 2013 at 11:10 am

    Thanks so much for the recipe! I have never had my peppers and onions turn out as perfect as they did in the crock pot in these Chicken Fajitas. I did have less time to cook it so I used chicken tenderloins and cooked it on high for 2 hours, but it still turned out great! I look forward to trying some of your other recipes!

    Reply
  13. abigail lucs :
    May 19, 2013 at 12:42 pm

    What if I only have chicken tenderloins? Is the cooking time still the same?

    Reply
  14. Wayne :
    May 22, 2013 at 10:55 am

    Hi. How many people will this serve? Need to feed 8 adults. Will this be enough?

    Reply
    • Stacy :
      May 23, 2013 at 6:18 am

      I don’t think it will serve 8 adults…especially if they are hungry (eat more than 2 or use a lot of filling). I would probably double it. :-)

      Reply
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