This Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken is the perfect, no-fail dinner recipe for any night of the week. Tender, spicy chicken is slow-cooked in a zingy cilantro lime sauce that will leave you singing! It’s an easy slow cooker recipe with the most minimal prep, so less effort and clean-up for you! Winner, winner!
Updated: February 2019 and October 2024
Why This Slow Cooker Chicken Recipe Works
- Shred the chicken and use it for cilantro lime chicken tacos or a nacho topping.
- 10 minutes of prep, your slow cooker does the heavy lifting and dinner is DONE.
- I’ve never tasted more tender, fall-apart chicken in all my life.
- We make this recipe ALL the time and it never fails. Ever.
- Great recipe if you’re wanting leftovers throughout the week, and can be used in a variety of ways. It doesn’t get old.
- It’s versatile! Eat with rice and black beans, potatoes or pasta OR…
- Shred the chicken and use it for cilantro lime chicken tacos or a nacho topping.
You know those fantastically easy dinner recipes that never fail? This delicious Cilantro Lime Chicken made in the slow cooker is one of those recipes for me. This easy meal takes almost no time to prep and my crock pot does all the work!
The end result is a spicy, flavorful meal with the most tender chicken I have ever eaten. Like “no knife required” tender! And the cilantro, jalapeno, lime sauce is so flavorful you’ll want to eat it with a spoon.
Add this delicious dinner recipe to your meal rotation once, and I promise you’ll keep it around. It just doesn’t get old! It’s also great for busy weeknights, meal prep or leftovers. Trust me, this tender cilantro lime chicken has been tried and tested approximately 9,001 times in our home and always to rave reviews.
Cilantro Lime Chicken Ingredients
Use fresh ingredients for the best tasting results to your recipe.
Salsa – The spice level of the salsa determines the spiciness of the dish. Go mild or super spicy!
Lime – Use fresh lime juice only (the plastic fake limes should be banned from existence).
Cilantro – You can’t go wrong with adding as much cilantro as you’d like. It IS the star of the show, after all.
Taco seasoning – Use your favorite brand OR make your own homemade taco seasoning!
Jalapeno peppers – Definitely optional, but if you enjoy a spicy meal go for it with the jalapenos!
Boneless skinless chicken breasts – Thaw completely and trim any excess fat before adding to the slow cooker.
How to Make Crockpot Cilantro Lime Chicken
This simple recipe couldn’t be easier to make. Just put everything in the crockpot and let it do all the work.
Step 1
In a slow cooker, mix together the salsa, lime juice, cilantro, taco seasoning and jalapenos (if using). Add the chicken and coat with the salsa mixture.
Step 2
Cook on Low heat for 6 hours, or on High heat for 3-4 hours.
Serve cilantro chicken with rice and with salsa mixture spooned over top, or shred the chicken and use it as a taco filling!
Recipe Notes
- Grate some lime zest over the top of the meal just before serving it. I love the burst of fresh flavor this tiny little step adds!
- The delicious sauce in this recipe can also be used as a chicken marinade if you would rather grill chicken. Marinate the chicken for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. Cook for 6 minutes on each side, or until breasts are cooked to an internal temperature of 165° in the centers.
- If you want to know exactly what is inside your taco seasoning, make your own!
- For a creamy cilantro lime sauce, add 1/4 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt to the sauce mixture before cooking.
- Shred chicken to use for tacos or nachos.
- Cut the chicken breasts into large bite size chunks and add the pieces to the slow cooker rather than adding whole breasts so the meat will be ready to eat when time is up!
- Use less spicy peppers or omit them all together.
How to Make This Recipe Less Spicy
You can make this slow cooker cilantro lime chicken recipe less spicy in a few different ways.
The first is to make sure your jalapenos are completely seeded. There’s a lot of heat in those little seeds.
Another option is to switch out the jalapeno peppers for something less spicy. You can use cherry peppers, anaheims, or poblanos, for example. For no heat peppers, I’d recommend mini bell peppers (also called lunchbox peppers), shishito peppers, or regular bell peppers.
What To Do With Cilantro
Cilantro is a tremendously piquant herb that is either loved or loathed. Personally, I love its fresh taste and zip and add it to all sorts of dishes. Here are just a few great ways to use fresh cilantro.
- Add the leaves to salad dressings or to the salad itself
- Add it to your salsa or guacamole
- Make cilantro lime rice or quinoa
- Make chimichurri sauce or pesto
- Add it to corn chowder or other soups
- Add some to your morning eggs or smoothie
- Top other chicken or fish recipes with some chopped cilantro leaves
How To Serve Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Serve it along with white or brown rice, cilantro lime rice, or Spanish rice
- Serve it with taco-seasoned roasted potatoes or with some creamy pasta
- Add it to rice bowls with loads of your favorite toppings and some flour tortillas (think: Chipotle burrito bowls copycat)
- Use shredded chicken as taco filling or nacho topping or just with some guac and chips
- Add this flavor-filled chicken to salads or protein bowls
How to Store Leftover Chicken in the Refrigerator
After the chicken has cooled completely, you can refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
Turn Cilantro Lime Chicken Into a Freezer Meal
Cook the recipe as directed, let cool completely, then add to an airtight container or freezer bag, date, and freeze for up to 6 months.
More Chicken Recipes
Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken Parmesan Stromboli
Chicken Enchilada Bake
Pineapple Barbecue Chicken
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Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 24 oz medium salsa
- 1 lime juiced
- 1/4 cup cilantro fresh, chopped
- 1.25 oz taco seasoning or 2 Tbsp homemade taco seasoning
- 2 jalapeno peppers finely chopped (optional)
- 6 chicken breasts boneless, thawed
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, mix together the salsa, lime juice, cilantro, taco seasoning and jalapenos (if using). Add the chicken and coat with the salsa mixture.
- Cook on Low heat for 6 hours, or High heat for 3-4 hours. Serve chicken with rice and with salsa mixture spooned over top, or shred and use as a taco filling!
Video
Notes
- Grate some lime zest over the top of the meal just before serving it. I love the burst of fresh flavor this tiny little step adds!
- The delicious sauce in this recipe can also be used as a chicken marinade if you would rather grill chicken. Marinate the chicken for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. Cook for 6 minutes on each side, or until breasts are cooked to an internal temperature of 165° in the centers.
- If you want to know exactly what is inside your taco seasoning, make your own!
- For a creamy cilantro lime sauce, add 1/4 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt to the sauce mixture before cooking.
- Shred chicken to use for tacos or nachos.
- Cut the chicken breasts into large bite size chunks and add the pieces to the slow cooker rather than adding whole breasts so the meat will be ready to eat when time is up!
- Use less spicy peppers or omit them all together.
This looks DELICIOUS!! its in the crockpot right now!! cant wait to try it!
I'm going to make some yellow rice to serve with this. Thanks for a great recipe!
I am in Minnesota, too. I have to try this recipe soon!
This was amazing!!! I'm definately going to be blogging out this!!! My husband loved it!
http://everydayclassroom.blogspot.com/p/food.html
I tried this recipe tonight for dinner! Whipped it up in minutes and let it cook on high for around 4.5 hours. The chicken was so tender and the sauce was good. It has a lot of flavor, a spicy kick to it (I only used one jalapeño pepper), and the dinner was great! I put the chicken pieces on top of a warm tortilla shell and served it with steamed veggies and Mexican style rice! It was delicious- definitely something different to try! Thanks!
I made this chicken dish last night and it was a hit. I made it with cilantro lime white rice and refried beans. It was so easy and delicious. My boys asked when I can make it again. Thanks for the recipe.
I made this today and it was absolutely delicous! I used it as taco filling, and my husband and I ate several each. Thanks for sharing this recipe! I'm sure I'll make it again many times in the future!
I made this and it is AMAZING! So easy and tasty. The great part about this meal is that is can be shredded for chicken enchiladas, quesadillas or soft tacos OR just serve over rice! I have already passed this recipe on and have gotten raving reviews
I made this yesterday and it is DELICIOUS. For the taco seasoning I made my own (an idea also found on Pinterest). This dish is SO flavorful and warms you up (getting chilly now in MN). I served it in a bowl with rinsed black beans, lite shredded cheese and some fresh diced onion. Definitely making this again.
I found this recipe on Pinterest and featured it on my blog http://www.engineeringlifeandstyle.blogspot.com
We made this tonight for dinner and it was delicious…..I added an onion….and juiced an extra lime….and used red pepper instead of the jalapenos……Yuuuummm!!
We had this for dinner, and it was a wonderful treat – my whole family loved it, even my picky 9 year old! It smelled so good as it was cooking, and as you promised, it shredded beautifully. Served with a green salad and rice – the sauce was great with the rice and on the chicken. I will make it with low sodium taco seasoning next time (and I don't usually avoid salt) – I think this will balance it out a bit. I used Tostitos restaurant style salsa as it is a bit watery but has great flavor – I think the watery base helps when something is cooking for 6 hours. Mixed it with Pace regular salsa to make the 24 ounces of salsa.
Thank you so much for this recipe!
Tracy, Yes! The bone-in breasts would be great!
Megan
can I use bone IN chicken breasts? thats all I have at the moment.
I also found this recipe on pinterest, and boy am I glad I did!! I assembled the salsa, cilantro, and jalepenos the night before and let the chicken marinade in the mixture overnight. Then I threw it all in my crock pot yesterday morning and had it for dinner last night. It is SO GOOD. I love that the ingredient measurements don't have to be perfect, and you can just throw it in a crock pot for as long as you want- an extra 3 hours doesn't hurt it at all. I put mine in a warm tortilla with a little bit of cheese, greek yogurt (which is like a mix of sour cream and cream cheese but it manages to actually be healthy), and avocado. It is one dish that I took a bite of and thought, "Did I really make this? It is SO DELICIOUS!" Thanks for sharing!!
I just made this and it was so delicious! It was a little bit dry, simply because my crock pot is new, so still trying to figure out timing differences from recipes and my unit. But SO yummy! As a side I made quinoa and black beans with Fiesta Lime seasoning and a dollop of plain fat free greek yogurt as a substitute to sour cream!
Am trying this tonight. looks fantastic! i wrapped a pork tenderloin in applewood bacon….and mixed honey, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sauteed leeks, sauteed fresh garlic, red wine,brown sugar….and cooked all in crock pot ( 2 nights ago) and it worked! was really good. served with baked sweet potato and baked brown sugar apples and a coarse slaw.
thanks for the recipe!
Made this tonight. Even my picky 10 yr old son liked it! Thank you for posting the recipe!
DELISH! We had it tonight and I added black beans and used a 1/2 c lime juice, rather than a lime (didn't have one), and what a great dinner! Put it over some rice, and the flavor was superb!
Making this for the second time tonight. My husband absolutely LOVES this recipe. His favorite part is the leftover cooked salsa/sauce it makes. Thank you for posting this recipe!!
Made this on Sunday and have had it in soft shell tortillas, over salad and over spanish rice. It was SO easy to make and super flavorful. Thanks for the recipe! It will be in regular rotation at my house.