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.
I'm making this right now!! Only bad thing, my hands stink like cilantro and I can't get it to go away!! LOL Otherwise, it smells DELICIOUS!!!!!
Hi there, I just made you recipe and it was great! I wanted to let you know I found it on Pinterest and featured it in my blog today 🙂
http://aworkingmomsguidetorandomness.blogspot.com/2012/02/woot-woot-pinterest-tuesday.html
that looks sooooooo wonderful, I love all of the ingredients and can not wait to try it! Thank you so very much for sharing!
Hi Jon,
You're on the right track. You would take two whole chicken breasts and cut them down the middle to have four chicken breast halves. Most grocery stores do this for you, so you likely won't have to do any cutting. I hope that makes sense!
Megan
do you cut 6 chicken breast into halves then add those twelve halves to it or do u add 6 halves total….does this make any sense? my wife and i are going to try it on Monday so any response will help. Thanks!
Success!!! Made a few adjustments based on what I had on hand, but… the family loved it, and voted it "a keeper!"
Hi Liz! I think you must be thinking of each "chicken breast half" as a "chicken breast." Chicken breasts come as a pair, so a half of that would be considered a "chicken breast half." I hope that makes sense!!
Megan
Hi Megan,
I pinned your recipe a long time ago, and I am finally trying it for tonight's dinner. I had to make a few adjustments based on the ingredients that I had on hand, but I think it'll turn out great. Thanks for sharing! Have a great day. ~Sally
When you say 4 chicken breast halves do you mean 4 whole chicken breasts or 2 chicken breasts sliced in half?
made this with pork and sweet rice. YUM!
Hi Denise! Of course, feel free to post this and link back!
Megan
I tried this recipe for a Taco Salad party and it turned out so well! I used bone-in chicken breast because I like the way shredded chicken turns out with them, Easy way to cook chicken for various south of the border recipes!! May I share this on my blog and link here?
Thanks for posting! I made this two weeks ago for my boyfriend and I and we both loved it (and he is also a very picky eater)! I will definitely be making this more!!
I'm making this right now. I used the Victoria brand salsa (mild) and my house smells delicious. And it's only been an hour of it cooking. Can't wait to try.
You aren't supposed to put frozen meat in the crock pot due to food safety issues, per the USDA. Something about the cooking temperatures, and the rate of defrosting/cooking. Be safe.
Finally made this tonight!!! Used it in taco salads and it was delish and easy!
Just put mine in the crockpot. The ingredients smelled so good while assembling. I have been looking for more uses for cillantro. Thank you for posting this recipe and the photos! Looking forward to my lunch!
Crockpots were made for Minnesota winters. We love ours too – this looks like a great new recipe to try out next week!
I just found your recipe and it sounds so good I had to try it. However, I only had two boneless skinless chicken breasts of unequal size in the fridge. So, I cut them up into smaller pieces and added 2 red bell peppers, 1 can of corn (no salt added) and 1 can of black beans (rinsed). I'm starting the mixture on high since I'm getting a late start tonight, but I plan to turn it down to low in an hour or so.
It already smells great!
I plan to serve it over rice…or maybe shred the chicken and make burritos with it if the meat is really tender!!
Thanks for the recipe!
YUM! I made this minus the cilantro and the lime, but I think that might give it a great flair! I always shred it for chicken tacos! You can also use a can of rotel tomatoes in place of the salsa!
FWIW, I've never defrosted the chicken… I usually put the breasts in there frozen and cook on low for 8-10 and it comes out moist and fully cooked! So delicious!