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.
Hello All! This recipe sounds amazing! I cannot wait to try it! I did want to comment on the "frozen chicken in a crockpot". I'm a manager at a restaurant so I am thoroughly aware of food safety. It is NOT recommended to put frozen protein in a crock pot because it sits for too long in the "danger zone" and can easily become a hazard and make you VERY sick. We've all done it when we're in a pinch, but it really isn't worth the risk. Happy crock-potting!
Tried this and we all loved it! A mango oe peach salsa would be good. Will try that next time.
SO good in soft tacos! My kids ate seconds. Thanks for sharing!
We have this at our house all the time! The only thing I do different is to add about 1 cup of sour cream near the end of the cooking time. We serve it shredded, over rice, and top with shredded cheddar and sliced scallions. Yummy!
I'm in the process of waiting for this to cook right now. One hour down, 5 to go but my home already smells so wonderful! Can't wait to try as I've been eyeing this recipe and finally made myself give it a try. So easy to prep too!
Hi Sally! I love the idea of corn being added. Great thought! Thanks for sharing. Glad you liked the dish!
Megan
I pinned this about a year ago and forgot about. I was looking for something new to try and saw this and made it. I was deciding what to have for a side dish and thought why not do it all in the crock part. I added a half package of frozen corn, and a package of southwest rice and beans to the last hour of cooking. Scrumptious!!!
Mine came out runny, but still good. What did I do wrong?
saw on pinterest and went directly to the store — in my crockpot right now! great for dinner before baseball practice tonight, thanks.
This is so delicious — I've made it twice. I like to hit it with some good tequila, honey, and use homemade taco seasoning instead of a packet. I'd recommend using low sodium salsa (or make our own!).
I have made this twice now and I believe the second time is better, even, than the first! Maybe I wasn't trying to be so exact the second time! Just to try and clear up something about coriander/cilantro, coriander refers to the seeds of the plant while coriander refers to the leaves.
Hardly any prep needed, just bunged it all in the slow cooker and went off to work. Absolutely delicious, empty plates all round! I made some potato wedges with mine. The simplest dinner ever, will definitely make again. Thank you. I had to google measurements and two jars of salsa are needed and cilantro is coriander.
I made this and added fresh diced onion before cooking. I also used boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut them into larger chucks. When it was done I added fresh diced tomato and served it on white rice with black beans on the side. It was very good!!! This is something I will definitely make again.
Awesome recipe! Thank you! It was a complete hit at my house. Definitely a do over. My kids gave it a thumbs up!
Time to break out my slow cooker!!!! Yum, can't wait to taste it.
I came across this similar recipe while on weight watchers. The only thing you do extra is right before you serve the chicken you add one small container of nonfat sour cream. The Jalapeno's are not added in the recipe I have…… but it is great the next day shredded up to make burrito's.
Making this today, but did not use taco seasoning mix, added a little cumin and chili powder insteady. Can't wait for it to be ready!
Hi, just checking out your blog from a post I saw on Fbl. I read that you like your slow cooker so I thought I would recommend this product the lidpocket.com
It is a must for your slow cooker!!
Thanks so much Daisy! I forgot to mention that these are going to be tacos. I also forgot about doubling the sauce so I am off to get another jar of salsa!
a chicken breast per person sounds appropriate. you would probably want to double the sauce in that case. I made it with 4 and had a good amount of sauce for everyone. If you don't have as many chicken breat peices you can always shred the chicken & try putting it in tacos too.