When I’ve had a long day or week, I want something simple, hearty and comforting for dinner. These Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito bowls have been on rotation for weeks in our house because they’re super easy to make thanks to the slow cooker and you get tender, juicy flavorful chicken every time!

Slow cooker chicken burrito bowlsPin

Why I Love This Recipe

  • Convenience: Any type slow cooker recipe is going to make weeknight dinners a breeze. You get to dump everything into the slow cooker, set it, forget it and, like magic, have tender chicken you can pull into pieces with just a fork. These burrito bowls are perfect for busy parents!
  • Versatile: This chicken is super versatile too. Of course, it makes great burrito bowls with tons of toppings, but you can also use this chicken for tacos, taquitos or even enchiladas. Shredded chicken is a great staple to have ready for so many recipes!
  • Nutritious: Chicken burrito bowls are quite healthy for you too! You get protein from the chicken and beans, and fiber if you add sauteed vegetables. Build on top of a bed of lettuce to make a salad to boost the nutrition even more!
  • Family Friendly Crowd Pleaser: The best part about burrito bowls is that everyone gets to build theirs just how they like it! It’s a perfect DIY meal. Someone may want lots of cheese and sour cream, while others may want tortilla chips or diced tomatoes. All the toppings you could imagine, customized to your taste.
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Ingredients for Shredded Chicken Burrito Bowls in the Slow Cooker

For the Slow Cooker Chicken:

  • Boneless skinless chicken breasts: You could also use boneless skinless chicken thighs if you prefer dark meat!
  • Seasonings: Cumin, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt
  • Diced onion: This ingredient adds even more flavor to the chicken.

For the Burrito Bowls:

  • Cooked quinoa: Or any time of grain you prefer like brown or white rice.
  • Cooked black beans: Again, any type of beans you love will work! We like black beans, but pinto beans would be great too!
  • Guacamole: You can make you own guacamole with this recipe, or skip a step and buy store bought if you prefer.
  • Salsa: Pico de gallo or a medium spice chunky salsa are our favorites, but again, whatever you love!
  • Chopped cilantro: This ingredient (like other toppings) is optional, but we can’t get enough cilantro in our family! 
  • Cheese: Shredded cheese makes any burrito bowl more delicious! You could do a Mexican blend, Monterrey Jack or any type you want.

*See full list of ingredients with measurements in the recipe card below. And feel free to add any toppings that might not be listed.

slow cooker shredded chicken in burrito bowlPin

How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls

  1. Add Chicken to Slow Cooker: Place chicken breasts in a slow cooker and sprinkle with all of the seasonings and diced onion. Toss and coat the chicken breasts with the spices.
  2. Allow Chicken to Cook: Set the slow cooker to low and cook chicken for 2 hours.
  3. Shred Chicken: Using two forks, shred the chicken into small pieces.
  4. Build Burrito Bowls: In each bowl place a scoop of quinoa (or brown rice) and top with chicken, beans and remaining toppings as desired.
crock pot chicken burrito bowlsPin

How to Store and Freeze Leftover Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

  1. To store: Let the shredded chicken cool to room temperature before storing to prevent moisture buildup. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
  2. To freeze: For longer storage, freeze leftover chicken for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight when ready to eat. Gently reheat in microwave, stovetop, or oven, adding liquid such as chicken broth if needed.

Meal Prep Shredded Crock Pot Chicken

The best part about making this Slow Cooker Chicken is that this can (and should be) doubled so you have tons of leftovers for days to come. Use leftovers in burritos, tostada salad, nachos, enchiladas and more.

slow cooker chicken burrito bowlsPin

DIY Meals For the Win!

DIY meals like DIY: Taco Buffet, DIY Hot Dog Bar, DIY: Oatmeal Buffet are great when you’re feeding a crowd so everyone can build their own favorite flavor combinations!

More Slow Cooker Recipes

I love a slow cooker recipe because you can put all the ingredients in there and forget about it for a few hours while it cooks itself! If you’re looking for more slow cooker recipes, try out my Slow Cooker Chicken Chili, Slow Cooker 12 Layer Lasagna and Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup to name a few!

Slow Cooker chicken burrito bowlsPin

Burrito bowls makes getting dinner on the table super easy! And, everyone will be happy getting to build their own bowl just the way they like it! Let me know what you think of this slow cooker chicken burrito bowl recipe in the comments below or tag me on social media!

Pin

Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls

This recipe is super convenient for when days get busy! It basically cooks itself and gives you juicy, shredded chicken that's full of flavor. Build burrito bowls and use the leftover chicken for more recipes!
2.55 from 11 votes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Mexican, Tex-Mex
Servings: 6
Author: Catherine McCord
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Equipment

  • slow cooker

Ingredients  

For the Slow Cooker Chicken:

For the Burrito Bowls

Instructions 

  • Place chicken breasts in a slow cooker and sprinkle with all of the seasonings and diced onion.
  • Toss and coat the chicken breasts with the spices.
  • Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 2 hours.
  • Shred the chicken with 2 forks.
  • To build your bowl, place a scoop of quinoa or brown rice and top with chicken, beans and remaining toppings as desired.

Video

Notes

Weelicious Guacamole Recipe
Tools for This Recipe (affiliate link): Slow Cooker
To store: Let the shredded chicken cool to room temperature before storing to prevent moisture buildup. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
To freeze: For longer storage, freeze leftover chicken for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight when ready to eat. Gently reheat in microwave, stovetop, or oven, adding liquid such as chicken broth if needed.

Nutrition

Calories: 422kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 894mg | Potassium: 1004mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 911IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 173mg | Iron: 3mg
Did you make this recipe?Mention @Weelicious or tag #weelicious!

About the Author

Catherine is a mama of three. A Kentucky girl living in California. Here’s what I know: all kids can be great eaters and mealtime must be easy. I create simple, healthy recipes the whole family will love.

Comments

  1. How many pounds in 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts? My local store the last package I bought had three breasts and was over 3 pounds.

  2. […] eat once a week. We omitted the red pepper flakes so R could eat it too. Justin made Weelicious’s crockpot pulled chicken while I was at work. He turned the slow cooker on high and it took an hour and a half. […]

  3. I used a whole chicken but cut it up into quarters. I cooked it for 7 hours after dredging it through the spices. I tasted it after 7 and found that it wasn’t flavorfull enough for me. So I cooked it another 7, deboned. Absolutely delicious. The fluid from the chicken and their spices, I used to warm up the beans for 4 hours, delicious, as well. Thank you for this recipe. I have all kinds of food restrictions but this hit the spot.

  4. Made this tonight and it was soon good. I ended up using leftover chicken from a roast and just warming it up in a pan with some chicken stock and all of the spices. It turned out great!

  5. Making these tonight, thanks!!

    Next time you are up in Santa Rosa, check out Oliver’s Market, it’s a great Whole Foods alternative with awesome prepared foods and all the same organic and local options.

  6. Fantastic! We’re totally obsessed with these. Whoever created the slow cooker gave a great gift to moms!

  7. Yum! We love enchilada bowls! And I especially love it when the slow cooker does all the work for me!

  8. The reason for the low and short cooking time is the boneless skinless chicken breasts. I tested this 5 times before posting. When I cooked the chicken breasts for 3 hours they became a bit too dry (although the added liquid helped making the shredded pieces a bit more juicy). Let me know if you try it!

  9. I am planning on making these tomorrow but it seems like something is missing from the recipe instructions. Really just put chicken, spices and onions in and only cook for 2 hours on low???

  10. Just a note about slow cooker safety. I have a 2 year old and have been looking into more slow cooker recipes and how to use them best. I have read that you have to cook frozen foods longer in a slow cooker so it reaches a minimum of 165 degrees to kill bacteria. It says it’s always preferable to use thawed food.

  11. I would search weelicious for another one of Catherine’s “crockpot chicken” recipes and use that as your baseline for cooking time. Just sub out the spices for this recipe. I’ve done a “busy working mama” version of this- take 3 lbs of frozen chicken breasts & fit them in crockpot as best you can. (This can be harder than you think since frozen breasts don’t bend!) Take 1 jar of your favorite salsa and mix with 1/2 envelope reduced sodium taco seasoning. Pour salsa spice mixture over frozen chicken breasts, cover, cook on “low” for 8-9 hours. When you get home from work, shred the breasts and serve in tacos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, or whatever. My 3 yr old, 18m old & hubby all love this & it’s so easy for the work week.

  12. Would like to know how to adapt this with a whole chicken instead, as I find they are much more economical.

  13. No liquid necessary! I know it seems crazy, but the chicken naturally releases plenty of liquid for the recipe.

  14. I’m just curious because I’ve just started using a slow cooker, but I thought there needed to be some liquid in the bottom so the meats (or veggies or whatever) do not burn. I don’t see this in this recipe, or many others for that matter. Thanks!

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