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!
Why I Love This Recipe
- Convenience: Slow cooker recipes make weeknight dinners effortless. Just toss everything in, set it, and come back to tender, pull-apart chicken. These burrito bowls are a lifesaver for busy parents!
- Versatile: This shredded chicken works beyond burrito bowls—use it for a taco bar, baked taquitos, Mexican Lasagna or Mexican enchiladas. It’s a great staple for multiple meals!
- Nutritious: Burrito bowls are packed with protein from chicken and beans. Add sautéed veggies or serve on lettuce for extra fiber and nutrition!
- Family-Friendly: Burrito bowls let everyone customize their own meal—more cheese for some, extra toppings for others. A perfect DIY dinner everyone will love!
The Ingredients
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 rice 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.*
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls
Step 1: 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.
Step 2: Set the slow cooker to low and cook chicken for 2 hours. Using two forks, shred the chicken into small pieces.
Step 3: In each bowl place a scoop of quinoa (or brown rice) and top with chicken, beans and remaining toppings as desired.
How to Store and Freeze Leftover Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
- 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.
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 chicken burritos, tostada salad, homemade nachos, Mexican enchiladas and more.
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 Simple Slow Cooker Recipes
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 by leaving a comment and rating below!
Want more Weelicious? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for all the newest recipes!
Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Slow Cooker Chicken:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 yellow onion, diced
For the Burrito Bowls
- 2 cups cooked quinoa or brown rice
- 2 cups cooked black beans
- 1 cup guacamole (recipe linked below)
- 1 cup salsa
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
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.
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.
[…] 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. […]
So glad this was a hit!
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.
Yes! I would add something like black beans or sauteed tofu for added protein!
Can I make vegetarian and not using the chicken?
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!
About 1 cup!
Hi Catherine,
How much dry quinoa do I need to make 2 C of cooked quinoa?
Sounds delicious!
Looking forward to trying the quinoa burrito bowl this evening!
4 breasts is about 2 pounds!