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: 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.
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.
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Burrito Bowls
- 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.
- Allow Chicken to Cook: Set the slow cooker to low and cook chicken for 2 hours.
- Shred Chicken: Using two forks, shred the chicken into small pieces.
- Build Burrito Bowls: 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 burritos, tostada salad, nachos, 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 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, Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup and Slow Cooker Ribs to name a few!
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!
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!