Hearty Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken with Black Beans

Easy Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken with Black Beans can be used to make burritos, burrito bowls, lettuce wraps or served on it own.

This simple slow cooker chicken recipe is bursting with flavorful spices and herbs.

I love that I can just toss everything in to the crock pot and let it do it's magic while I go about my day.

The splash of lime at the end may sound odd. But, the hint of citrus does amazing things to brighten the flavors of this recipe.

This chicken makes a great filling for burritos. Or you can serve it with some Cilantro Lime Rice for an easy burrito bowl.

Or serve it by itself with a classic Caesar Salad.

Ingredients for Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken with Beans

The ingredients are pretty basic:

• boneless chicken breasts or thighs
• canned tomatoes with chilies, I like the fire roasted
• black beans, or you could go with pinto beans
• fresh garlic, jalapeno, lime and cilantro
• liquid smoke
• cumin, chili powder, oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper

You'll notice there are three layers of smoke flavor: the fire roasted tomatoes, liquid smoke and smoked paprika. You can change out any or all of them but the combination really adds to the overall flavor of the dish.

Recipe

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Ingredients

 

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
• 2 cans 10 ounce fire-roasted diced tomatoes & green chilies (undrained)
• 2 cans 15 ounce cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 3-4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 small jalapeno pepper (finely diced)
• 1½ tablespoons hickory-flavored liquid smoke
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Salt and black pepper (to taste)
• 2 limes (quartered)
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro (chopped)

Instructions

 

• Add chicken pieces to the bottom of a 5 or 6-quart slow cooker crock. Top with tomatoes, black beans, garlic, jalapeno pepper, liquid smoke, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.
• Stir to combine, making sure the chicken thighs are coated and submerged in the liquid. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
• 30 minutes before serving, remove lid and shred chicken with two forks while in the slow cooker. Stir to combine shredded chicken with other ingredients. Cover and cook for remaining 30 minutes.
• Remove lid and squeeze fresh lime juice into the crock. Add cilantro and stir to combine.

Until next time, happy eating.
~Audrey