Slow Cooker Chicken Carnitas
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Slow Cooker Chicken Carnitas are an easy weeknight Mexican dinner recipe. Eat these in a burrito bowl, on a tortilla, or just on their own!
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My husband was craving Mexican food over the weekend but our pantry was pretty bare-I found some chicken breast in the fridge and scraped together some ingredients to adapt my favorite Pork Carnitas recipe into a delicious Slow Cooker Chicken Carnitas meal. Not only is it easy to throw together in a pinch-it serves up wonderfully over rice or in tortillas.
Why I love this recipe
Traditional carnitas are made with a pork shoulder or pork butt and slow cooked with citrus and spices. This recipe has all of the same flavor as pork carnitas but using chicken breasts gives it a little twist.
I love that using the slow cooker makes these chicken carnitas super easy to eat-a true dump-it-and-forget-it recipe, just like our honey garlic chicken or chicken tortilla soup. Get it started in the morning or over your lunch break and dinner is ready when you get home!
Ingredients
- chicken breast
- cumin
- salt
- black pepper
- chili powder
- oregano
- yellow onion
- garlic
- an orange
- limes
If this recipe is right up your alley you might also like these Cheesy Chicken Taquitos, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Taquitos, Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos, or Easy Oven Baked Tacos.
Step by step
- Combine cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder and oregano in a small bow.
- Rub mixture over the chicken breasts and place into a slow cooker.
- Top the meat with garlic and onion.
- Halve limes and oranges and squeeze juice over meat and place fruit on top of the meat.
- Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 6-7 hours.
- Shred chicken with two forks and allow to sit in juices for 20-30 minutes before serving for more moist carnitas.
FAQs
There were a few differences in making the pork carnitas and the chicken version.
First, because the chicken breast has more surface area compared to the pork shoulder you need to cut the salt down in the rub or it will be too much.
Next, the pork cut has more fat on it so in order to keep the chicken from drying out I like to shred it about 30 minutes before I want to serve it-this lets it soak up the juices better and keeps it moist.
Chicken carnitas freeze really well. Allow to cool then store in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge then reheat in a skillet or on a baking sheet in the oven.
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
I recommend storing the chicken in the juices from the slow cooker prevent the meat from drying out when reheating. It is also best to reheat on the stovetop over the microwave if time allows.
Serving suggestions
Serve with favorite toppings over rice or in taco shells or tortilla. I like mine over rice or in a wheat tortilla with cilantro, salsa verde, pico de gallo, and avocado-so delicious!!! It also pairs deliciously with these Oven Roasted Peppers.
If you’ve tried this recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
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Slow Cooker Chicken Carnitas
- Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
Description
Slow Cooker Carnitas Style Chicken is an easy weeknight Mexican dinner recipe. Eat these in a burrito bowl, on a tortilla, or just on their own!
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb boneless chicken breast-about 4 pieces
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 small or 1 large orange
- 2 limes
Instructions
- Combine cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder and oregano in a small bow.
- Rub mixture over the chicken breasts and place into a slow cooker.
- Top the meat with garlic and onion.
- Halve limes and oranges and squeeze juice over meat and place fruit on top of the meat.
- Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 6-7 hours.
- Shred chicken with two forks and allow to sit in juices for 20-30 minutes before serving for more moist carnitas.
- Serve with favorite toppings over rice or in taco shells or tortilla.
Notes
For best results, store leftovers with juices from the slow cooker in an airtight container up to 3 days. Reheat on the stovetop over the microwave if possible.
Freeze in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container (affiliate link) up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: dinner
- Method: slow cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 323
- Sugar: 1.4 g
- Sodium: 496.4 mg
- Fat: 5.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 39.3 g
- Protein: 32.3 g
- Cholesterol: 82.7 mg
Turned out very dull in flavor and there really wasn’t much moisture either. Even the cilantro wasn’t enough to freshen up the taste. I think the pork fat is what makes carnitas taste good and it was obviously missing in this chicken version.
I like to make this for parties, thanks for the recipe!
So good!!! Everyone loved it!
Thanks so much for this recipe!! I have made it countless times! It’s my go to recipe to serve on taco night!! KatiWe often serve this at parties and it’s a hit every time!!
You are correct, Dan – and, as my (Yucatanian) mom has been making chicken carnitas – as well as pork – for some 50+ years for her family, I say: thanks for sharing the accurate translation of the word, and Yay! for this recipe! It is, indeed, delicious!
carnitas is pork. Chicken pork does not exist.
you’re totally right, I should have titled it carnitas-style chicken as it’s just my usual carnitas recipe substituting chicken instead of pork. ~Melissa
Actually, Carnitas means “little meats.” Although traditionally pork, chicken if fine.
Carnitas, literally meaning “little meats”, is a dish of Mexican cuisine originating from the state of Michoacán.
Can I cook this in my pressure cooker ?…I have one of those new pressure cookers and I love using it to cook my meats in will it work as good for this recipe?
Oh I’m about to order one to start experimenting with pressure cooking recipes Maude but I’m afraid I’m not much help yet, so sorry! ~Melissa