Slow Cooker Creamy Cilantro Lime Chicken

📝Shopping list

To make this amazing crockpot cilantro lime chicken, you will need: 

• boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• chicken broth
• limes - juiced
• garlic cloves
• salt
• black pepper
• chili lime seasoning
• dried cilantro
• honey
• Fresh cilantro 
• sour cream

🔪Instructions

This great recipe just involves a few simple steps:

Preparing Your Slow Cooker

Prepare your crock pot by coating it with a non-stick agent.  Any nonstick cooking spray or oil will work. Olive oil and avocado oil are my go-to coatings. 

 NOTE: some slow cooker inserts come with a nonstick surface.  Use of a non-stick agent is still suggested. However, oil is sometimes recommended rather than spray to protect the longevity of the non-stick surface.  Check your slow cooker's manual if you have any concerns. 

Alternatively, you can choose to use a slow cooker liner.  

Cooking

• 🌿Place chicken into the bottom of your slow cooker.  Add in all remaining ingredients EXCEPT fresh cilantro and sour cream.  
• 🌿Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours.  
• 🌿After cooking, remove the chicken breasts from the slow cooker and set aside. 
• 🌿Temper your sour cream by stirring some of the hot liquid from your slow cooker into it.  This will bring up the temperature of the sour cream and help to avoid curdling when you add it into the hot slow cooker.  
• 🌿Add coarsely chopped cilantro and tempered sour cream into the liquid in your slow cooker.  
• 🌿Use an immersion blender to fully blend all ingredients in your slow cooker into a creamy sauce.  Make sure all cilantro and garlic cloves are fully blended.  
• 🌿Shred chicken and stir it into your creamy sauce.  Your easy slow cooker recipe is now ready to serve!!

🍽Serving suggestions

There are so many different ways to serve this easy dinner.  One of our favorite ways is on top of a bed of cilantro lime rice.  It is also great over quinoa, plain fluffy rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, and polenta.  And it is one of our favorite toppings for baked potatoes!  

The creamy cilantro lime sauce makes this dish perfect for serving on a hamburger-style brioche bun.  Or, use it to make cilantro lime chicken tacos on taco night! 

You can also serve this shredded chicken dinner as is.  Just add a sprinkling of freshly chopped cilantro, a dollop of sour cream,  and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.  

🔁Substitution ideas

1. Use boneless skinless chicken thighs in place of breasts.
2. Add canned black beans into the mixture if you want to up the fiber content
3. Top with red pepper flakes to dial up the heat in this delicious dinner.
4. We love to make a big batch of this and use it to meal plan for the whole week.  This recipe can be easily doubled by exactly doubling each ingredient.  

Storing

Store leftovers of this slow cooker cilantro lime chicken recipe in an airtight container or bag.  The next day, you can gently reheat in the microwave.  leftovers will last in the refrigerator 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

Allow frozen chicken to defrost overnight in the refrigerator.  Be sure to stir ingredients together fully before cooking and again before serving.  This will offset any separation that may have occurred during freezing  

😉Hints & hacks

1. In the market for a new slow cooker? I love mine!
2. To confirm that chicken is cooked all the way through, use a meat thermometer. Chicken is considered safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165 ℉.
3. There are a lot of different opinions regarding the best way to shred chicken. Some people prefer to use a potato masher while others use the beaters of a handheld mixer. This chicken will be so tender it will be very easy to shred with two forks. I like to keep it simple 😉
4. Leftover chicken from this recipe is perfect for making homemade chicken salad. 
5. The perfect way to store leftovers of this slow cooker recipe is in individual serving-sized containers.  This makes for easy grab-and-go meals on busy nights.
6. Using a slow cooker liner is an optional step. I like to purchase my liners in bulk for a less expensive per-piece price.
7. Always double-check to make sure your slow cooker is on and plugged in!!! Coming home to a cold slow cooker is the worst!