Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Slow Cooker Adobo Chicken
Pull up a chair for chicken with a smoky kick and plenty of sauce to catch in every forkful. The chipotle gives this adobo chicken its personality, and you get to decide how fiery dinner feels. A little fresh cilantro and avocado can join in at the table if you fancy them.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 240 min
- Total
- 250 min
- Original yield
- Serves 4
- Ingredients
- 9 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Chicken
- Cuisine
- Asian
- Cooking method
- Slow cooker
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: over 60 minutes
A few quick notes
1. Choose your heat
Decide how many chipotles you want before starting; the pepper range lets you choose a gentler or hotter chicken.
2. Keep the lid handy
Everything starts together in the slow cooker, which needs to stay covered for the initial cooking period.
3. Leave a little room at the end
Shredding isn't the last cooking job. The chicken goes back under the lid for another thirty minutes in its sauce.
Get to know the ingredients
Boneless chicken breasts
Choose the boneless, skinless breasts specified here so you can pull the cooked chicken straight into shreds.
Chipotles in adobo
Look for peppers packed in adobo sauce. That sauced form belongs in the cooker along with the other ingredients.
Tomato sauce
The canned tomato sauce goes in at the beginning, giving the shredded chicken a tomato base to settle into.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 4. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 2 steps completeMake room for Slow Cooker Adobo Chicken
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Bring the bowls together
Spoon the chicken over cooked rice with vegetables if you like, then add the optional cilantro and diced avocado.
A little more help as you go
Two forks are useful here
Pull the chicken apart with two forks near the end of cooking, before stirring the shreds through the sauce.
Powdered seasonings go straight in
The garlic and onion powders join the other ingredients at the start; there isn't a separate frying stage for them.
A few questions you might have
Does the vinegar go in after cooking?
Add the apple cider vinegar at the start with everything else. It cooks in the sauce around the chicken.
Is the brown sugar a topping?
It goes into the slow cooker with the sauce ingredients, so its sweetness is mixed through the finished chicken.
Should I remove the sauce before shredding?
Keep it in the cooker. Once the chicken is shredded, stir it into those sauces before covering it again.
Can I use the high setting?
Yes, the directions allow four hours on high or eight on low, followed by the covered cooking after shredding.
Are the avocado and cilantro required?
They're optional additions at serving, alongside the suggested cooked rice and vegetables. The chicken is finished before they join it.
Any more cooking tips?
Choose how many chipotle peppers to use based on how spicy you want the chicken to be.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: lecremedelacrumb.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.