Crockpot Fiesta Chicken and Rice
When you’re in the mood for a creamy, cheesy, and perfectly taco-seasoned supper, make this easy and scrumptious crockpot fiesta chicken and rice recipe.
I’ve been on a roll lately with slow cooker chicken and rice dishes and I couldn’t resist bringing you just one more today. Being in a mood for Mexican food, I worked up a slow cooker fiesta chicken recipe that’ll have you doing the Mexican hat dance – if you know the Mexican hat dance. Umm, which I don’t.
I’ve been to Mexico more times than I can count. I love the food, atmosphere, sounds, and sights. And I especially love that Donald Duck is such a big supporter of the whole country, lending his name and talents so that folks everywhere can know what a wonderful place Mexico is. I suppose at this point I should clarify that the Mexico I go to is more of a kiosk version of the original, located in Disney World’s Epcot. It’s still lots of fun though…
Now, back to this crock pot fiesta chicken recipe! This ticks all my boxes: it’s ridiculously easy, delicious, and family-friendly. The ingredients include chicken (of course), cream of chicken soup for that creamy texture, corn and black beans, salsa, and taco seasoning mix for that quintessential Mexican flavor. Just pop all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and let it work its magic.
I’ve included recommendations below for how you can make this crockpot salsa chicken recipe your own so it suits your family. You can add heat, subtract heat, add veggies… go wild! You will also find lots of other easy-peasy crockpot recipes below because they just might be my favorite, but here are 10 slow cooker recipes with chicken breast to get you started. Alright, let’s get cookin’!
Recipe Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken breast
- Cooked rice
- Cream of chicken soup (use fat-free if you like)
- Corn kernels
- Black beans
- Salsa (I always use mild salsa but you can spice this up by using hot if you prefer).
- Taco seasoning mix
How to Make Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken and Rice
Place your chicken in the bottom of your slow cooker.
Pour the can of cream of chicken soup over the chicken in the slow cooker.
Then add the corn…
Black beans…
Salsa…
And the taco seasoning to the crockpot.
Give these ingredients a quick stir.
Don’t worry about being thorough here and don’t feel that you have to spread the cream soup evenly or anything.
Now cover that up and cook it on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
When that is done, right before serving, stir in your cooked rice.
Give that a good stir. By now your chicken is really tender and will just break up into shredded chicken perfectly when you stir it.
I love to top a bowl of crockpot fiesta chicken and rice with cheese, chopped green onion, and a dollop of sour cream. But I’ve included more serving suggestions below.
Enjoy!
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheat in the microwave. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months before thawing overnight and reheating in the microwave.
Recipe Notes
- Now as far as chicken goes, you can use anywhere from one chicken breast to five or six. It’s totally up to you and depends on what you have on hand and what your budget is. Normally I would just use two and that is plenty for my whole family because we’re going to break them up a bit after they are done cooking. That is the thing I love about meals like this, they really allow you to stretch your meat budget. A little chicken or a lot, no one will ever know.
- As promised, here are some ways to make this crockpot fiesta chicken recipe your own:
- Substitute the cup of salsa for canned tomatoes or a can of Rotel tomatoes and green chiles if you want the added spice.
- Instead of taco seasoning, use a spicy or fiesta ranch seasoning mix.
- For a creamier dish, substitute the cream of chicken soup for a packet of cream cheese.
- If you want to add more veggies, opt for diced onion and bell pepper (I love the frozen blend).
- Substitute the black beans for pinto beans or kidney beans.
- Add 1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro.
- Substitute the cream of chicken soup for an extra can of diced tomatoes to make this a dairy-free fiesta chicken recipe.
- Here are some serving suggestions too:
- Instead of burrito rice bowls, make a burrito with a tortilla.
- Use crunchy taco shells instead.
- Serve with tortilla chips.
- Add diced fresh tomatoes, pico de gallo, lime juice and/or guacamole on top, along with the sour cream and cheese.
- Spoon chicken mixture over baked potatoes.
Check out these other scrumptious slow cooker recipes:
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice
Slow Cooker Angel Chicken (Gluten-Free and Low-Carb Pasta Options)
Ingredients
- 2-4 chicken breasts whatever you have on hand and however much meat you want to use
- 1 can cream of chicken soup can use fat-free
- 1 can corn, drained
- 1 can black beans, drained
- 1 cup salsa
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 cups cooked rice
- cheese or other desired toppings
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with the cream of chicken soup, corn, black beans, salsa, and taco seasoning. Stir lightly.2-4 chicken breasts, 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1 can corn, drained, 1 can black beans, drained, 1 cup salsa, 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- Cover with the lid and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. When ready to serve, stir in your cooked rice.2 cups cooked rice
- Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy! This heats up really well too.cheese or other desired toppings
Nutrition
“I don’t really care if my glass is half full or half empty-
I’m just happy to have a glass.”
~Joe Farrell
Special thanks to Valerie Cuff for sharing this one. To submit your quote, please click here.
Just threw this all together in the crock pot. Took just a couple of minutes. Can’t wait for dinner!!
I hope you enjoy it Diane!
I doctored it just a bit: added a can of Creamy Chicken Verde soup, along with the Cream of Chicken, added a can of Rotel, along w/the salsa, and added the entire packet of Taco Seasoning. After 8 hours on low, the 3 frozen chicken breasts shredded easily/perfectly.
My son, who usually says, “Yeah, it was good…Thanks, Mom”, actually said, “It was EXQUISITE”!! …and that’s even before he let me add the rice! 🙂 He ate another bowl full with the rice, and loved it, too. I caught him eating a third bowl later on that night…heh, boys!
He’s right, Christy…it was exquisite, and stupendous, and magnificent, and quite delicious!! It is also, now one of my go-to meals. I plan on making this at least twice per month.
Thank you so much!!
Can’t wait to make this recipe. Question, I’m not a black bean lover, could I use any bean?
I understand. I’m not a big black bean person, either, unless I rinse them. I find that the liquid in the can overpowers the entire recipe but if rinsed they just blend right on in and play nice :). You can substitute whatever bean you prefer.
Hey Christy! I made this yesterday and it turned out wonderful. We had plenty of left overs, so I called my mother-in-law to come get her a plate. She took herself two plates home and couldn’t even wait till lunch time today to eat the second plate…so she ate it for breakfast! She called me today and told me anytime I was making this to give her a call and she would be happy to take the leftovers off my hands! Thanks again for another great recipe! This one is a keeper!
I have this in my crock pot right now and it smells so good. I turned it on at 8 this morning so its about done. One thing i did though is i used bone in chicken breasts and i’m wondering if i should have used boneless? The mean has broken up pretty good and i’m going to have to dig all those dang bones out! i’m sure it will be worth it though. I’ve got the Butterfinger cake to go along with it. We were in need of some serious comfort food. its a balmy 25 degrees here in good ole Jackson, MS !
I am making this today…had to improvise a bit as I didn’t have a few of the ingredients. I made a homemade taco seasoning, homemade cream soup base and used Mexican Rotel for the salsa and Ranch Style beans instead of black beans. I also added a dry ranch seasoning packet like I do in my taco soup, it smells delish, I can’t wait to try it tonight. I am also going to serve it with Mahatma Spanish Rice and I think some cornbread would go nicely with it as well. Have a great, blessed day!!
This looks great! I have it in my Crock-Pot right now to take to school in the morning for their International Luncheon. I’m sure it will be a big hit. I had a few people today request that I bring in a “Peanut Butter Cake” like I brought in last week, but that didn’t seem too “international.” I promised I’d bring it another time!
I hope ya’ll have a fun day!! You will have to let us know how it goes and what everyone brought.
Made this last night and it was delicious. Thanks.
A friend gave me this trick to slow a crock pot down when you have to cook it a little too long: she and her sister put the meat in frozen. I do that and it keeps it all from being mushy when I get home after work.
I think I might try the butter rolls sometime soon. We get them at a restaurant in Ardmore and like them a lot.
I am so glad you liked the recipe! Can’t wait to hear what you think of the rolls!!
I made this and served in warm tortillas. Just like chicken taco’s! It was wonderful!