Sometimes you want to go Mexican, but it can be a lot of work to get tortillas together and roll them up into enchiladas or burritos. These recipes combine all the great tastes of Mexico -- tender chunks of cooked chicken, cooked rice, black beans, corn and salsa, and they cook up nice and easy in a slow cooker.
These recipes get tossed into the slow cooker and are an easy make-ahead dish to stash in the freezer for those nights when you just don't want to cook.
Slow cooker chicken moleOf all the Mexican sauces, mole is perhaps the most famous. Many people think this is a chocolate sauce, but while it does include chocolate, it only adds a rich and deep flavor without overpowering it. In addition to chocolate, it has other spices -- including sweetness brought in by dried fruits. Raisins are often the most popular choice, but the video that follows swaps those out for cranberries for a bit of brightness and zip.
Typically the chocolate that is included is added right at the end, but that can be a pain when you just want your sauce to simmer in the slow cooker all day. Instead, this video places all the sauce ingredients into a food processor and the resulting mixture gets poured all over fatty and juicy chicken thighs. These do better in a slow cooker than chicken breasts, and you can even shred them after if you choose so that every single bite gets covered in your delicious mole sauce.
Slow cooker chicken taco soupThis dish is perfect for all seasons! When it's too hot outside to warm up the house with the stove and oven, your slow cooker steps in to do all the work. When it's bitterly cold outside, the recipe that follows provides you with a hearty bowl of warm and comforting soup. Best of all, there's no frying or sautéing required beforehand. Just dump all your ingredients in, and then wait for that soup to hit the table.
With this soup you get all the delicious flavor of chicken tacos -- but in soup form. Black beans are in there along with corn, taco seasoning and, of course, chicken. This video uses chicken thighs, as they tend to stand up a little better to the long cooking times the slow cooker requires. Because it's a soup, toss in whatever you need to use up from your fridge. It's totally adaptable!
Slow cooker beef barbacoaBeef barbacoa is one of those dishes that's just perfect for the slow cooker. It takes a tough piece of beef, lets it simmer away for hours on end and delivers to your plate one of the most tender dishes you've ever eaten. You can use any type of beef you want in the recipe that follows, as long as it has a lot of muscle fibers that require a long time to break down. Flank steak is a go-to because it's affordable, and just a little bit goes a long way.
Once that steak comes out of the slow cooker, it gets shredded into bits along with the peppers it cooked with. That spicy goodness is perfect for piling into soft taco shells or simply just eating on its own. You could even add it to salad to give it a new spin and a little bit of a kick. However you choose to eat it, you'll be glad you did! Here's a video to show you how it's done.
Slow cooker carnitasNever had carnitas before? You'll be happy to know that they're really just a Mexican version of pulled pork -- and they can be made right in your slow cooker. That's right, a pork shoulder slowly cooks away in a mixture of delicious Mexican spices and a splash of orange juice. When it's done, it gets shredded apart to be enjoyed on its own or wrapped in a soft taco shell.
Add barbecue sauce to the pork once it's done or, if you prefer, leave it out entirely. Carnitas can be eaten either way. Add delicious toppings like guacamole, onion and sour cream -- or leave those out too, letting the flavor of the pork really shine through. Either way, an authentic Mexican meal awaits you. Give this video a watch and then get cooking.
Slow cooker Mexican lasagnaOne of the most fun things to do in the culinary world is to combine cuisines from different cultures to create hybrid dishes. In fact, that's how you get some of the best dishes in the world – because taking the best parts of cuisines from around the world allows you to create fantastic foods.
In this delicious recipe, the old Italian classic we all know and love – lasagna – gets a Mexican twist to become a hybrid slow cooker dinner, as you will see in this video below.
Slow cooker cilantro and lime chicken tacosChicken can be tricky in the slow cooker. Already being a fairly tender and lean meat, if you don't choose the right cut, it could get rubbery over a long cooking time. To prevent this, use either bone-in chicken breasts or chicken thighs with the skin still on, as in the video that follows. The skin will prevent the chicken from drying out while the bone will require a longer cooking time.
Of course, you don't want the bones or skin in your tacos. Those will need to be discarded once the chicken is done cooking, and the meat can then be shredded. That juice in the slow cooker is delicious though, so remember to place the strips back into them for a few minutes. This also allows the beans, corn and chicken to all come together for a real taco treat.
Slow cooker shredded chipotle chicken tacos A chipotle is a dried and smoked jalapeno pepper. The drying and smoking process gives it that dark color. Chipotle comes from the Nahuatl word "chilpoctli," which means smoked chili. Its distinct flavor adds so much depth to any dish. In the recipe below, we use chipotle in adobo sauce to make the perfect shredded chicken tacos.
If you prefer your tacos to be less spicy, just use the adobo sauce itself. If you like more heat, put the entire can of the chipotles in adobo sauce into a blender and pulse until all the chilies are completely blended into the adobo. You can then use this blended version for extra heat. Start by seasoning the chicken generously with salt and pepper, then place into a gallon zip-lock back along with the onion, lime juice, cilantro and water. Close it up and store it in the freezer for up to two to three weeks. When you're ready to cook, simply pull it out of the freezer to thaw the night before, and then into the slow cooker it goes! Here's a video to get you started.
Typically the chocolate that is included is added right at the end, but that can be a pain when you just want your sauce to simmer in the slow cooker all day. Instead, this video places all the sauce ingredients into a food processor and the resulting mixture gets poured all over fatty and juicy chicken thighs. These do better in a slow cooker than chicken breasts, and you can even shred them after if you choose so that every single bite gets covered in your delicious mole sauce.Slow cooker chicken taco soup
With this soup you get all the delicious flavor of chicken tacos -- but in soup form. Black beans are in there along with corn, taco seasoning and, of course, chicken. This video uses chicken thighs, as they tend to stand up a little better to the long cooking times the slow cooker requires. Because it's a soup, toss in whatever you need to use up from your fridge. It's totally adaptable!Slow cooker beef barbacoa
Once that steak comes out of the slow cooker, it gets shredded into bits along with the peppers it cooked with. That spicy goodness is perfect for piling into soft taco shells or simply just eating on its own. You could even add it to salad to give it a new spin and a little bit of a kick. However you choose to eat it, you'll be glad you did! Here's a video to show you how it's done.Slow cooker carnitas
Add barbecue sauce to the pork once it's done or, if you prefer, leave it out entirely. Carnitas can be eaten either way. Add delicious toppings like guacamole, onion and sour cream -- or leave those out too, letting the flavor of the pork really shine through. Either way, an authentic Mexican meal awaits you. Give this video a watch and then get cooking. Slow cooker Mexican lasagna