This pulled hen recipe makes the juiciest shredded hen within the gradual cooker. It’s cooked with a zesty mix of salsa and Mexican-inspired seasonings, good for serving in buns or tacos. And the most effective half is, it cooks itself!
Use this saucy salsa hen to make pulled hen sandwiches, or load it into tortillas for tacos, enchiladas, and extra. I even have a straightforward gradual cooker pulled pork recipe that you may attempt subsequent!

Â
The crock pot must be one of the simplest ways to make pulled hen. Cooking over low and gradual warmth for hours makes the hen exceptionally juicy, whereas the crock locks in all that moisture and taste. This pulled hen recipe turned out so scrumptious, stuffed with Mexican-inspired taste due to salsa and some straightforward spices. I couldn’t wait to serve it between buns for pulled hen sandwiches the opposite evening, however for the reason that prospects are limitless, I’m considering tacos are subsequent!
What Makes This Pulled Rooster Recipe So Nice
- Fingers-free. Since this recipe makes use of the gradual cooker, there’s little or no hands-on prep. Assemble every little thing contained in the crock pot or cooker, hit begin, and are available again hours later to fall-apart tender, juicy hen that’s able to shred.
- Versatile. Use this zesty salsa hen in sandwiches, tacos, nachos, fajita bowls, and extra. You may make a giant batch and freeze it, too, so you’ve gotten it available for last-minute meals.
- Adaptable. This recipe is simple to customise relying on what you want. Amp up the taco taste, make it spicy, or attempt a special taste profile altogether. I embrace some straightforward variation concepts additional within the submit.


Components You’ll Want
Beneath are the substances I take advantage of to make this zesty gradual cooker pulled hen. All of them are straightforward to search out and may already be within the pantry. Scroll to the recipe card on the backside of the submit for the printable substances checklist, quantities, and a photograph step-by-step afterward.
- Rooster – I like to recommend boneless, skinless hen breasts or hen thighs for this recipe as they’re best to shred.
- Salsa – Select your favourite model from the shop, or you should utilize do-it-yourself salsa.
- Brown Sugar – You too can use granulated sugar or one other sweetener, like honey, agave syrup, or maple syrup.
- Spices – I take advantage of a mix of paprika (candy or smoked), onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder, plus salt and pepper to style. You may substitute the person spices or amp up the flavour with taco seasoning or fajita seasoning.
Suggestions and Variations
- Verify that the hen is cooked. Rooster is completed when the interior temperature reaches 165ºF on the thickest a part of the breast or thigh. An instant-read meat thermometer makes it tremendous straightforward to verify hen for doneness.
- Make it spicy. Use scorching salsa or sprinkle in cayenne pepper or crushed chili flakes for further kick. You would additionally add slightly enchilada sauce to present the recipe extra warmth.
- Inexperienced salsa. Make this pulled hen extra much like my salsa verde hen by utilizing inexperienced tomatillo salsa as a substitute of pink salsa.
- Make BBQ hen. Change the salsa with barbecue sauce, and the Tex-Mex seasoning with hen seasoning for a variation of BBQ pulled hen as a substitute.Â


Methods to Serve Gradual Cooker Pulled Rooster
I wish to serve the hen between fluffy buns for straightforward pulled hen sandwiches. It’s nice every time we entertain, since everybody can serve themselves straight from the crock pot. There are a selection of the way to take pleasure in this pulled hen recipe. These are a couple of extra of my favourite concepts:
- Tacos. Serve pulled hen tacos topped with bitter cream, avocado, shredded cheese (or cotija cheese), guacamole, slaw, and any of your favourite taco toppings.
- Bowls. I really like including this hen to fajita bowls, rice bowls, and different meal bowls for a protein increase.
- Wraps. Roll this hen up in flatbread or tortillas for a straightforward hen wrap. It makes a scrumptious gentle lunch.
- Tex-Mex. Use pulled hen to make hen nachos, or attempt it as a filling in enchiladas, hen flautas, and extra.


Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Retailer pulled hen in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days. I’ll usually serve leftover pulled hen chilly in hen salad sandwiches or stir leftovers into hen taco soup.
- Freeze. The hen freezes splendidly for as much as 3 months. Retailer it in an hermetic container or freezer bag and thaw it within the fridge earlier than reheating or serving.
- Reheat. Heat the hen within the microwave or on the stovetop earlier than serving.
Pin this now to search out it later
-
Assemble. In a gradual cooker, add salsa, brown sugar, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin powder, chili powder, and salt and pepper to style. Add the hen.
-
Prepare dinner. Cowl and cook dinner the hen on a HIGH setting for 3 hours or on LOW for 4-5 hours.
-
Shred the hen. Take away the hen from the gradual cooker. Shred the hen utilizing two forks, and add ¼ cup of the cooking/salsa sauce to the shredded hen. Serve in buns or tacos.
- You may substitute hen breast with boneless and skinless hen thighs.
- For extra taste, you should utilize some further Taco seasoning.
Energy: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 32g | Fats: 4g | Saturated Fats: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated Fats: 1g | Trans Fats: 0.02g | Ldl cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 925mg | Potassium: 914mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1611IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 2mg
Dietary data is an estimate and offered as courtesy. Values could differ in line with the substances and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
Make Gradual Cooker Pulled Rooster
This recipe follows an identical technique to my gradual cooker hen breast. The distinction right here is that when all’s mentioned and performed, we’ll shred the hen and blend it again into the juices.




- Mix the substances. Add your salsa, brown sugar, seasonings to the crock pot or gradual cooker. Then, nestle the hen breasts inside and stir to coat.
- Prepare dinner. Set the hen to cook dinner on Excessive for 3 hours, or Low for 4-6 hours.Â




- Shred the hen. When the hen is cooked by way of, take away it from the gradual cooker and use two forks to shred it. Afterward, stir about ¼ cup of the leftover cooking sauce into the shredded hen. It’s able to serve! See under for strategies.