No prep and no watching over the stove.
How many evenings have you come home from work wishing that something truly hearty, gourmet, and delicious was waiting for you in the kitchen? Too often, that feeling drives us to pick up the phone and order takeout. After all, it’s so easy to grab takeout, but a home-cooked meal can take hours. We have the solution: 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken. You can easily prepare a restaurant-quality meal, minus the typical restaurant amounts of calories and fat, in just a few simple steps.
Simple Ingredients, Easy Recipe
We love that this 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken boasts only five ingredients (and two are optional!), but the simple cooking method impresses us even more. It can be tossed in the slow cooker in the morning and fill your house with fragrance throughout the day. By the time you return home in the evening, your dinner will be cooked to perfection. Who could say no to that?
How to Enjoy Our Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken
There are so many different ways to enjoy this 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken, so let’s take a look at some of our favorites. If you’ve made it before and you have a favorite dinner or lunch idea using this recipe, let us know in the comments! I’m sure our community of health enthusiasts would love some inspiration.
There are no shortage of ways to use shredded chicken. After all, a chicken dish that’s this flavorful would taste good on anything! No matter if you’re following the Keto diet, Paleo, low-carb, high-protein, Whole 30, Weight Watchers, or any other healthy diet, you’ll be able to find a way to use this 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken.
If carbs aren’t an issue for you, there are a multitude of ways you can enjoy this flavorful chicken. It tastes great on whole-wheat buns as a sandwich, and you could even serve it as sliders for a tailgating party. It’s also particularly good as tacos or burritos, so feel free to load up on the fiesta-style toppings.
For those of you who are watching their carbs or are on a gluten-free diet, this shredded chicken tastes incredible on top of brown rice or quinoa. You can also make lettuce wraps with it, and it’s even good with roasted vegetables. Feel free to cook up those summery vegetables like zucchini and tomatoes or winter squash and roasted beets. The possibilities are endless, so have some fun with it, and don’t forget to enjoy!
All you need to make this 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken is chicken, salsa, balsamic vinegar, and optional garlic and salt. From there, all you need is a slow cooker and some imagination to decide how to serve it. Sounds like a perfect quick-and-easy weeknight dinner to me!
5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless and skinless chicken breasts
- 16 ounces chunky salsa jar
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 medium cloves of garlic, minced, (optional)
- Salt (to taste, optional)
Instructions
- Add chicken breasts to the slow cooker, pour salsa balsamic, and garlic (if using) on top. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. Shred chicken with a fork and mix with the salsa mixture. Add salt to taste.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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More Healthy and Delicious Options
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If it has to cook longer because I’m usually gone 9-10 hours before I get home from work should I add more salsa or some extra water or do you think it will be ok?
Dina, If you have a “warm” that automatically kicks in after the cooking time, please use it. If not, adding a little more liquid should prevent it from drying out. Please keep us posted. This recipe is delicious! 🙂
Would cilantro work well with this flavor? I was thinking about doing burritos with this recipe and am looking for a way to add to/enhance the flavors.
Great question, Jessica! Cilantro would be great with this recipe! I use this chicken is my tacos all the time. It’s a fantastic recipe!
I make versions of this recipe all the time, but…..I use thighs!! More flavor and economical!! I can double and triple the chicken!!
This was so delicious! My family really enjoyed it. We put it on Jasmine rice and sprinkled a bit of cheese on top. It was like a little chicken taco bowl. This was so easy too! Definitely joining my dinner rotation!
If I make it 3 lbs of chicken and leave the rest of the recipe the same, will it be too dry?
Reily, I would recommend is increasing the balsamic just a little, maybe 2 tablespoons more, and increase the salsa by 1/4 – 1/3 cup.
Can you use picante sauce rather than salsa?
Meg, Sure can. 🙂
I’m planning to make this recipe in 2 days. Just wondering what would be best to serve with it Rice, Pasta, on a roll with lettuce for a complete meal.??? 67yo guy getting into cooking. Doing pretty good so far?
Hi Ron, Good for you! My favorite is on a whole grain bun. You could also enjoy over brown rice, quinoa, or whole wheat pasta. There are so many options. Another idea, add to a bun or roll, serving of balsamic chicken, along with a little brown rice, and eat as a sandwich.
Made this yesterday and it was delicious! Served w roasted veggies. Hubby loved it. Will be a go to at my house. Thank you. Love your site!
You’re very welcome! Thanks for the feedback!
Pretty sure that amount of Balsamic does NOT make this keto friendly.
Sandra, Once you divide the 1/2 cup balsamic by 6, that would be your serving of balsamic. 🙂
What can you use instead of salsa? I’m not a fan of salsa, but would like to try this recipe. Any ideas?
Angie, Verde is also an excellent choice.
Made this a couple of days ago, I was really nervous because my son said the house smelt horrible, and because there were so few ingredients too, but when it was actually ready, the strong smell had gone and we had it on buns, my partner had 3 and he loved it and asked me to make this again soon, this is a fantastic recepi for when you´re busy or simply can´t be bothered cooking, keeping this one and thank you for sharing 🙂 Have a nice Christmas.
Rakel, Thank you for the feedback. I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂
My husband and I both loved this easy peasy chicken! Since I only had 1 pound of chicken tenders, I halved the recipe and it made enough for three meals, so far (there is still enough left for another taco!)
We had it over rice (microwave easy) the first meal, in a taco the second, and again over rice the third time around.
The flavors improved each time we had it.
Thank you…this will be a staple in our household.
Great!!! Thanks so much for the feedback, Ann.
Do you think this chicken would work over a salad?
Erika, I think it would take delicious over a salad.
Yes, I think it would taste delicious a salad.
I made this tonite and it was delicious! Even my picky eater liked it. I used about 2 3/4lb. of chicken breast as that was the size I had in the freezer. I used the rest of the ingredients as stated. I started this shortly after noon planning for it to finish up shortly after 6 p.m. Everything came out fine but I found out later that I had been cooking it on high for the 6 hours instead of low. Fortunately that did not seem to harm the recipe in any way. I took the chicken out and shredded it but thought the sauce in the cooker was more watery than I like so I made a corn starch slurry and thickened it up a bit. I served it with soft tortilla shells so everyone could make their own. I put some shredded lettuce in mine with a garnish of some sour cream. The three of ate about half of it so I still have a good bit for another day. I did not experience any unpleasant odors while this was cooking. Thank you so much for this EZ to make recipe. I need to find more “3 ingredient recipes” as they as they take so little effort.
Hi Jimmy! That’s great. We’re so glad everyone loved it! If you’re looking for more easy recipes that only require a few ingredients, be sure to check out 15 Easy Recipes with 6-Ingredients or Less
I made this tonight and turned into a quesadilla. I sautéed some onion and green pepper, the added some reduced fat cheese on a low carb tortilla. It was quite tasty!