Slow Cooker: Salsa Feta Chicken

This is a favorite at the Rendon house, and as much as I wish I could take credit for it, this is NOT my recipe. I found it on Pinterest, and the genius behind the recipe is Gina over at Running to the Kitchen. Please go to her site for all the details on how to make it!

I just wanted to share this easy, crowd-pleasing recipe with you guys (I’ve sent this recipe link to so many people!) and show you some of my favorite tools and ingredients to use.

This is one of those slow cooker recipes that is really “set it and forget it” kind of cooking. That’s what I’m always looking for when I want to use my slow cooker, and so many recipes out there have way too many steps before you even get the food in the slow cooker. I have this Crock Pot, and it’s been really good to me. My favorite part is that you can put a timer on it, and once the timer is done it switches to the keep warm setting. 

These slow cooker liners are a godsend for clean up time. You can just throw the whole liner away and give the crock pot a quick wipe down. I try to always keep them in the pantry.

So there are four main ingredients in this recipe – black beans, red salsa, chicken and feta cheese. I’ve made this recipe many, many times, and have tried lots of different ingredients. These are my recommendations, but make it your own based on what you like!

For the beans, I try to get the unsalted if possible.

Any 16oz jar of red salsa will do the trick. We like everything spicy at our house, so I tend to lean towards HOT.

Pro tip – I watch for sales in the salsa aisle at the grocery store. Anytime I see jars priced under the $2.00, I grab a few to stock my pantry.

You can add anywhere from 2-4 chicken breasts depending on how big they are and how much chicken you want in comparison to the beans and salsa. I usually go with three breasts.

The final ingredient is feta cheese. My recommendation here is to go with a block versus pre-crumbled. I find pre-crumbled tends to be a little dried out and more expensive. In this recipe, having it pre-crumbled makes no difference, so there’s really no need!

We like to eat our salsa feta chicken in tortillas with avocado and cilantro.  These are my favorite tortillas from HEB. They are raw and need to be refrigerated. You can usually find them near the eggs in the grocery store. The best part is they keep really well in the fridge, and you only have to cook as many as you need. This 36-pack has lasted us a few months!

We use the round cast iron griddle below to make our tortillas. Here is a link to a similar one with good reviews.

There are a few other ingredients, but you’ll have to hop to Running to the Kitchen to learn about those.

What I love about this recipe:

• It’s so easy!
• It freezes and defrosts really nicely.
• It’s inexpensive and lasts for several meals.
• It’s relatively healthy and gluten-free if that is a need of yours.
• The feta cheese is really unsuspecting. It makes the dish creamy and so delicious!

Give it a try and let me know what you think!