Picked With Passion

Slow Cooker Chicken Carnitas with cumin, paprika, oregano, chili powder, and lime juice have all the flavor of your favorite pork carnitas without the guilt.

It is fair to say that we eat tacos at least once a week in our house, sometimes twice, and sometimes an embarrassing amount of times when there are taco friendly leftovers in the fridge. Suffice to say, we live on tacos around here so I am always working on new and easy taco recipes to satisfy our addiction. And this delicious and simple Slow Cooker Chicken Carnitas recipe is one of our new favorites. It couldn’t be easier to make, is full of flavor from a quick homemade spice blend, and seriously makes some of the best chicken tacos.

Let’s talk about the cooking of these tacos for a moment. One of the first things you will notice is that there is no additional liquid in the recipe. It’s just chicken thighs and spices. Since chicken thighs contain some fat and natural juices, you don’t need to add any extra liquid. Once the cooking process starts, they will release their natural juices and cook in this. This heightens the chicken flavor instead of diluting it with another liquid. If you are worried about cooking in your slow cooker without liquid (you shouldn’t be!), you can add in some chicken broth or light beer.

Now let’ talk about spice. Since I am always adding gobs of salsa and fixings to my tacos, I keep the chicken fairly neutral when it comes to heat. A little ancho chili powder goes a long way since it is smokier and spicier than regular chili powder. However if you want to kick things up, use more chili powder or throw in a couple of diced chipotle peppers in adobo. You could also add in some diced fresh jalapenos or regular chili powder if that’s what you have in your spice cabinet.

Finally, for the very best Slow Cooker Chicken Carnitas, make sure to follow the full recipe and add the chicken to the broiler in the end. This step gets the chicken nice and crispy on the edges, which is one of the best parts of traditional pork carnitas. You want to have a lot of texture in the meat with some crispy bits and some smooth bits. Believe me – it may seem like a small step but it makes things that much more delicious.

One more thing – toppings! Usually we like to eat these tacos loaded up with fresh cilantro, diced onion, tomatoes, and lots of this creamy avocado salsa or a quick homemade guacamole. And since I love spice, I like to add some of this simple chipotle salsa. It’s just blended chipotles in adobo but adds just the right amount of heat and spice. I can find it in my local grocery store next to the canned chipotle peppers. If you can’t find it, just toss a can of chipotle peppers in adobo in the blender. Same thing.

Making these Slow Cooker Chicken Carnitas? Keep the following things in mind:

• You can use any cut of chicken you like for this recipe but I think boneless skinless chicken thighs work best. You don’t have to worry about them drying out and you don’t have to remove any bones or skin after the chicken has cooked. If you decide to use chicken breast, consider adding some chicken broth or light beer to make sure the chicken stays nice and moist.
• Two steps not to skip! Make sure to take the time to shred the chicken and broil it before serving. The crispy bits really make the recipe special and will give the tacos lots of good texture. Also don’t skimp on the lime juice. Usually I squeeze 2-3 limes worth on the chicken before serving it.
• When it comes to toppings, anything goes! We always use cilantro and diced onion but you can use almost anything.
• If you have leftover taco meat, it works great for quesadillas, burritos, burrito bowls, and taco salads.

Looking for more healthy taco recipes?

Here are some of the products I used when making this recipe.

• Slow Cooker: There are so many different slow cookers on the market but I personally use this one that allows me to brown, sear, or saute in the same pan. Plus I find the cooking temperature to be really even and consistent.
• Chipotle paste: If you decide to add some chipotle flavor to the recipe, I can’t recommend these chipotle tubes enough. It’s the perfect solution if you find yourself throwing out cans of chipotle peppers all the time. It comes in a convenient squeeze tube and can be kept in the fridge.
• Ancho chili powder: Ancho chili powder is made from smoked jalapenos (chipotles) and has a smokier and spicier flavor than traditional chili powder.