The Easiest Dump and Go Salsa Chicken (Only 3 Ingredients!)

I keep making this because I keep forgetting how easy it is.

Three ingredients. No knife. No measuring cups unless you count opening a jar as measuring.

Just chicken, salsa, and taco seasoning dumped into a slow cooker in the morning. By dinner it’s shredded meat that tastes like I tried harder than I did.

Why This Works When Other Recipes Don’t

Most dump and go recipes still want something from you. Browning. Layering. Checking halfway through.

This one wants nothing.

The salsa is already seasoned. The acid in the tomatoes and lime keeps the chicken from drying out. The taco seasoning adds depth without you having to bloom spices in oil or toast anything in a pan.

You dump it in. You leave. It cooks itself.

What You Actually Need

Three to four chicken breasts, or the same amount in thighs if you want it juicier. One jar of salsa, whatever kind you already like. One packet of taco seasoning.

That’s it.

Breasts are leaner and work fine if you don’t overcook them. Thighs have more fat and are almost impossible to ruin. I use whichever one I remembered to thaw.

The salsa matters more than you’d think. Chunky restaurant style works best because it has enough body to coat the chicken instead of just pooling at the bottom.

Salsa verde makes it brighter and a little sharper. Salsa roja makes it smokier and deeper.

How to Make It Without Thinking

Put the chicken in the slow cooker. Dump the jar of salsa over it. Sprinkle the taco seasoning on top. Stir it once if you feel like it, or don’t.

Low for four to six hours. High for two to three if you forgot to start it early.

When it’s done, shred it with two forks right in the pot. It’ll fall apart on its own.

The Mistakes I Made So You Don’t Have To

I used frozen chicken the first time. It works, but it adds two hours to the cook time and the texture is slightly stringy. Thawed is better.

I thought I needed to add liquid. You don’t. The salsa is liquid. The chicken releases liquid. If you add broth or water it just gets soupy and bland.

I cooked it too long. Past six hours on low, chicken breasts start getting dry and stringy even in salsa. Thighs can go a little longer but there’s no reason to push it.

How to Make It Something Else

For creamy taco filling: Add four ounces of cream cheese in the last 30 minutes. Stir it in and let it melt. The salsa turns into a thick, rich sauce that’s good over rice or in quesadillas.

For a full meal in one pot: Dump in a drained can of black beans and a cup of frozen corn at the beginning. Everything cooks together and you have protein, starch, and vegetables without thinking about sides.

For more heat: Add a small can of diced green chiles or a few shakes of hot sauce. The slow cooker mellows spice, so you can go heavier than you think.

What I Actually Do With It

Tacos. Corn tortillas, fresh cilantro, diced onion, lime. That’s the default.

Burrito bowls. Rice, beans, avocado, salsa, this chicken. It’s the bowl I make when I’m trying to use up what’s in the fridge.

Salad. Romaine, pepitas, shredded cheese, this chicken on top. Chipotle ranch if I have it. It turns salad into something I actually want to eat.

Straight from the pot. Standing at the counter with a fork, still in my coat, because I just got home and it’s done and I’m hungry.

Why This Is the Recipe I Give People

Because it doesn’t fail.

You can use expensive organic chicken or the cheapest pack from the discount bin. You can use fancy salsa or the jar that’s been in your pantry for six months.

You can remember to start it in the morning or throw it together at lunch.

It works anyway.

The first time I made it I thought it was too simple to be good. Like maybe I was missing a step. But it came out tasting like seasoned shredded chicken because that’s what it is.

Salsa is already tomatoes, onions, peppers, cilantro, lime, salt. Taco seasoning is cumin, chili powder, garlic, paprika. The chicken is just the protein holding it all together.

The Batch I Make on Sundays

I double it. Two pounds of chicken, two jars of salsa, two packets of seasoning. Same pot, same time.

Then I divide it into containers and eat it four different ways during the week. Tacos Monday. Bowl Tuesday. Quesadilla Wednesday. Salad Thursday.

By Friday I’m usually sick of it, but by the next Sunday I’ve forgotten how easy it is and I make it again.

What It Tastes Like

Like shredded chicken that’s been sitting in good salsa for six hours, which is exactly what it is.

Not fancy. Not complicated. Just reliably good enough that I keep making it when I can’t think of anything else.

And on the nights when cooking feels like one more thing I don’t want to do, having this already done in the fridge means I eat real food instead of cereal over the sink.

That’s worth three ingredients.