Slow Cooker Coriander Lime Shredded Chicken is very handy to have in the freezer for a quick meal. Stuff in into tacos, quesadillas and enchiladas, or just serve it straight over rice.
Total Time Investment: 8 Hours 10 Minutes
If you’ve been following my meal plans, you may have noticed the lack of planning for Friday and Saturday nights. On these nights we usually go out for dinner, grab takeaway or rustle up something simple like pizza, frittata or cilantro chicken tacos. Which is where this Slow Cooker Coriander Lime Shredded Chicken comes in.
This shredded chicken is great tucked into tacos or sandwiched in quesadillas, which are quick to pull together, and also makes a great filling for enchiladas and burritos. I make a large batch, divide it into meal sized portions once cooled, and stash it in the freezer for quick meals.
Most slow cooker chicken recipes I have seen call for whole breast fillets, a cut better suited to short cooking times. Long cooking usually render chicken fillets dry, stringy and flavourless. I prefer to use bone-in, skinless chicken thighs, which are an ideal cut for the slow cooker. Long, slow cooking renders the meat soft enough to shred, yet the chicken remains moist and flavoursome. The bone adds additional flavour and nutrients to the dish, almost akin to making a small batch of chicken stock.
The one problem I have with the slow cooker is its tendency to dull the flavour of a dish as it cooks. To counteract this, I adds loads of flavour up front, and stir in fresh herbs at the end to deliver a flavour punch. I prefer to fry off my onions before putting them in the slow cooker to add additional flavour, however this step is not necessary if you are short on time.
Chicken thighs release enough liquid to bathe the meat as they cook, so I add no additional liquid aside from the lime juice. Should you prefer to use chicken breast, it may be necessary to add additional liquid. If you do make this with breast, I would love to hear how it turned out.
Ingredient Substitutions
Use chicken breast in place of the bone-in chicken thigh, although heed my advice above and maybe add a little more lime juice as extra liquid.
You could use garlic powder in place of the crushed garlic, and onion powder in place of the onion. I haven’t tried this myself though as I always have fresh on hand, so cannot advise on quantities.
Try replacing the ground cumin and coriander with a Mexican spice blend.
How To Get Ahead with Slow Cooker Coriander Lime Shredded Chicken
Don’t bother browning the onion and garlic if you are short on time. I do this to boost the flavour, but it is not neccessary.
If you are short on time in the mornings, assemble all the ingredients in the slow cooker insert the night before and put it in the fridge. Then in the morning all you need do is drop the insert into the cooker, turn it on and walk away.
The chicken will last in the fridge or up to two days, so you can cook and shred the chicken on the weekend, and keep it in the fridge for Taco Tuesday.
Divide the chicken into two batches, and freeze half of the batch for up to three months.
Slow Cooker Coriander Lime Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 large bone-in skinless chicken thighs or use 10 small thighs
- 2 Tablespoons ghee
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 limes zest and juice
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 100 g (1/2 bunch) coriander including stems and roots
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Place the chicken thighs in the slow cooker.
- Fry the onion in the ghee over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onion has browned slightly.
- Add the garlic to the onion, and fry for a further 2 minutes.
- Spoon the onion mixture over the chicken in the slow cooker.
- Add the lime zest and juice, cumin and ground coriander to the slow cooker.
- Separate the leaves of the fresh coriander from the stems and roots.
- Roughly chop the coriander leaves, place in a small bowl, cover with cling wrap and set aside in the fridge.
- Finely chop the coriander stems and roots, and add to the chicken in the slow cooker.
- Season with salt and pepper, then stir well.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours, high for 3-4 hours, or until the chicken falls away from the bone.
- Once cooked, remove the chicken thighs from the slow cooker, reserving the liquid.
- Shred the meat and discard the bones.
- Place the shredded chicken back in the reserved cooking liquid and add the reserved coriander leaves.
- Check the seasoning, adjusting if necessary, then stir the chicken through the reserved liquid.
- Use immediately as desired, or allow to cool then freeze.
Notes
Nutrition
P.S. Looking to make better use of your slow cooker? Check out my 7 Tips for Great Tasting Slow Cooker Meals.
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