Whole30 Chicken Salsa Verde

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Ok my friends, Chicken Salsa Verde is by far the easiest recipe to date!  With only 4 ingredients, this slow cooker chicken is easy and simple Mexican comfort food.  This recipe was developed while my husband and I were on Whole30.  I was looking for a dinner that would make us feel like we were splurging but was made with clean, healthy ingredients.

The first round of Whole30 is a challenge.  Eating clean, unprocessed food for 30 days straight is fantastic but does require a lot planning and preparation.  When working, raising a family, and caring for a household, it’s tough to stick to the 30 days unless you have some tricks up your sleeve.  This is why this Whole30 Chicken Salsa Verde is a lifesaver.  It’s one day you won’t have to worry about what’s for dinner!  To see why I am working on a healthier lifestyle, read my post Dear Me: Age 49, A Letter to my Midlife Self.

Ingredients

Chicken (Not pictured).  For shredded meat, you can choose any part of the chicken you prefer as long as it is boneless.  After the chicken is done cooking, you’ll want to shred it so pulling hot chicken off a bone might prove to be an unpleasant task.  If you want to cook it with bones and plan to serve it as whole pieces, that would certainly work as well.  I like to use a combination of thighs and breasts.

Onions: Cut these in half moon slices about 1/4″ thick.

Herdez Salsa Verde is my go to as it only has clean ingredients: tomatillos, chili peppers, onions, salt, cilantro, and xanthan gum.  This brand is not spicy at all, which I prefer.  I like to spice up foods with my own ingredients so I can control the heat level.  A good alternative would be the Trader Joe’s brand.

1 small can of Hatch chopped green chilies.  This is one place you can choose mild or hot to adjust your spice level.  I choose mild for most items as I have one child who does not like spicy foods.

Set It and Forget It

This is where the recipe meets it’s friends, simple and easy.  Cut the onion and toss it into the slow cooker (or dutch oven/covered casserole).  Add the chicken pieces, jar of Salsa Verde, and can of chopped green chilies and throw them into the pool.  Stir to combine, set the timer on low for 4 hours and let it go.  If desired, you can thicken the sauce.  Remove the chicken after the 4 hours and allow to cool so you can shred it easily.  Turn the sauce on high for one hour to reduce it.  During this time you can prep your sides and garnishes.  Add the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker, stir to combine ingredients and it’s ready to serve.

Sides and Garnishes

I like to serve this along side cilantro lime cauliflower rice and garnish with cashew creme, avocado, pico de gayo, and chopped cilantro to keep it under the Whole30 guidelines.   If not on Whole30, Spanish rice, black beans, jalapeno coleslaw, corn tortillas, and sour cream are wonderful with it too.

Other Options

To make Whole30 Chicken Salsa Verde in a dutch oven, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cook for about 1 1/2 hours.  The dutch oven method should result in a thicker sauce which is a plus.  No need to continue cooking after the chicken is removed to shred it.

Tools

Slow Cooker:  I have one where the insert can be used on the stovetop to brown/saute meats prior to slow cooking.  It is nice to not have to use an additional piece of cookware and saves time on cleanup.  Where I have the Al Clad brand and have not encountered any problems, the reviews about the insert coating are not great so I don’t want to recommend it.  Here is a similar one, with a much better price point than mine, made by CrockPot that has gotten really good reviews.

 

 

Lodge Enameled Cast Iron 6 Quart Dutch Oven, Pumpkin

This is one of my favorite pots to cook with.  I will tell you it is heavy (Hello Cast Iron), but it is very easy to clean, is a healthy option to nonstick cookware, and has received honorable mention behind the most desired and most expensive counterpart made by Le Creuset.  This pot runs in the range of $70 compared to $250 for the high end brand.  I love the pumpkin color but it comes in many color options like white, red, blue, and teal.