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one intact cooked boneless skinless chicken breast coated with completely smooth pureed creamy orange-red roasted salsa without any visible tomato chunks, pepper pieces or vegetable bits on an ordinary plate, with no beans, corn, shredded chicken, grated cheese or garnish
Andre Lewis

Creamy Crockpot Salsa Chicken

Roasting the salsa ingredients first gives this chicken a sauce of its own, with softened tomato and pepper blended smoothly before the breasts enter the crock. There are no beans or corn to turn it into a taco filling. Keep the cooked breasts whole. Cream cheese melts into the hot sauce after the meat comes out. The chicken returns only long enough to be coated rather than getting shredded and left on warm for the rest of the evening.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours 45 minutes
Total Time 5 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts about 6 oz each
  • 1 1/2 lb Roma tomatoes halved
  • 1 red bell pepper seeded and quartered
  • 1 small white onion quartered
  • 1 jalapeno stemmed and halved
  • 3 garlic cloves peeled
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3/4 tsp fine salt divided
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 4 oz cream cheese softened and cubed
  • 1 tbsp fresh lime juice

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss tomatoes, red pepper, onion, jalapeno and garlic with olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt on a rimmed sheet pan. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes until softened with a few browned edges.
  2. Blend roasted vegetables and their juices with cumin until smooth, venting the blender lid carefully for steam. Pour into a 5-quart slow cooker.
  3. Season chicken with remaining salt and nestle the whole breasts in the salsa. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 to 4 hours, checking from 2 1/2 hours and removing each breast as it reaches 165°F.
  4. Cover cooked chicken on a clean plate. Stir cream cheese into the hot salsa until completely melted, about 3 to 5 minutes, then add lime juice.
  5. Return whole breasts to the sauce just long enough to coat them. Serve one per person with the creamy roasted salsa spooned over the top.