This pulled rooster recipe makes the juiciest shredded rooster within the gradual cooker. It’s cooked with a zesty mix of salsa and Mexican-inspired seasonings, excellent for serving in buns or tacos. And one of the best half is, it cooks itself!
Use this saucy salsa rooster to make pulled rooster sandwiches, or load it into tortillas for tacos, enchiladas, and extra. I even have a simple gradual cooker pulled pork recipe that you would be able to attempt subsequent!

The crock pot needs to be one of the best ways to make pulled rooster. Cooking over low and gradual warmth for hours makes the rooster exceptionally juicy, whereas the crock locks in all that moisture and taste. This pulled rooster recipe turned out so scrumptious, crammed with Mexican-inspired taste due to salsa and some straightforward spices. I couldn’t wait to serve it between buns for pulled rooster sandwiches the opposite night time, however because the prospects are countless, I’m pondering tacos are subsequent!
What Makes This Pulled Rooster Recipe So Nice
- Palms-free. Since this recipe makes use of the gradual cooker, there’s little or no hands-on prep. Assemble all the pieces contained in the crock pot or cooker, hit begin, and are available again hours later to fall-apart tender, juicy rooster that’s able to shred.
- Versatile. Use this zesty salsa rooster in sandwiches, tacos, nachos, fajita bowls, and extra. You may make an enormous batch and freeze it, too, so you’ve it readily available for last-minute meals.
- Adaptable. This recipe is straightforward to customise relying on what you want. Amp up the taco taste, make it spicy, or attempt a special taste profile altogether. I embody some straightforward variation concepts additional within the put up.


Substances You’ll Want
Under are the components I take advantage of to make this zesty gradual cooker pulled rooster. All of them are straightforward to seek out and may already be within the pantry. Scroll to the recipe card on the backside of the put up for the printable components record, quantities, and a photograph step-by-step afterward.
- Rooster – I like to recommend boneless, skinless rooster breasts or rooster thighs for this recipe as they’re best to shred.
- Salsa – Select your favourite model from the shop, or you need to use selfmade salsa.
- Brown Sugar – You may also use granulated sugar or one other sweetener, like honey, agave syrup, or maple syrup.
- Spices – I take advantage of a mix of paprika (candy or smoked), onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder, plus salt and pepper to style. You may substitute the person spices or amp up the flavour with taco seasoning or fajita seasoning.
Suggestions and Variations
- Test that the rooster is cooked. Rooster is completed when the interior temperature reaches 165ºF on the thickest a part of the breast or thigh. An instant-read meat thermometer makes it tremendous straightforward to test rooster for doneness.
- Make it spicy. Use scorching salsa or sprinkle in cayenne pepper or crushed chili flakes for further kick. You may additionally add a bit of enchilada sauce to provide the recipe extra warmth.
- Inexperienced salsa. Make this pulled rooster extra just like my salsa verde rooster by utilizing inexperienced tomatillo salsa as an alternative of crimson salsa.
- Make BBQ rooster. Change the salsa with barbecue sauce, and the Tex-Mex seasoning with rooster seasoning for a variation of BBQ pulled rooster as an alternative.


Methods to Serve Gradual Cooker Pulled Rooster
I prefer to serve the rooster between fluffy buns for simple pulled rooster sandwiches. It’s nice at any time when we entertain, since everybody can serve themselves straight from the crock pot. There are a selection of the way to take pleasure in this pulled rooster recipe. These are a number of extra of my favourite concepts:
- Tacos. Serve pulled rooster tacos topped with bitter cream, avocado, shredded cheese (or cotija cheese), guacamole, slaw, and any of your favourite taco toppings.
- Bowls. I like including this rooster to fajita bowls, rice bowls, and different meal bowls for a protein increase.
- Wraps. Roll this rooster up in flatbread or tortillas for a simple rooster wrap. It makes a scrumptious gentle lunch.
- Tex-Mex. Use pulled rooster to make rooster nachos, or attempt it as a filling in enchiladas, rooster flautas, and extra.


Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Retailer pulled rooster in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days. I’ll usually serve leftover pulled rooster chilly in rooster salad sandwiches or stir leftovers into rooster taco soup.
- Freeze. The rooster freezes splendidly for as much as 3 months. Retailer it in an hermetic container or freezer bag and thaw it within the fridge earlier than reheating or serving.
- Reheat. Heat the rooster within the microwave or on the stovetop earlier than serving.
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Assemble. In a gradual cooker, add salsa, brown sugar, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin powder, chili powder, and salt and pepper to style. Add the rooster.
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Cook dinner. Cowl and cook dinner the rooster on a HIGH setting for 3 hours or on LOW for 4-5 hours.
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Shred the rooster. Take away the rooster from the gradual cooker. Shred the rooster utilizing two forks, and add ¼ cup of the cooking/salsa sauce to the shredded rooster. Serve in buns or tacos.
- You may substitute rooster breast with boneless and skinless rooster thighs.
- For extra taste, you need to use some further Taco seasoning.
Energy: 234kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 32g | Fats: 4g | Saturated Fats: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated Fats: 1g | Trans Fats: 0.02g | Ldl cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 925mg | Potassium: 914mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1611IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 2mg
Dietary information is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values might differ in line with the components and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
Learn how to Make Gradual Cooker Pulled Rooster
This recipe follows an identical technique to my gradual cooker rooster breast. The distinction right here is that when all’s mentioned and carried out, we’ll shred the rooster and blend it again into the juices.




- Mix the components. Add your salsa, brown sugar, seasonings to the crock pot or gradual cooker. Then, nestle the rooster breasts inside and stir to coat.
- Cook dinner. Set the rooster to cook dinner on Excessive for 3 hours, or Low for 4-6 hours.




- Shred the rooster. When the rooster is cooked by means of, take away it from the gradual cooker and use two forks to shred it. Afterward, stir about ¼ cup of the leftover cooking sauce into the shredded rooster. It’s able to serve! See beneath for ideas.