Slow Cooker Tajín Chicken and Peppers
Published April 24, 2025
Bryan Gardner for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
- Total Time
- About 4 hours
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 4 hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 ½ to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, rinsed
3 (4-ounce) cans hot or mild chopped green chiles (not drained)
1 bell pepper, sliced into ¼-inch wide strips
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons Tajín seasoning, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
Crumbled queso fresco, for serving
Rice, tortillas or tortilla chips, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
62 grams carbs; 197 milligrams cholesterol; 704 calories; 10 grams monosaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 25 grams fat; 15 grams fiber; 1324 milligrams sodium; 59 grams protein; 3 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Combine the chicken, beans, green chiles, bell pepper, garlic, Tajín, oil, onion powder and cumin in a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Season with 1½ teaspoons salt. Cook on low until the chicken is tender and the pepper is soft, 4 hours.
- Step 2
Break the chicken into large chunks using two forks. Serve topped with queso fresco and more Tajin to taste.
Private Notes
Comments
Not sure if you can get it Up North, but in Mexico we have a Reduced Salt variety of Tajin that gives you more control. Look for a pale blue cap.
We made this as written, except cooked in a pressure cooker for 45m. It was very good, and super easy. Will make it again, maybe adding some hominy.
@Tanya I made this on the stovetop in a Dutch oven. I added 1 cup of chicken broth, brought everything to a boil, covered, and moved the pot to my smallest burner. Stirred about every 30 minutes and cooked for a total of around two hours.
Absolutely delicious and so easy. I made it as written except added another red pepper (because I had one on hand) and used the low-sodium version of Tajin. Served over brown rice and topped with chopped tomatoes, tamed pickled jalapenos, pickled red onions and sour cream. Scallions and/or cilantro would be great additions too. Next time I may try use a potato masher to squish some of the beans and thicken the consistency a bit. This will go into heavy rotation for sure!
The first time I made this, I followed the directions exactly but I felt like it needed to be tweaked since it was too tart. This time I added: 1 tablespoon of tomato paste 1 can diced tomatoes drained 2 canned chipotle peppers diced 2 teaspoons of adobo sauce. (I used 3 cans of mild green chiles since I could only find mild so if I had found hot, I probably wouldn’t have added the chipotle peppers nor the adobo sauce) The additions made it more flavorful and rich.
Great easy recipe. I thought it was too saucy. So I drained the liquid into a pot and cooked it down while I shredded the chicken and then added it back in. Makes it thicker and flavors are great.