Spicy Mexican Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken {GF, DF}

Slow cooker pineapple chicken requiring only six key ingredients and a handful of spices. The perfect balance of sweet and spicy all at once with tender shredded chicken and hearty black beans. Gluten Free and Dairy Free too. I have a confession to make. This is my first slow cooker recipe on the blog. And not just that. This is the first time I have ever used a slow cooker.

Somehow in all my years of cooking I never purchased one or found one to use anywhere. I pretty much always stuck to the good old stove and oven.

But now that D and I have started a new house sitting assignment in Costa Rica, the house happens to have a slow cooker!!

Cue my excitement and fireworks going off in me head. I mean a new kitchen gadget to play around with? Dream come true right here.

And this house also has a blender, ice cream maker, and food processor (cue lots of pesto making). Are you jumping up and down with joy too?

I love having a fully equipped kitchen. It seriously makes my day. Now if only the house had A/C and the dog didn’t need to be fed at 5:30 every morning I’d have no complaints at all.

Back to the slow cooker. So for the few of you not familiar with this cooking vessel, it works this way. You plop a bunch of ingredients into the large bowl like structure. Put it on the slow cooker, set the high or low heat setting, set the time, put the lid on and walk away.

Four to seven hours later your full one pot meal is ready and waiting for you.

I mean talk about fuss free cooking with minimal clean up. One big pot that cooks everything together. You could literally put this on low overnight and wake up with lunch and dinner ready. I can totally see the appeal. Especially for busy working professionals, families, anyone really. This is perfect for tough cuts of meats, shredded chicken, curries, vegetarian or vegan based soups. I mean I can see endless possibilities here.

Can you tell I’m excited? For my first recipe I wanted shredded chicken. With a Mexican flair and a bit of a contrast between sweet and spicy flavors.

Meet spicy Mexican slow cooker pineapple chicken. The couple we are house sitting for casually mentioned that they have a bunch of frozen pineapple in their freezer from all the pineapple trees on their property and that we were welcome to as much as we pleased.

I mean how awesome is it to have pineapple growing in your backyard? The season is now over, so to keep it from spoiling they freeze the remainder. Perfect for smoothies (like this awesome pina colada smoothie) or for a spicy Mexican slow cooker pineapple chicken dish as it turns out.

This slow cooker pineapple chicken recipe has six key ingredients and a medley of spices (which you can substitute for what you have on hand). The star ingredients are chicken breasts, fresh pineapple, black beans, diced tomatoes, honey and diced green chilis. That’s it.

For spices I used salt, smoked paprika (my fave), garlic powder, onion powder and chipotle powder. I tossed everything together, set it on high and let everything cook for 4 hours. Then I removed the chicken, shredded it with two forks, tossed back into the slow cooked, gave everything a stir and let that cook for another 20-30 minutes.

This slow cooker pineapple chicken recipe required practically zero prep time and really just asks for a bit of patience for everything to cook. Other than that you are completely free to leave the kitchen and enjoy your day.

Pretty perfect if you ask me.

The final result? A spicy sweet tender shredded chicken dish with hearts black beans, spicy chilis, and soft and fruity pineapple. This spicy Mexican slow cooker pineapple chicken is perfect when served over rice with a sprinkling of lime zest, a squeeze of lime juice and a few sprays of hot sauce.

Love Mexican or Central/South American cuisine? Then you’re going to love these recipes:

• Mexican Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps {GF, DF}
• Turkey Taco Bowl with Avocado Crema {GF, DF}
• Gluten Free Quesadillas with Chicken {GF}
• Peruvian Chicken Stir Fry – Chicken Lomo Saltado {GF, DF}

How to make slow cooker pineapple chicken

4.17 from 12 votes

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Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken {GF, DF}

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

4 hrs 30 mins

Total Time

4 hrs 40 mins

 

Only six key ingredients and a handful of spices required for this one pot low fuss slow cooker pineapple chicken. The perfect balance of sweet and spicy all at once with tender shredded chicken and hearty black beans. Gluten Free and Dairy Free too.

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: gluten free, Healthy, Mexican

Servings: 5

Calories: 405 kcal

Author: Vicky Berman

Ingredients

• 3 chicken breasts 2-3 pounds
• 3 cups diced pineapple fresh
• 1 15 ounce can black beans
• 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 4 ounce can diced green chilis
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
• 3 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup rice cooked according to package directions (for serving)
• lime juice lime zest, hot sauce for garnish

Instructions

1. To a slow cooker add chicken, pineapple, black beans, diced tomatoes, salt, paprika, green chilis, garlic powder, onion powder, chipotle powder, and honey.
2. Cover with lid, set of high for 4 hours.
3. Remove chicken, shred with two forks, place back into the slow cooker and cook for additional 30 minutes.
4. Serve over rice with lime zest, juice and additional hot sauce (optional)

Recipe Notes

Recipe Adapted from Carlsbad Cravings

Nutrition Facts

Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken {GF, DF}

Amount Per Serving

Calories 405 Calories from Fat 18

% Daily Value*

Fat 2g3%

Cholesterol 43mg14%

Sodium 1042mg45%

Potassium 886mg25%

Carbohydrates 73g24%

Fiber 9g38%

Sugar 22g24%

Protein 24g48%

Vitamin A 675IU14%

Vitamin C 59mg72%

Calcium 90mg9%

Iron 3.7mg21%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.