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Slow Cooker Street Corn Chicken

Slow cooker street corn chicken with fall-apart shredded chicken in a thick, smoky elote-style sauce. Creamy corn and chiles get slow-cooked until tender, then finished with cotija and chili powder for a street-corn dinner.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours
Total Time 6 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Calories: 560
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

chicken breasts
  • 2 lb chicken breasts
frozen corn
  • 2 cup frozen corn thawed
diced green chiles
  • 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
cream cheese
  • 4 oz cream cheese cubed
mayonnaise
  • 0.5 cup mayonnaise
sour cream
  • 0.5 cup sour cream
lime juice
  • 2 tbsp lime juice
chili powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
garlic powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
  • 1 salt and pepper to taste
cotija cheese
  • 0.5 cup cotija cheese crumbled
fresh cilantro and lime
  • 1 fresh cilantro and lime for serving
chicken broth
  • 0.5 cup chicken broth

Equipment

  • 1 slow cooker

Method
 

Season and load the crockpot
  1. Place the chicken breasts in the slow cooker and season with salt, pepper, chili powder, smoked paprika, and garlic powder. Make sure the spices coat the tops of the chicken (visual: speckled surface).
  2. Add the corn, diced green chiles, cream cheese, lime juice, and chicken broth (1/2 cup) over the chicken. Visual cue: cream cheese cubes should be mostly on top, ready to melt into the sauce.
Cook until extremely tender
  1. Cook on low for 6 hours. Visual cue: steam should rise and the chicken should look very soft and shreds easily.
  2. If using high, cook for 3 to 4 hours. Visual cue: the chicken should be extremely tender with no resistance when pierced.
Shred and make it creamy
  1. Shred the chicken directly in the crockpot with two forks. Visual cue: strands will mix through the corn sauce and thicken it.
  2. Stir in the mayonnaise and sour cream until everything is creamy and combined. Visual cue: the sauce should turn uniform and glossy with no cream cheese lumps.
Serve
  1. Serve the chicken topped with cotija cheese, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges over rice or in tortillas. Visual cue: cotija should look crumbly and lightly dusted across the top.

Notes

For maximum street-corn flavor, keep the lid on during the 6-hour cook so the sauce stays thick. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container up to 4 days; reheat gently until warmed through. Freezing: yes—freeze in portions up to 2 months, then thaw in the fridge and reheat slowly (sauce may loosen slightly, then stir well). For a lower-fat option, use light mayonnaise and reduced-fat cream cheese and sour cream while keeping the same method.