February 2025 · Jess in the Kitchen

Last Updated on February 23, 2025 by Jess

If you’ve been around for any length of time (or if you happen to be on my email list…why aren’t you?!), you know that I am a mom of two busy athletic kiddos that have me at practice and at games on weeknights quite often on weekends. The focus in my kitchen as of late has been meal prep on Sunday so we can simply reheat and eat in under 30 minutes during the week. This creation of Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken has happened a time or two before, but I amped it up a bit the last few weekends and it’s ready for all of you!

A few Sundays ago, I came home from Aldi with some boneless, skinless chicken thighs and needed something to do with them. I remembered from this summer that cooking them in the slow cooker with some taco seasoning (make it homemade!) was dynamite as a taco filling, but I wanted more.

What else did I add to make this Slow COoker Fiesta Chicken?

If you’ve also been around for a while, you know I like to sneak veggies in where I can. So of course this is a perfect opportunity: onions, sweet peppers, diced tomatoes, and black beans. You could even add in some jalapeños if you dig something with a kick. I’ll be honest, beans are hit and miss with my own kiddos, but I add them anyway (Extra protein?! Heck yes!). When I asked for feedback from my family, my big kiddo specifically said he liked the addition of the beans. Big win!

But what I love most about this Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken recipe (besides its prep that takes all of 5 minutes), is the versatility of the result. I originally made it with intent to be chicken taco filling and that’s how we ate it the first two times. However, it works really well as a rice bowl topping and I have also topped it with extra veggies and ate it as a sort of dip with tortilla chips. It easily could be served as all three at a meal with minimal work.

Ready to get dinner ready for this week? Let’s go!

Your Ingredients

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (I did thighs, but breasts would work)
1 cup diced onion (about 1 large)
1 diced sweet pepper, any color
1 can unsalted diced tomatoes, drained
⅓ cup taco seasoning (about two packets)
1 can black beans, drained but not rinsed
Diced jalapenos, optional (I don’t like a kick, but I think it would be great!)

Your Steps to Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken

Add the chicken to the slow cooker. Sprinkle with the taco seasoning and toss to completely cover. Add in diced onion, pepper, and drained diced tomatoes. Stir once more. Set on low for 8 hours or high for four hours.

Once the chicken is fully cooked, shred. If you have a family that is opposed to chunky tomatoes, you can use a hand mixer to break down the chicken and subsequently the tomatoes will also break down too. If your family doesn’t mind chunky tomatoes, you can simply shred with a fork.

(Note: If your chicken produced a ton of liquid while cooking, you can scoop some off before shredding. Reserve it, and add it back as needed. If you’re serving tacos, reserve less liquid. If you are putting it over rice, maybe add more back.)

Once the chicken is shredded, drain the beans and then add them to the mixture. Stir in and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes or so to heat the beans through. If there was a lot of liquid, you can leave the lid open on your slow cooker.

Serve up the way you want: as filling for tacos with your favorite toppings, as the protein in a rice bowl, or with chips as a dip.

I like to have lettuce, additional onion, additional diced tomatoes, salsa, cilantro, and cheese on hand as toppings, but you do you my friend! Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken

From tacos to dips to rice bowls, this Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken has you covered! Just dump, cook, and shred for a delicious and effortless meal the whole family will love.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 4

Course dinner

Cuisine American

Servings servings

Equipment

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken (I did thighs, but breasts would work)
1 cup diced onion about 1 large
1 diced sweet pepper any color
1 can unsalted diced tomatoes drained
⅓ cup taco seasoning about two packets
1 can black beans drained but not rinsed
Diced jalapenos optional

Instructions

Add the chicken to the slow cooker. Sprinkle with the taco seasoning and toss to completely cover. Add in diced onion, pepper, and drained diced tomatoes. Stir once more. Set on low for 8 hours or high for four hours.
Once the chicken is fully cooked, shred. If you have a family that is opposed to chunky tomatoes, you can use a hand mixer to break down the chicken and subsequently the tomatoes will also break down too. If your family doesn’t mind chunky tomatoes, you can simply shred with a fork.
Once the chicken is shredded, drain the beans and then add them to the mixture. Stir in and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes or so to heat the beans through. If there was a lot of liquid, you can leave the lid open on your slow cooker.
Serve up the way you want: as filling for tacos with your favorite toppings, as the protein in a rice bowl, or with chips as a dip.

Notes

If your chicken produced a ton of liquid while cooking, you can scoop some off before shredding. Reserve it, and add it back as needed. If you’re serving tacos, reserve less liquid. If you are putting it over rice, add more back.

I like to have lettuce, additional onion, additional diced tomatoes, salsa, cilantro, and cheese on hand as toppings, but you do you my friend! Enjoy!

Keyword black beans, chicken, chicken recipes, chicken tacos, slow cooker, slow cooker chicken, slowcooker, tacos, tomatoes

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Check out some of my favorite dishes below or head to my cooking page!

Last Updated on February 7, 2025 by Jess

Before I share the recipe for this delicious Southwest chicken pasta bake, I have to share the story of how it came to be. I swear it will be short!

A few weeks back, a colleague of mine brought this delicious, albeit a bit tedious, dish to serve for a potluck. He is a lovely man who enjoys cooking full entrees for our “Appetizer Thursday” and always, always outdoes himself (we joked that he could bring a bag of chips sometime!). He called it Sonora Chicken Pasta, saying it was a copycat recipe from Ruby Tuesday.

I knew in a moment that my family would love it except for a few problems: It had a lot of steps to putting a bowl together (first the pasta, then the black beans and chicken, then cheese, then the tomatoes…you get the point) and we are super busy at night so a meal prepped bake is the way to go because it reheats so easily for our current basketball focused nights. I also don’t love cooking with a lot of processed ingredients so Velveeta is generally out. I wasn’t sure I could get the same feel without it, but I wanted to try.

What came out was perfection. So much so that I promptly cooked it again four days later after my family devoured the first pan. My version uses Gouda for its melting point (I know it isn’t Southwest, but it works!) and a few less spices. It also all gets thrown together in a baking dish and reheats perfectly for meal prep or busy families! I hope you love it!

Your Ingredients for this Southwest Chicken Pasta Bake

16 ounces penne pasta
Olive oil
¾ cup diced red pepper
¾ cup diced onion
½ tablespoon garlic
3 cups cooked, cubed or shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed
2 10 ounce cans diced tomatoes with chiles (or 1 can diced tomatoes and 1 can chiles)
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces Gouda, hand shredded
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon cumin

Your Steps to Southwest Chicken Pasta Bake

First, you may not believe me, but do this. Rather than boil the pasta, fill a pot with HOT, salted water. Put the uncooked pasta in the pot and stir. While you are prepping everything else, let the pasta sit and soak up the water, stirring every once in a while. It will absorb the moisture without having to worry about over cooking it! Once it goes in the oven, it will cook the rest of the way without absorbing the moisture from your bake! (If you don’t believe me, you can totally just boil the pasta to al dente, but don’t say I didn’t share this great tip that I learned from The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt)

Anywho…

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. While the pasta is soaking (or cooking), heat a large pan over medium heat. Add olive oil once hot and then add the onion and pepper. Cook down until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just a bit more. Remove from the pan and add to a large bowl with rinsed beans, cooked chicken, and tomatoes. Mix well.

Heat the same pan back up over medium heat (less dishes!). Add the heavy cream, salt, red pepper flakes, and cumin. Once the cream is warm, slowly stir in the Gouda a small bit at a time, allowing it to melt before adding more. Remove from heat and stir in the drained pasta.

Combine the coated pasta and the chicken mixture. Stir well. Once combined, layer into a large baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes until warmed all the way through. Option to remove the foil 5 minutes before the bake time is over.

Southwest Chicken Pasta Bake

This Southwest Chicken Pasta Bake is full creamy, cheesy goodness with the perfect balance of chicken, beans, and tomatoes, all baked together with Gouda for a melt-in-your-mouth experience.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Course dinner

Cuisine American, Southwest

Servings

Equipment

Ingredients

16 ounces penne pasta
Olive oil
¾ cup diced red pepper
¾ cup diced onion
½ tablespoon garlic
3 cups cooked cubed or shredded chicken
1 can black beans rinsed
2 10 ounce cans diced tomatoes with chiles or 1 can diced tomatoes and 1 can chiles
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces Gouda hand shredded
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch of red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon cumin

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Add HOT water a stock pot. Heavily salt it and place the pasta the in the hot water. Stir periodically. (See note)
While the pasta is soaking (or cooking), heat a large pan over medium heat. Add olive oil once hot and then add the onion and pepper. Cook down until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just a bit more.
Remove from the pan and add to a large bowl with rinsed beans, cooked chicken, and tomatoes. Mix well.
Heat the same pan back up over medium heat. Add the heavy cream, salt, red pepper flakes, and cumin. Once the cream is warm, slowly stir in the Gouda a small bit at a time, allowing it to melt before adding more. Remove from heat and stir in the drained pasta.
Combine the coated pasta and the chicken mixture. Stir well. Once combined, layer into a large baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes until warmed all the way through. Option to remove the foil 5 minutes before the bake time is over.

Notes

Rather than boil the pasta, fill a pot with HOT, salted water. Put the uncooked pasta in the pot and stir. While you are prepping everything else, let the pasta sit and soak up the water, stirring every once in a while. It will absorb the moisture without having to worry about over cooking it! Once it goes in the oven, it will cook the rest of the way without absorbing the moisture from your bake! (If you don’t believe me, you can totally just boil the pasta to al dente, but don’t say I didn’t share this great tip that I learned from The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt)

Keyword black beans, chicken, meala prep, pasta, pasta bake, penne pasta, Sonora chicken, tomatoes

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!