This Cuban inspired dish is made with shredded chicken breast cooked in the slow cooker, then sauteed with bell peppers, onions, cumin and lots of Latin flavor! If you have leftover rotisserie chicken, you can use that instead and skip the slow cooker!
Cuban cuisine is a favorite of mine and Ropa Vieja, which translates as “old clothes” is a dish I love. It’s traditionally made with shredded skirt steak, and served over white rice and fried plantains.
I created this lighter version a few years ago using lean chicken breast instead, sometimes I even use boneless skinless thighs or a combination of both. You can serve this over rice, with baked tostones (plantain chips) and a salad, in a burrito bowl with Cilantro lime rice, Southwestern black bean salad, lettuce and shredded cheese or over cauliflower rice if you want to keep it low-carb or Whole30.
And since so many are asking, although I have and love my Instant Pot, I still love my slow cooker! I have the 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker (affil link). I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it’s done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot, it burnt everything and my food had a weird taste. This slow cooker is so great, I actually own several!
Chicken Ropa Vieja
Ingredients
For the Slow Cooker:
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, or boneless thighs (24 oz total)
- 1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
- 1 tomato, quartered
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced, divided
- 3 bay leaves
- kosher salt
To finish:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, sliced long
- 1 small green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 small red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup dry white wine, or chicken broth
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp Spanish green olives, optional
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- black pepper to taste
- chopped cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Place chicken, bell pepper, tomatoes, carrots, and half of garlic into the slow cooker. Add just enough chicken broth to cover the chicken and vegetables and add the bay leaves. Cook high for 4 hours, or low 6 to 8 hours, until the chicken is tender.
- When done, remove chicken and shred with two forks; set aside. Discard vegetables and reserve the broth for later.
- In a large deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the remaining garlic, sliced onions, green peppers, and red peppers. Cook about 3 to 4 minutes, or until soft.
- Stir in the tomato paste and wine, let it cook 2 to 3 minutes then add the cooked chicken, tomato sauce, and about 3/4 cup of the reserved broth to create a sauce. Season with cumin, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Cover and simmer on low for about 8 to 10 minutes, adding more broth and seasoning if needed. Makes 4 cups.
Last Step:
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I love this new version of Chicken Ropa Vieja. I used the small dipping peppers since I didn’t have the larger ones and a seeded jalapeño for a bit of spice. It was delicious!!
Great served over rice and lettuce.
what cut of ‘beef’ for Garlic Lovers Roast Beef?
Hi Gina! Did you change the recipe, or am I losing my mind? We love this recipe, but I haven’t made it in awhile. I dont remember tomato paste being in it when I made it before.
Why does this say it’s Mexican cuisine when ropa vieja is a Cuban dish?
I thought that too, however I read the description over and saw Cuban INSPIRED dish. So it technically is correct either way.
Could you do this on a stove top
Confused on how much chicken to use…. 3 breasts 22.5 oz each or 22.5 oz of chicken breast
Can this be made in the instant pot?
Hi Gina, just wondering if boneless, skinless thighs could be used instead of breasts, and if so, can they be added to slow cooker frozen? Thank you!
Yes, that can work but I always make sure to thaw my chicken before putting them in the slow cooker for safety precautions.
Gina, I doubt you’ll have a chance to see this, but just in case: could this cook on LOW for 6-8 hours in the crockpot? Thanks for all you do!
6 hours should work!
Love this. Wondering why we don’t add everything together in the slow cover? Is the a specific reason for the two steps? Will the veggies disinigrate?
Yes, they will over cook.
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could you do this in the Insta pot?
Sure! I would cook 25 min?
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Made this Friday and it was a hit. I used chicken broth instead of water and served them in soft tacos with home made guacamole, sour cream, cheese and hot sauce. Everyone loved it!!
Great!
Yum! I’m hoping to make this tonight. Do you have an Instant Pot version?
What size of slow cooker do you use/should be used? The photo looks like the ingredients come pretty close to the top of the slow cooker, but I don’t think 3 chicken breasts with the other ingredients would fill my 4 quart slow cooker very high and I worry about ingredients drying out.
Hello! Looks delicious! Can this be left on low for 8 hours so it can cook while I’m at work? Thank you!
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Yummy! My family loved this recipe. Thank you!
I rolled them into burritos, baked them at 350° for 20 min. The last five minutes I covered them with a white cheese sauce, topped with fresh parmesan cheese. Amazing!!
I made this last night and it was delicious! I plan on using the leftovers as taco filling and hearts of romaine as tortillas. Thanks for sharing all your great recipes on your website!!! :0)
Hi Gina,
I am a little unclear regarding above instructions. I made the slow cooker ingredients tonight. You have made no further reference to the other ingredients used in the slow cooker except the liquid and chicken. Am I supposed to discard tomato, garlic and carrots? I do not see any in your picture. Thanks. In advance for clarifying (ASAP if possible).
Made this for dinner last week and it was a huge hit! With leftovers, we added some chicken broth and avocado and made it a soup! We also used this chicken for Enchiladas! This is amazing! Thank you for another great recipe!
wow I made this for lunch last night with my kids and they both liked it! My kids are picky eaters so I was surprised, can you post more recipes?
I recently got the metabolic cooking and am trying to cook its recipes. Do you mind doing a tutorial on a couple of them? Here are the links to the recipes, please let me know, reviewyu.com/metabolic-cooking-review/
I made this for dinner last night for my picky teenage boy and husband..added a bit of chipolte powder to the sauce..they devoured it! Great recipe! I love healthy delicious ideas ..youve got some great ones!
I made this for dinner today and it was sooo good. I have six kids ranging in ages from adults to teenagers and they all had some and loved it……which is a miracle because my kids are so picky. Thank you for this recipe, I will be making it often. Plus I love all the different ways you can eat it with.
this is a great idea to wrap chicken…Looks so delicious & pictures make me mouthwatering!!Thanks for sharing with 'Hot & Spicy Treats' Restaurant in Satya niketan
I love this recipe. Makes great quesadillas! I add shredded cheese before grilling and serve with sour cream. Yum!
Going to try making this tomorrow…..sounds so yummy!! Gina – wanted to thank you for all of your time and effort into making delicious recipes that are light and healthy and low enough carb for me to eat. I was diagnosed with Diabetes a few months ago and am so thankful I stumbled upon your website as it has helped me lose 22 pounds so far, eat healthier and really enjoy cooking. Also, most of your recipes I have tried are super easy and quick which is a HUGE bonus! I have liked everything I've tasted so far – SO great to be able to eat healthy and have it taste like we are at a restaurant! Our favorite so far is Crockpot Picadillo!!!! Thank you, thank you!!
Made this tonight and loved it! Thanks so much!
If I double this recipe, how long should I leave it in the crock pot?
Making this tonight! So excited!
Gina, I don't use a crockpot, can I make this on the stove? Thanks so much. Love all your recipes, thanks so much for sharing with us!!! xo
This is really tasty. I had enough to make tacos for a second meal.
I made the chicken recipe with the rice and bean salad and it tasted exactly like chipotle's rice bowl. LOVED LOVED LOVED it. WIll defiantly cook this one again!!!!
how would you freeze this?
YUM! This is delicious. Thank you for another scrumptious recipe. Can't wait for the cookbook!
yum! ive been craving chipotle! this will do the job!
A friend recommended your site and everything has been amazing to date. Thanks for making me look like an outstanding cook!
Tried it last night and thought it was amazing. The true test comes today when I give a sample to my best friend…who happens to be Cuban and grew up on his mom's version!
Delicioso! I added adobo instead of garlic powder and salt to the veggies. Love your recipes, Gina. Do you think this will freeze well?
Made this tonight and I was Wowed….. Not hard to make and tastes pretty good. My kids loved it and that is a plus.
Tried this yesterday – soooo good, hubby loved it, too! Thanks so much for sharing Gina. Can't wait for your next recipes 🙂
Gina I feel like I've commented on this, the chicken enchilada soup, and pork carnitas multiple times but thank you – your crock pot recipes are staples in our house! We have 13 month old triplets so time to do anything is limited:) Thanks for making our lives easier and for keeping convenience healthy. The kids are starting to love your recipes too!
-Lauren
This looks like it was tailor-made for a fajita filling. Make fajitas with this, then give the family options of sliced avocado, sour cream, pico de gallo, or salsa to add. I'm definitely doing this.
This looks so deliciously healthy!
Definitely trying this recipe tomorrow. Have some chicken in the fridge that I need to cook anyways
This is a GREAT easy and healthy recipe! You rock!
This looks really good! I love it
Shredded chicken is one of my favorite ways to eat chicken! This recipe sounds delicious and easy to throw together! I will definitely be putting this on my recipes to try list.
Gina, I don't have a slow cooker. Do you think this dish can be done entirely on the stove and/or oven? Please email and let me know, and how you would change the steps. gbgaubert@gmail.com I want to make this for dinner tonight!
I love using my slow cooker in the summer…anything to keep the kitchen cool! This is one I need to try, for certain.
This is one of our favorites!!!
This is what I order at our local Cuban restaurant. I love that this is a crock pot recipe. I will be trying it soon for sure.
Yum! I am always looking for new ways to cook chicken!
The link in this post to the Southwestern Black Bean Salad isn't working (although I can still search and find it on your site) just so you know. 🙂 I'm thinking I may make this recipe tomorrow for dinner.
this sounds really good but I don't have a proper crock pot – any suggestions how i could still cook the chicken? maybe a tightly closed pot with lid in a low oven? help please? Thanks!
Sure, you can simmer it slow for 20 minutes on the stove until it shreds easily.
Made this tonight. Excellent as always!
Great!
Made this tonight, absolutely delicious and super easy to make!
Really delicious! And my BF is is suspect of anything that might be "skinny" loved it too. Thanks!
Delicious…and it smells AMAZING!
Really good!
I made this tonight and the whole family loved it. Next time I will use less wine (and sub fat free chicken broth) and add more cumin… since I like it a little spicier!
Made this for dinner tonight. Added black beans to the chicken and served it over brown rice. With an avocado cut up into the final dish, it was one of the most delicious things I've made from your site. Thanks for taking the time to make healthy so flavorful!
OMG! I made this for lunch today and had the cilantro lime rice. It was fabulous! Thanks for all of these great recipes!
Delicious!! Definitely my kind of "comfort food". =) And the leftover broth is yummy, too–can't wait to have chicken soup for lunch tomorrow. My husband and I have been making a concerted effort to eat healthier/lighter (and he recently started Weight Watchers), so I was super excited to stumble onto your Web site. Tried several recipes and haven't been disappointed yet.:) Thanks for putting together such a great site!
made this tonight.. everyone had 2nd's, added in corn and black beans; used lettuce leaves as a wrap and added cilantro to the rice in the rice cooker; topped off with avocado.
This was the best way I've used chicken in a long time.
Can't say thank you enough
Looking forward to trying more of your recipes. I am terrible at being able to accurately follow recipes so I kinda wing it, and even with winging it, delicioso!!!
This is FABULOUS! The only thing I will do different the next time will be to make it the day before. Hubby took the leftovers to work today and he said that it was so much better than it was the night before. There is nothing like coming home to something cooked that lingers in the air….so homey! 🙂 I served it on a bed of shredded lettuce along with chili powder seasoned chickpeas, but I was thinking of some other possibilities that would work with this such as tortillas or rice fluffed with mango and spices. No matter what I do, it's now a keeper! 🙂
I made this yesterday for dinner. My finacé, which is beyond picky when it comes to chicken, ate it just fine. I loved it and can't wait to have some of the leftovers for lunch today.
To make this more authentically Cuban, I put in el cheapo Latin white cooking wine, which is what we (Cubans) use when cooking. I didn't have a tomato on hand, so I added a can of diced and seasoned tomato (drained). I kept on adding more garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper during the last step. We love garlic, so I added three smashed cloves to the crock pot, and three minced cloves during the sauteing step. Finally, I added a whole (small) can of unseasoned tomato sauce, instead of the 1/2 cup suggested.
Thanks so much for the recipe! I will definitely be making this again.
I just made this tonight. It was great! My five year old LOVED it too! We ate it wrapped in whole wheat tortillas with a little sour cream. It was hard to stop at just one! I can't wait for leftovers tomorrow.
Do you take the garlic out of the crock pot to put in the pan? There is only 1 garlic listed on the ingredient list but it is twice in the recipe. I want to make this tonight! TIA
I made this today….soo good! I used extra broth in place the white wine and it was still fantastic…I think cumin might be my new favorite. 🙂
Had this for dinner last night and even with my mistakes it was a hit! In a rush I forgot to add the water to cover chicken in crockpot and I didn't have the white wine. I used frozen chopped onion & pepper blend too and served it with sour cream, YUM!
I just love love love your blog, I've printed and tested so many of your recipes! Yesterday I made stuffed pepper soup and my housemate wouldn't stop repeating how good it was!!
Question: is there anything I can use to replace the 1/4 cup white wine, or can I simply skip it? I'm on an anti-candida diet, so no sugar, fruit, alcohol, yeast, vinegar, flour for me… the wine is a no-no :(((
Just finished cooking this dish, put it back in the crock pot after just to keep it warm. I know you're supposed to discard the veg after, but I added it back in. No point in wasting perfectly good veggies right?? Can't wait to have this later!!
I tried this recipe tonight and i am absolutely in love!! Also made the Southwest Black Bean Salad….this is without a doubt a do-over meal for me!!
I had some chicken that had to be cookd today, or I was going to have to throw it away. Low and behold, I had all the ingrediants on hand for this! This tastes like the shredded chicken that our local Mexican restaraunt uses in all their chicken dishes. (Though , I'm pretty sure they marinate it in pineapple juice first.) Oh yeah, keeping this on hand from now on.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I made it yesterday along with your 2 recommendations of Cilantro lime rice & Southwestern black bean salad. It was all so delish! Made me feel like I was eating Qdoba (we don't have a Chipotle in Reno). I will be making all of this again!
I haven't tried this yet but it looks and sounds amazing. I have been searching and searching for a good shredded chicken recipe. I just wanted to say THANK YOU for putting this site together and sharing all your amazing recipes. Every recipe I have tried has been fabulous! I am alsoh a fan of Chipotle and I can't wait to try this in a burrito bowl with the Cilantro Lime Rice. Thanks again!!!!
how much water should i put in the crock pot?
I made this tonight with the cilantro rice, topped with a tablespoon of your corn salsa and a tablespoon of shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Loved it, and my husband just said, "that's a keeper". Thanks Gina. Love your site and recipes.
Is there a substitute for white wine and what is reserved broth
Hi being British , I am not sure of the ingredient tomato sauce .. Is it as tomato ketchup , or passatta type tomatoes .. Sorry if I am being dense !! Any way brill recipes .. Am just trying to narrow them down to try ,,
My wife and I are lucky enough to be in a test market for Taco Bell's new Cantina Menu. They are trying to compete with places like Qdoba and Moe's by offering a fresh type of dish. They must have gotten the inspiration from your site because your burrito bowl in the pic above is identical to what we ate! The only thing missing from your bowl is the cilantro dressing which I see you also have a recipe for. Going to be trying this at home this week! I love cooking everything I've found on your site. Thanks for sharing your recipes.
Sure looks like corn in the photo? I've been reading the blog trying to see if anyone asked. I never remember to check back for my reply!! Susie
Made this tonight with your Cilantro lime Rice and black beans. So good. So much great stuff on this site!!!
I just made this for dinner today. I put it over a salad of romaine, tomatoes, carrots onions and fresh cilantro and squeezed a bit of lime over it. It's the first time I got my boyfriend to eat a salad for dinner. Very delicious! I even saved the extra "broth" and used it when i made my black bean soup. I will make this again for sure.
fantastic idea!!
I made this and the flavor was delicious. My only problem is that when I cooked the chicken and veggies on the stove top with the sauce,wine and broth. I feel like it was a lot of liquid. I took it out and drained some of the liquid and put it back in the skillet and it's still sort of wet. Should it be cooked down in the end so that all of the liquid is evaporated?
I Love Latin food
This is an amazing recipe…I have made it several times! This time I used a can of cilantro lime rotel instead of tomatoes(since that is what I have)…and we put this on tacos…best shredded chicken tacos ever!
Great dish and simple to make!!
I love this recipe because it is easy and Gluten Free! Great for leftovers, too!
I made mine with beef it was good.
I'm going to try this with skirt steak but how much do I need?
Mmmm, tomorrow nights dinner. Looks delish, can't wait.
Great dish and simple to make!!
Gina, I just found your site yesterday and I'm going to try this recipe this week. My mother used to make this dish for me when I was little girl but in Brazil we say "roupa velha" same meaning 🙂 hmmm good memories!!! Everything here looks and sounds delicious I'm sure i'm coming back for more recipes!! Thanks
I noticed recipes with wine are more if you use the recipe builder as opposed to using the calculator and nutritional values.
When I plug the nutritional values for this recipe into my WW calculator, it comes up as 6 points per serving; any idea why?
I made this last night, used the stove top method since I didn't have the time for the crock pot version. It was so easy! The chicken came out so moist and tender. I added a can of rotel (diced tomatoes with jalapenos) to the final version and a little sriracha for additional heat. Such a great meal and for so little points. This will be my lunch for the next few days and I'm actually looking forward to it. Thanks for all the great recipes!!
Yes that is correct.
Hi I plan to make this dish in the crockpot and the directions are confusing for me at the end… I have the chicken, water, garlic, tomato, onion, and carrot in the crockpot… so now in the skilled I put the rest of the onion, peppers, and garlic powder? Plus the sauce and wine? Just making sure… thanks
The chicken wouldn't have much flavor when it comes out of the crock pot, all the flavor comes from the sauteed peppers, onions, cumin, tomato sauce and garlic.
Not sure what I did wrong- the chicken came out of the crockpot extremely bland, and it never seemed to pick up much flavor from the sauce. Actually, the sauce was pretty bland. I had to pour a ton of cumin and garlic powder in, and we still ended up using a lot of salsa to give it some taste. I followed the recipe exactly as written (I'm not an adventurous cook!)
I made this for dinner last night, it was fabulous! After the chicken cooked I sauted the peppers and onions and then added everything to the crock pot on HIGH for 2 more hours. Turned out great!
I used this method today to make filling for chicken soft tacos, but I cheated a little and put a teaspoon of liquid smoke in the slow cooker with the other juices, so the chicken has a nice slightly smoky flavor (though I'm sure that isn't traditional, still it's delicious!) I've been trying a new recipe from your site nearly every day for the last two weeks and all of them have been fantastic! Thanks!
Sounds good nurse!
Chipotle lover, I'm happy you liked it, I too LLLLLOOVVEE chipotle so anything I can eat over cilantro lime rice is ok with me!
Gina, I love your blog, I recently discovered it a few weeks ago. I consider myself a foodie but never really used to make my own meals. But now that I'm doing Weight Watchers, cooking helps me easily count my points. I love Chipotle and today I made this dish, with the cilantro lime rice and corn with lime salsa….I was so excited to make my own burrito bowl. I've also made other dishes, your blog inspires me to cook more and everything I've made has been AWESOME! Thanks so much for these Chipotle inspired recipes, I plan to make the barbacoa beef in a few days. I'm SO excited.
we had this tonight and the chicken was so moist and juicy!!! We made a few changes to make the kids happy, and we ate ours with whole wheat tortillas, organic shredded lettuce, fat free cheddar, fat free sour cream and a dab of taco sauce….YUMMY!!
Hilary, I'm so happy you like my Latin dishes! Love Latin food, I see you share my sentiment!
Yesterday I made five new Latin inspired recipes from your website – I just found your blog last week and couldn't wait to try some things out. This was one of them, and I served it with the Cuban black beans, the habenero, lime, cilantro rice (with brown basmati) and the aji picante. My husband said it was the best meal he's ever eaten.
(The fifth item was the cilantro salad dressing, for my lunchtime salads. It's awesome too.)
Many thanks!
I'm so happy to hear that!!
Love, love, love this recipe! My boyfriend is absolutely obsessed with it. It is one of the only healthy recipes he demands on a regular basis. Ty so much!
This was so good,I made this lastnight with Pork came out great. Can't wait to see what dish I'm going to make tonight.
Sure, I started with colantro lime rice, then the chicken, then southwestern black bean salad, lettuce and cheese. You can see the links to those recipes above in my story.
Could you tell me how you layered your beautiful salad with the chicken.
Thanks Gina
Love your blog!!!!
Wow this was good. Even my picky 3 year old loved it.I hope you don't mind, I posted this on my blog – with full credit of course! http://nancysrecipebox.blogspot.com/2011/03/chicken-ropa-vieja-5-points-plus.html
My husband was in his glory with this meal. He made a burrito out of it! Thank you for the great recipies!
I just made this last night, Gina, and my boyfriend and I both loved it. Thanks for what you do!
roughly 22-24 oz cooked
Does anyone know roughly how much chicken this recipe takes weight wise?? I have some shredded chicken left over, but wasn't sure how much 3 split breasts would give me. Thank you!!! Carrie
Glad to help Maria!
Thanks, Gina-I was out buying the chicken when you answered my question. The butcher said 2of the chicken breast halves were quite large so I only bought 2 (11/2 pounds for 2) I hope that's going to work. Also bought the pork for The Pernil. We r going to eat healthy this week. Thanks For answering about the wine substitution. I suppose that will always be my substitution whenever it calls for wine. I've been on WW since the beginning in New York and wherever else I lived. Always wanted to find a way to prepare good Cuban food without the consequences. Your website has inspired me again.
Hi Maria! You can use broth instead.
Gina, what can I substitute for white wine? First time ever on your W W recipe website and could not stop reading the informative comments. Thank You
With leftover chicken, shred it and proceed with the instructions from the second paragraph.
How would I make this using cooked/shredded chicken that I already have?
I don't see why not! 1/2 can should do.
Can I substitute canned tomatoes for the fresh tomato? If, so how much should I use? It is raining badly and I can't make it to the grocery store for fresh tomatoes!
Thanks!!
This was delicious!!! I will never attempt to poach chicken and shred again. It fell apart in the crockpot! This was a hit at the dinner table, and served over whole grain brown rice. The Southwestern Corn / Bean Salad was also delicious. Thanks for posting!
Dear Stressed Out- add 2 more cloves, sorry!
If you are on the new points plus plan, then it's 5 pts.
How much garlic do you add in second part of recipe? Garlic is not on ingredients list here. I am not a cook, and you are stressing me out! Help!
I'd love to see the new points plus for this!! (I haven't gotten the calculator yet- my place ran out!!!!).
Isn't this yummy!! I know what you mean, I have an 11 month old. Always a challenge making time! She now tugs at my legs while I'm cooking. Too cute!
Okay so this is my SECOND time making this in the past week. First time it was a hit. I dont drink so i skipped the wine, and use the broth from the crockpot, also added garlic paste, and pinch of cumin on each chicken breast in crockpot. I made the chicken and pepper/onion mixture and froze half for next week. this is amazing and i only used less than a tsp of oil just to fry up the peppers amazing, with sw bean and cilantro rice yum. thank you so much gina! with a 9 month old its hard to cook let alone come up with easy, heatlhy meals. thank you thank you thank you! pls keep the recipies coming
That makes me so happy Kimberly. Latin cuisine is one of my favorites, and growing up eating Latin food and having family living in so many different Latin countries, I've had the good fortune to know how good South and Central American should taste!
Hi Gina,
I am a Latin American woman who is currently doing WW. Your recipes are amazing. The flavors are spot on and you would never know these recipes are low fat/low calories. I have tried several of your latin recipes, including this one, and they have all been phenomenal. My husband, born in Honduras, has fallen in love with your dishes. Thanks so much!
Michal- Latin food has so much sabor!! That's spanish for flavor! 🙂
I'm not really familiar Latin food, but this looked so delicious and versatile, I tried it today. It is unbelievably delicious! The crockpot and spices add a crazy amount of flavor to the chicken, there was seriously not a bland bite. I put it in a wrap, which (of course) promptly disintegrated on me, but it was so good that I really didn't mind tearing off chunks of tortilla, scooping up some chicken and just shoveling it in my mouth. Such a terrific recipe and amazing website– I will definitely be back often!
Glad you all like this, it's awesome of course with flank steak too. Not sure off the top of my head, the point difference, but maybe I'll make it and post it. I have some grass fed flank from Hearst farms in my freezer waiting to be used.
Gina how many points would the same receipe be for one cup using flank steak instead of chicken?
Chicken ropa vieja?! You're a genius! I love cuban food and am always looking for ways to make it WW-friendly. I've made this recipe 3x already. Can't wait to try more recipes.
Just finished it! It is amazing! Can't tell the difference with my grandma's original steak ropa vieja. You rock Gina! -Chanel
From the UK – Gina your website is mega and I have recommended it to members of my WW group. I love cooking and your recipes are great (even if I have to do a lil conversion and adaption!) thank you 🙂
OMG! I just made this today and it is amazing. I made I also made the Skinny Chipoltle Rice and the Corn Salsa Recipe and I just am loving all of it! Thank you so much for the awesome website.
This looks amazing – I can't wait to try it! I love Chipotle and am always looking for healthier ways to make my favorites at home. Thanks!
This is really great! Thanks for sharing it!
You could use cooking wine, non-alcoholic wine or just use chicken broth.
Hi Gina is there anything you could replace the wine with?
Same here =) Soemtimes I need to point at a picture and show them what I want. I prefer the "ticket" restaurants where we place the order, pay the vending machine and the meal is served.
By the way, I made the chicken ropa vieja, cilantro rice ( love cilantro) and the salad to go with it. DELISH! My 18 month old loved the rice as well! Thank you!!
@Madeline- How lucky to get to visit other countries. I would take advantage of the Okinawan cuisine while you are there, I love ethnic food!
Aww =) See, now I know where you get that FLAVOR from LOL. Thanks so much for all your work and making us happier to be in the kitchen! We are stationed in Okinawa now and missing NY because hubby and I have very eclectic taste buds –as I am sure you do! But now I can make all kinds of new dishes and not have to settle for Okinawan cuisine alone. Cheers!
Madeline
So am I (half) so I love lots of flavor in my food too! No reason why we can't have that sabor without all the fat!
I am latina so I love tasty food. You certainly have that "yumm" in your recipes that I long for. I cook lots of my own dishes, but now I need a plan to stay on WW and your recipes don't dissapoint! Mucho thank you!!
I made this for a friend tonight. We all loved it. I really appreciate all your great recipes.
Hi Krystin! LOL
Where it says reserve the liquid in the cooking instructions, that's what the "reserved broth" is referring to. Let me know how it comes out!!
Gina I LOVE your blog and your recipes look delish! I'm printing out a bunch to take home and try. However, I am NOT a cook and therefore not that knowledgeable on some stuff… such as "reserved broth". What is it? Where can I find it? Sorry if I sound ignorant! If anyone else can help me answer this too, feel free! LOL!
No worries, the broth from the slow cooker.
Thanks Jan!
Your blog was recommended by a Facebook friend. Wonderful recipes and great photos…I can't wait to try them. Thank you!
I made this last night with the Cilantro Lime Rice and the Corn Salsa (I basically assembled it like a Chipotle Burrito Bowl)…My husband and I BOTH loved it so much!!! We will definitely be making it again!!
The flavors reminded me a lot of Chicken Tortilla Soup without all the broth.
EXCELLENT!!
Keep em coming, girl!
Excellent Kyra!
Keep the wonderful recipes coming. I made this tonight with the Cilantro Lime Rice and loved every bite. I didn't have white wine so I substituted cooking Sherry. Food like this keeps me from buying take out for lunch the next day!
Sure, the chicken will be very tender!
Gina, do you think you could make this recipe cooking Low for 8 Hours??
This is the second time I have made this and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!! I made lettuce wraps with this as the filling and OMG my new favorite lunch!!!
DH and I had this for dinner tonight and it was awesome! We were looking to try something different and this recipe really fit the bill….very tasty and healthy. Today we had it with rice and beans….tomorrow in a tortilla shell. Very versitile!
Andrea
You could just leave out the wine. I wish I had that problem! Enjoy!
Lame enough I am not 21 so can't get the wine, but really want to try this recipe, is there something I could substitute, or just leave out the wine?
Stores sell cooking wine… but chicken stock will do fine as a sub
This is my kind of food too 🙂
I tried this recipe last night and can I just say… YUMMM!!! This is just the kind of food I like. Lots of flavor and easy to prepare. Have a bent toward Latin food, too. 🙂 I served it with no fat refried beans and corn tortillas. Was a big hit here, even for my "I don't like chicken" daughter! Thanks!
I bet this would be awesome in enchiladas!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was a HIT!
Just stumbled upon your blog and….. I'm addicted!!!
It really is versatile. Glad you all share my love of latin cuisine!!!
I loved this recipe! It's so versatile…we just added some cool iceberg lettuce and crunched up a couple tortilla chips on top with salsa. I also threw some spicy cayenne pepper in the mix. YUMMM!
This was delish! I made it with the black bean salsa and cilantro lime rice, excellent all of them. Keep posting those recipes they are wonderful.
Made this for dinner tonight….awesome!!!!
@bigfeetgirl – That's great!
Everything looks amazing–I just printed out a bunch of recipes and also blogged about re-joining WW on my site. Thank you
I like this over rice, you can have avocado on the side or sweet plantains.
what goes with this??
This was great over rice but would be great stuffed in tortillas. This is definitely a keeper!
I don't think it would come out right.
I wonder if everything can be done in the crockpot all at once…
I threw all of the everything listed above in the crock pot for 7 hours on high. I did not discard the veggies like Gina wrote and it came out delicious. We kept the juice seperate and drained the chicken and veggies. We put it on White rice and drizzle the juice over the mixter. We love it, it's a bit sweet and not spicy. I tripled the recipe to feed 12.
I don't recall the weight on the chicken, sorry!
There are lots of rice and bean recipes, there's arroz con gandules, Puerto Rican Beans and Brazilian Black Beans. Look under the Latin Recipes on the right.
I made this last night… SO good. Thank you!
Soo excited to try this tonight! Just curious, were your 3 chicken breasts around 1lb or so total?
And any chance there's a great rice and beans recipe on here to go along with it? 🙂
My ex mother in law made the most amazing black beans… It was one can of black beans (she did not drain it!) One 8oz can of goya tomato sauce plus one can of water, 1 packet of sazon, one tablespoon of red sofrito, one teaspoon of beef base (we use better than bullion paste) and a half a stick of butter…… Let all that cook on medium low (hot simmer) until it thickens… and BOOM! The best beans I have EVER had in my life… serve it with white rice and any kind of spanish meat and it will knock your socks off. We literally pour it over everything on the plate… Lol
Those black beans sound insane!
This is great with chicken and skirt steak. I haven't tried it with pork put I'm sure it would be great as well. Like pulled pork Cuban style!
I made this last night: very easy, and very good. IT wasnt too soupy, or tasteless, either.
I can see myself making this again, and maybe using pork next time, or lean beef.
There is a lot leftover, and it will be great for wraps, or over rice again.
Thanks for posting, keep up the good work!
First of all, my wife and I love your recipes. We need both hands to count how many times we've used your recipes. Nom nom nom!
This dish was great! My wife doesn't like chunky veggies so I minced the red bell(no green), onion and two garlic cloves before they went in to the skillet. Can't forget the cayenne either. We like it spicy. Wow, it was tough to stop after one plate. Definitely a keeper. Thanks for helping us use our crockpot.
No, you discard it.
What do I do with the onion, tomato carrot and garlic once the chicken is cooked? Or will it all reduce into the liquid?
Thanks Kat!! Would be great as filling for empanadas!
Will have to try this Gee…. Looks fabulous! YUM!
This looks like another keeper! I love eating healthy and these are the types of recipes I need. Thanks! Keep 'em coming!
I just love it all! <3 .. and.. super cute baby!
Made this tonight and it was a huge hit! Thank you!!
Thanks Ben. Never had Mexican tinga.
Wow, 80 lbs, that's great! Keep up the great work!
This sounds fantastic Gina and I love the way it looks!
Hi Gina! Love your site. I happened to have everything on hand for this, so at the moment it's cooking in the crockpot. I tried your eggplant parmesan last night and it was awesome! Thank you so much for posting all your wonderful recipes! I've lost 80 lbs. in the past year and your recipes have been a tremendous help!
Oh, that looks really good! It kinda reminds me of Mexican tinga. I like the idea of adding lots of vegetables to make it lighter.
nice article…very informative thx
Yes, boneless, skinless chicken breast. Thanks!
Gina…did you use boneless skinless breasts or bone-in? Looks delicious!!
This looks so delicious. I love Chiptole too and this is a much healthier version. Looks great.
Oh yum. This will be tomorrow's dinner! I haven't put the crockpot away yet from today's meal – so I'll just keep it out.
I still haven't tried this dish before. This looks fantastic.
you come up with the BEST recipes…everything looks mouth watering good…I'm making the garlic shrimp, habernero rice & asian meatballs this week…i'm definitely going to be attempting the above as well…thank you so much for all the work you put into this…KAT
This website is amazing! I love that it's "diet" food that actually uses real (normal) food. Are you planning on creating a cookbook? I'd totally buy it! Thanks for everything!
The skinnytaste cookbook is finally available…..YAY!