Description
This Red Salsa Braised Chicken is so easy to make and will melt in your mouth! It’s a great meal prep idea or perfect for tacos, burritos, and salads!
Ingredients
Units
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- 1–2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 large onion (diced)
- 4 large chicken breasts
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 c water
- 1 1/2 c salsa of choice (I like to use a mild red salsa)
Instructions
- Brine Your Chicken (optional): To add major flavor to your chicken and keep it from getting dry, I recommend brining it in a saltwater bath for at least an hour, or overnight if possible before using it. To brine your chicken, dissolve 4 tablespoons of salt in 6-8 cups of water and let it come to at least room temperature, then add your chicken in and cover it. Let it rest in the fridge until it’s time to cook with it.
- Prepare Your Ingredients: Before you get cooking, I recommend preparing your spices and dicing up your onion as things move pretty fast with this recipe in the beginning.
- Season and Cook Your Onions: Add olive oil to your Dutch oven over medium heat and then add in your diced onions, salt, pepper, and paprika. Stir occasionally until your onions are soft and browned (5-7 minutes), and then set them aside in a bowl, leaving your seasonings in the pot.
- Cook Your Chicken: Add additional olive oil into the dutch oven that your onions cooked in and place your chicken in the pan, browning each side (about 3-5 minutes on each side).
- Combine and Simmer Ingredients: Once your chicken has browned on each side, add your onions back into your Dutch oven along with your water and salsa and stir to combine everything. Place your burner on low heat and put the lid on top. Allow this to simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours
- Pull Apart Your Chicken: After having simmered for a couple of hours, your chicken should be cooked all the way through – to test this, pull a piece of your chicken out and cut into it to make sure it’s completely cooked (no longer translucent). Next, grab two forks and use one to hold your chicken while pulling apart the chicken with the other. You can either shred your chicken in the Dutch oven or place it on a separate plate to do so.
- Serve and Enjoy Your Salsa Braised Chicken: Once you’ve pulled all of your chicken, let it sit in the salsa simmer until it’s ready to be served or added to whatever dish you’ll be using it for. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: .5 hours
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: dinner