Don’t you think it’s fun when you can put ingredients together that don’t seem like they should go together? And isn’t it awesome when that unlikely pairing turns out to be wonderful?
Case in point: these Raspberry-Chipoltle Chicken Sliders from the cookbook Real Food Slow Cooker Suppers: Easy, Family-Friendly Recipes from Scratch by Samantha Skaggs.
As a special gift for helping promote this cookbook, I got one for free myself! We were encouraged to choose a recipe from this book to share on our blogs. That way, we could demonstrate some of the amazing things you could make with a slow cooker.
The reason this book has the words “real food” in the title is because none of the recipes use canned soup or mixes. Just real food.
If you’ve never used adobo sauce before, you are in for a real treat. It is a spicy, smoky sauce that surrounds chipoltle peppers. You can get a jar or can in the Mexican section of your local supermarket.
For this recipe, all you do is combine some adobo sauce, raspberry jam, jalapeño pepper, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice in your slow cooker. Oh yeah–and the chicken 🙂 Then just set it on low and walk away for 3-5 hours. Do your laundry or go shopping or sit down and have a Felicity marathon. (I just discovered that show–20 years later!–and I love it!)
Once the chicken is done, just take it out and shred it. Then you’re going to pour all that delicious juice at the bottom of the slow cooker through a strainer into a pan, add some water and cornstarch, and make a lovely rosy sauce for the chicken.
Pour the sauce over the shredded chicken, then serve on slider buns (or just really big hamburger buns, for all the men out there). In her book, Samantha suggests topping the chicken with some Brie or other white salty cheese. But we are not that fancy here, so we just ate the sliders without the cheese.
This meal is great any time of the year. Because you use raspberry jam, you don’t even have to wait for raspberries to be in season to make it. So the next time you want to make something fun and inspiring, make these Raspberry-Chipoltle Chicken Sliders. And be sure to pick up your copy of Real Food Slow Cooker Suppers: Easy, Family-Friendly Recipes from Scratch
with this affiliate link to Amazon.
- 2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, trimmed
- 1 1/2 cups raspberry jam or preserves
- 1 1/2 tbsp. adobo sauce or more, to taste
- 1 large jalapeno minced
- 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Honey as needed
- 2 Tbsp. cornstarch plus 2 Tbsp. water
- 12 slider buns for serving
- 8 oz. Brie or other salty white cheese for serving
- Place the chicken in a slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine the raspberry jam, adobo sauce, jalapeno, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice. Pour the jam mixture over the chicken. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low 3-5 hours, until the chicken is tender and cooked through, but not dry.
- Turn off the slow cooker, transfer the chicken to a plate, and use two forks to shred it.
- Pour the sauce left at the bottom of the slow cooker into a medium saucepan. You can strain it if desired.
- Put the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker. Add salt and pepper to taste and then cover the slow cooker to keep the chicken warm.
- Taste the raspberry chipoltle sauce and see if you want to adjust the flavors. For more sweetness, add some honey. For more spice and a more smoky flavor, add more adobo sauce. For even more spice, add some minced jalapeno.
- In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water until smooth. Meanwhile, place the pan of sauce on the stove over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Slowly pour in the cornstarch slurry while whisking the sauce constantly.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until sauce is thick and glossy.
- Pour the desired amount of sauce over the chicken in the slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Serve atop slider buns topped with the slices of cheese and with additional sauce drizzled over the top or used as a dipping sauce.
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