Tonight’s menu consists of homemade chicken soup for my two sick boys. Who else is ready for summer? Or maybe it’s time to move to the tropics?! All of the germs floating around right now are awful. I’m over here dreaming of warmer weather! But, earlier this week, while we were all healthy, we enjoyed these yummy baked potatoes filled with BBQ taco chicken and all the toppings. The chicken is made in the crock pot, and the cilantro cream is dairy-free. I will definitely be including this dinner in future meal planning!
The cilantro cream is optional, and if you’d prefer to have dairy cream, try using sour cream or whole fat plain Greek yogurt instead of the cashews and water. For the base of the meal, you can use any kind of baked potato. Russet or sweet potatoes would be delicious. Trader Joe’s had some Murasaki potatoes, which are a type of Japanese sweet potato, so I tried those. They tasted like a blend of a russet baked potato and a sweet potato.
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servings
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- 5 boneless chicken thighs
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup barbecue sauce (I used Stubb's original)
- 4 russet, sweet, or murasaki potatoes (murasaki = Japanese sweet potatoes)
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 lime juiced
- handful cilantro
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- pinch cayenne optional
- tomatoes diced
- cilantro
- avocado sliced
- salsa or hot sauce
Ingredients
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- Place the chicken thighs, dried spices, vinegar, and barbecue sauce in the crock pot. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
- An hour and a half before dinner, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the skins of the potatoes. Wrap the potatoes in aluminum foil and place on a pan lined with parchment paper. Cook the potatoes for an hour or until baked through.
- While the potatoes are baking, prep the cilantro cream sauce. Place the cashews, lime juice, cilantro, water, salt, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne (optional), in a high-powered blender. Blend until very smooth. Set in the refrigerator until dinner.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the crock pot and shred the chicken with two forks. Place back in the sauce in the crock pot and replace the lid to keep warm.
- Prep the toppings: chop the tomatoes and avocado.
- Once the potatoes have finished baking, remove them from the foil, and gently cut a slit in them with a knife. Do not cut all the way through.
- Open them up a bit and place some of the chicken in each one. Top with the tomato, avocado, cilantro, and some of the cilantro cream sauce. Drizzle with some of the extra sauce from the crock pot that the chicken was cooked in. If you want some extra spice, add some salsa or hot sauce.
- These could be made ahead of time. Prepare all of the ingredients and keep them individually in the refrigerator. When it is time to eat, reheat the potatoes first, then the chicken.
YUM!! Trying these soon!!
This looks SO good! Adding it to next week’s menu!
Making this right now! Excited to try the sauce!
Oh yay! I hope you enjoyed it!!