This recipe for Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos creates incredibly tender, flavorful shredded chicken for easy tacos on a busy day. It’s super versatile and works perfectly for a variety of Mexican entrees.
This recipe for slow cooker chicken tacos is one of the oldest, most beloved in my collection. As a busy working mom with a house full of hungry teenagers, I relied on it over and over again.
Our boys’ water polo games were frequently scheduled right at dinner time and I dreaded the idea of getting takeout for our big family a couple of times a week. If you have a child that is involved in sports or any extra-curriculars, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.
When you’re walking in your door at 6:30 or 7:00 at night, you need a plan.
My slow cooker was my savior during those hectic times and still to this day. A good Crock-Pot recipe is as good as gold!
Table of contents
Recipe Highlights
- Easy Prep – This is an easy dump and go slow cooker recipe. Dicing a small amount of onion is the only advance prep required.
- Hands Off – The slow cooker does all the work. When you get home, toast some tortillas, prepare the toppings, and dinner is served!
- Big Batch – This recipe makes a big batch of delicious shredded chicken. Cook once and eat twice OR freeze half the recipe for an easy future meal.
- Versatile – I’ve used this recipe for everything from tacos, to burrito bowls, enchiladas, and more.
The Best Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos
What sets this recipe apart from others is that it does not call for a jar of store-bought salsa. I’ve made it that way and I think it ends up with an overwhelming jarred salsa flavor that just isn’t great.
Instead, I use a can of diced tomatoes and diced green chiles which yields a fresher, more authentic flavor. Save the salsa to use as a topping for the tacos instead!
Ingredient Notes
- Chicken – You’ll need 3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Although just 3 large pieces of chicken are pictured here, you will likely need 4 to 6 pieces of chicken to reach this weight.
- Taco seasoning – I always have a small jar of my Homemade Taco Seasoning in my pantry. I like to mix it up myself to control the amount of salt and tweak it just how I like it. You can substitute with store-bought taco seasoning and the result will still be wonderful.
- Onion – A little diced yellow or white onion.
- Diced tomatoes – I normally use a can of regular diced tomatoes with the juice but fire-roasted or the fire roasted garlic flavor work very well too.
- Diced green chiles – A small can with the juice.
- Cilantro – Optional be we love the flavor of cilantro mixed in to the cooked, shredded chicken.
How to Make Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos
- Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker insert.
- Sprinkle the taco seasoning evenly over the chicken.
- Next, top with the diced onion.
- Then, pour the undrained diced tomatoes and diced green chiles with the juice over the top. Don’t stir. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until tender.
- When the cooking time is up, test the chicken by piercing it with a fork to see if it’s tender enough to shred.
- Then, use two forks to begin shredding the chicken into the cooking liquid.
- Continue to shred the chicken, mixing it with the liquid, until it reaches the texture you’d like.
- Add the cilantro, if you’re cilantro fans, and you are ready to serve!
Serving Suggestions
- Soft Tacos or Burritos – Toast flour or corn tortillas (or some of both) in a dry skillet and transfer them to a tortilla warmer. Load them up with chicken, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, hot sauce, and anything and everything else!
- Crispy Tacos – Cook the tortillas in vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat for about 1 minute per side then transfer to paper towels to drain. Load up the crispy taco shells with toppings and devour!
- Burrito Bowls – Pile this Mexican-inspired shredded chicken on top of Restaurant Style Mexican Rice or Cilantro Lime Rice. Top it with black or pinto beans, Easy Corn Salsa and any other toppings you love.
- Enchiladas– This Crock-Pot Chicken Taco meat is the basis for my recipe for my favorite Easy Chicken Enchiladas.
- Nachos – Layer the chicken over tortilla chips with whole or refried beans and top with melted cheese and your favorite toppings – Blender Salsa and Corn Guacamole are both awesome choices. This is a great way to make use of leftovers for an easy lunch or dinner.
Storage Tips
- Refrigerate – Transfer the leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze – I like to store the chicken in freezer-safe plastic storage bags to save freezer space. Press out as much air as possible, seal the bag, and freeze flat. Once frozen, bags can be stacked and kept frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw safely in the refrigerator before warming.
FAQ and Valerie’s Tips
You should not cook chicken from frozen in a slow cooker due to food safety concerns. In addition, frozen chicken lets off a lot of liquid as it thaws so the end result would be very watery and not as flavorful.
The juice from the canned tomatoes and green chiles is enough liquid to get this recipe started. As the chicken cooks, it will let off enough juice for the chicken to cook and become tender and easy to shred without burning.
Cooking the chicken low and slow is key to breaking down the tough connective tissue and fat. If the chicken is too tough to shred, it needs to cook longer. I recommend using the low setting for these slow cooker chicken tacos for the best result.
It shouldn’t take more than 6 to 8 hours on the low setting to cook chicken until tender enough to shred. If you cook it longer, it can dry out or the texture can become rubbery. The exact cooking time can vary depending on how much chicken you are cooking.
More Mexican-inspired favorites include my Mexican Shredded Beef and Carnitas.
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Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos
Video
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3 heaping tablespoons Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix, or store-bought
- ¾ cup diced onion
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, regular, fire-roasted, or fire-roasted garlic tomatoes, undrained
- 4.5 ounce can diced green chiles, undrained
- ½ cup chopped cilantro, optional
For Serving
- Tortillas, corn or flour
- Vegetable oil, if frying tortillas
- Toppings like cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, hot sauce, etc.
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker insert. Sprinkle the taco seasoning evenly over the chicken. Top with the diced onion and then pour the tomatoes over the top. Finally, top with the undrained green chiles. Don't stir. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.
- Remove the lid from the slow cooker and shred the chicken with two forks. Add the cilantro and mix to combine.
- Serve on tortillas or burrito bowls with the toppings of your choice. Also delicious in enchiladas and nachos!
Notes
- For soft tacos – Toast flour tortillas in a dry skillet over MEDIUM heat for about 30 seconds per side. Just long enough to get them slightly toasted and warm.
- For crispy tacos – Heat a generous amount of vegetable oil in a small frying pan over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. When the oil is good and hot (but not smoking) carefully add a corn tortilla. Cook about 1 minute per side then transfer to paper towels to drain. Blot the top of the tortilla with a paper towel to remove excess oil. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Refrigerate – Transfer the leftovers to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze – I like to store the chicken in freezer-safe plastic storage bags to save freezer space. Press out as much air as possible, seal the bag, and freeze flat. Once frozen, bags can be stacked and kept frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw safely in the refrigerator before warming.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
This post was originally published November 3, 2012. Since then it has become one of the most popular recipes on the blog and in my own kitchen. The photos and text have been refreshed but the recipe remains unchanged.
Really loved this Chicken taco Crock-Pot Recipe!!
O…m…g… this is SO DELICIOUS!!! For a recipe so simple and easy, it has a ton of flavour and it makes a very large amount. I made the recommended homemade taco seasoning mix and used organic chicken breasts. You could eat it straight in a bowl like a thick soup, or fill a tortilla with it, burrito bowl, anything. QUESTION: how could you use this as an enchilada filling? What’s the process? This is going into my rotation for sure.
So funny you asked! I just retrieved some of this chicken from my freezer to make a batch of Easy Chicken Enchiladas this week. I highly suggest you give that recipe a try – so good! I’m really happy to hear how much you loved the recipe. 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment and rating.
If I had the money I would eat street tacos a few times a week; so y’all know, I am so glad I stumbled on this recipe! It is perfect for street tacos. Highly recommend!!
I just did this chicken for enchiladas over the holidays. Every time I make it, I marvel at how delicious it is! Thanks so much for your comment and rating, Patty. 🙂
This recipe was way too liquidy. I took out a lot of liquid and made rice with it. next time I will def drain a lot of the liquid out of the tomatoes.
Hi Helen. Did you use 3 pounds of chicken? After shredding the chicken into the liquid, I’ve never had an issue with there being too much liquid. I recommend using tongs for serving so any excess liquid is left behind in the slow cooker.
This was insanely good. I followed instructions to make it minus the spicy peppers. Cooked for 8 hrs and the chicken was falling apart. I took a whole grain wrap and put a bit of yogurt (sour cream replacement) , some cheese, lettuce and some mashed up avocado as sauce, drizzled some more lime and lemon and wrapped it into a burrito and pan fried it for a minute with a drizzle of olive oil. The flavors were amazing (this is coming from someone that never likes chicken)
I made this recipe a couple of days ago and will be using it to make a 2nd batch of enchiladas today. One of my favorite recipes of all time! So happy you enjoyed it and thanks so much for your comment. 🙂
Incredibly delicious! Blessed to have this recipe so easily accessible without having to pay! Thank you for sharing!
I’m very much looking forward to making your tacos, but I first need to by a slow cooker; I’ve never used one. Do you think the 3-quart Crock-Pot is big enough for two people with leftovers (it’s only $25 from Amazon), or should I go with one of the 5-6 quart cookers, such as the Calphalon or KitchenAid cookers (they’re in the $130 range but I don’t mind spending the money if the additional size and features are worthwhile. Thanks, Tim Kingan
You’ll find that a lot of slow cooker recipes make more than will fit in a 3-quart so you’ll have more flexibility with a 6-quart unit. The good news is you shouldn’t need to spend much more for a very good quality 6-quart slow cooker. I have the Crock-Pot 6-quart Cook and Carry and the Hamilton Beach Portable 6-Quart which are both currently $69.99. I’ve used both of these countless times and they are still going strong.