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.
More Mexican-inspired favorites include my Mexican Shredded Beef and Carnitas.
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.
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Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos
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!
Video
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.
Looks delicious and I am looking forward to trying it! Just wondering about how many pounds of chicken you generally use. The chicken breasts I bought are really big and I want to have the right ratio of ingredients.
Hi Nan 🙂 I would guess that 5 pieces would be about 3 pounds but it does make quite a bit. If your pieces are large, you can definitely just use 3 or 4 and keep all the other amounts as written. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe so it should be just fine.
Was searching for a recipe for crock-pot chicken tacos, and stumbled across your website. What luck! So many recipes I want to try. Made this one today, and it was delicious (and amazingly easy). Both hubby and son approved, so it’s going in the keeper file. Thanks.
I’m so glad your family liked it! Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
Your boys are so lucky to have a mom who cooks amazing food everyday, even on busy days!!! I don’t own a slow cooker (yet!), but this does sounds so easy and delicious. I’ll try this with my cast iron and will cook long time over the stove. My kids started to eat more, and I just cannot imagine how you fed 4 boys when they were all in the house! You got a great chef training done at home!
No kids in this house, just a couple of taco lovers! These look amazing, Valerie. Lovely for a quick and easy weeknight meal. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve just had shredded chicken tacos at a restaurant and was looking for a good recipe. This sounds delicious, thanks! Also checking out your homemade taco seasoning, I always make my own too!
Why don’t I own a crockpot?!
Say it ain’t so Jackie! You may want to check back next week. I don’t want to spoil the surprise but I have something pretty cool coming that may be of interest to you 🙂
Love this! Great crock pot recipes are the best!
Looks great! I love these easy crock pot dishes.
Kids were sick of ground beef tacos so i made this recipe exact. Huge hit. And so easy. I am making again tomorrow
These tacos look SO SO GOOD! I love a chicken tacos or any type of taco for that matter. You do some amazing things in your crockpot Girl! Hope your team won!
I love this recipe. Crock pots are a busy mom’s best friend. I love mine.
Love the photo of 4 aka 11.
Busy “parent”, thanks
I have been loving my crockpot this year. I have been making pulled pork from Everyday Paleo-it is very yummy. Thanks for this wonderful idea-I will be making it soon. I love corn tortillas and have never tried cooking them up like that—–mwahaha—I like it! 🙂
Love pulled pork! I’ll have to check that out. Thanks for stopping by Jill 🙂
I can’t wait to make this recipe this am. I love the feature on the recipe of putting in servings and it adjusts the recipe. Making for taco salads 🙂
I love this recipe, Valerie! We, too, have dinner hour sports and the crock pot can be so helpful. Looks delicious!