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.
Just put it in the slow cooker now! Can’t wait till I get home from work to try this bad boy out!
Yay, Dana! Enjoy 🙂
Have this chicken in the crockpot right now 🙂 Going to make some Chicken and Rice Burritos for a lunch before we head out for a basketball tournament 🙂 Smells so good!!! Thanks for the recipe.
Sounds perfect! Enjoy 🙂
I made these last night. They were so good, that my 6 yr old son was still raving about them this morning!!!
VERY good recipe! You will be seeing me more often!
Thank you very much!
This is the best compliment. I love that your 6 year old loved it. Thanks so much, Matthew 🙂
We had these chicken tacos for dinner after trick or treating. They were great! So flavorful! Thank you for this delicious recipe.
I love shredded beef tacos cooked in the crock pot as well.I use a rump roast, one pack of instant onion soup mix and 1- 1 1/2 cups of water. After shredding if the meat is too wet I just take the lid off the crock pot and set to high while preparing the tortillas, grating the cheese, etc. So delicious. Will have to try the shredded chicken ones now!!
Sounds good Myra. I love to do shredded beef as well. Check out my Shredded Mexican Beef which can also easily be done in the Crock-Pot. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Ashley! It isn’t recommended that you cook meat from the frozen state in a slow cooker due to food safety concerns so I would recommend starting with meat that has been safely defrosted in the refrigerator.
I tried frozen chicken breasts. The end result tasted wonderful. However, be advised that it may also be more watery than desired. Most likely due the extra moisture stored in the meat.
Valerie- Do you put the chicken in frozen? I’m trying this today. Looks delicious!
I was wondering if i was to add a homemade salsa instead of tomatoes and chiles, since both of those are in my salsa?
I think homemade salsa would make an excellent substitution. Let me know hw it works for you if you decide to try it 🙂
i have been using this recipe for a while now except i drain the chili’s an the tomatoes and pour everything into the slow cooker all at once and cook on low 5-6 hours , then just shred the chicken with a fork right in the cooker , i don’t have time for the prep and quite honestly it really isn’t necessary…..also i just pop the tortillas in foil n into the oven on 300 for a few min. n your ready to go ! the finished product is exactly the same and is just as delicious !
I made this today and Oh Boy what a hit. They were amazing, thank you!
This is so good to hear! I really appreciate you coming back to let me know. Thanks 🙂
I love that you put the time and effort into taking a picture of each step! This was super helpful! Thanks, and great recipe!
Thanks for your encouragement Chaz. I wonder whether the step-by-step is helpful so it’s nice to get the feedback.
I just finished making this. Excellent and easy recipe for busy and hungry people! If you are gluten free, make sure that the taco seasoning doesn’t have WHEAT FLOUR in it. I had to search for a while, but then found the Ortega Brand, which has CORN FLOUR in it. Again, great and tasty recipe. All I added was some salt and Goya Adobo Seasoning.
Ortega taco seasoning has maltodextrin in it, which is made with gluten. My brother found out the hard way.
We LOVE this chicken! We also use it for enchiladas. Today I wasn’t as prepared, so decided to give this a shot in my InstantPot…I do not recommend that at all! The chicken is not nearly as tender or easy to shred. I am hoping the flavor is just as good…and if not, we are using it for enchiladas so maybe the enchilada sauce will help add flavor! Note to self…I will definitely not do that again!
Thanks for your comment, Valerie. I’m sure your IP experience will be helpful to others. This is why recipe testing is so important! Many times things need to be tweaked a bit to make it work with a different method of cooking. I’m so happy the recipe is working out so well for you. 🙂