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.
Are the chicken breasts thawed or frozen when they go into the crockpot?
I’ve done similar recipes like this, but with frozen.
Looks delish and excited to try this tonight!
Thanks!
Hi Kelly. You should always safely thaw meat in the refrigerator before cooking it in a slow cooker. This is recommended for food safety reasons. I hope you love the recipe!
Very very good! Made it for a group of 8 adults and 3 kids and had lots left over.
How much chicken would I need to make to serve 50 people?? Varieties of appetites?????
It would depend on how many other items you have at your buffet. Is this one of many main courses? If so, I’d say you could get away with tripling the recipe. There is a scaling feature on the recipe card to make it easier. I recommend using several slow cookers in this case.
I don’t have 6-8 hrs more like 5 can I do few hours on high? Like 3 hrs on low and two on high
Absolutely. Or just cook it on high for a few hours or until it is easy to shred.
Making this tomorrow! Wondering if I can substitute the tomatoes for salsa instead? Thanks!
Hi Jennifer. Yes, I think an equal amount of salsa would work just fine.
For time management could you use a rotisserie chicken remove skin and shred and then add ingredients and simmer or put on warm
I’ve never tried that so I’m afraid I can’t say how that would work out.
This was much better then I thought it would be. It make a lot. My 16,14,11,and 9 your old love it. I was told. Dad you have to make this again
Do you put any kind of water or chicken broth in??
No additional liquid is needed.
I am having dinner for 13. Could I almost double your crockpot chicken taco recipe?
Hope so. Thank you! I love your recipes!
Mary
Hi Mary Lou. Honestly, this recipe makes a lot. Especially if you have good-sized pieces of chicken. I think I might just throw in one more piece and I’m betting you’d have plenty. If you do want to double it, be sure to use two slow cookers. I don’t think you could fit it all in one.
Hi! I would like to start these in morning, let them cook 8 hrs on low and Then leave them in crockpot on “keep warm” setting. Will that mess them up do you think? It’ll be on keep warm for an extra 2-3 hrs.
I typically don’t like to use the Keep Warm setting for more than an hour or so. If you need to leave it unattended for this long, you might want to switch it to Keep Warm at around 7 hours to bring that temp down a bit sooner. Hope it works out for you!
Hi can I make this using one pound of chicken tenderloins?
The amount of chicken called for is closer to 3 pounds (5 boneless breasts) so the ratios would be way off. It would also cook much more quickly if you use smaller pieces of chicken.
Awesome. Great on Nachos!
This looks delicious! I’m wondering how spicy/hot this is, if at all. I’m planning on serving this to my family, which includes little kids.
Hi Kim. The only heat would come from the taco seasoning mix which you can easily control if you make your own. Although, I don’t believe the store-bought mixes are very spicy at all. So, the short answer is – it’s very mild.