Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos
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Crockpot shredded chicken tacos is an easy family meal for any weeknight. This tender, juicy and flavorful chicken is perfectly seasoned and delicious every time.
Table of Contents
Why We Love Crock Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos
This slow cooker chicken tacos recipe is super easy and quickly has become a family favorite. Add the chicken, spices, onions and tomatoes. The crockpot really does all the hard work while you can just sit back and enjoy dinner!
Ingredients For Shredded Chicken Tacos
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.
- tomatoes with mild green chiles– You can also swap a 14 ounce can of tomatoes and a 4 ounce can of diced green chiles
- Onion– medium-sized, diced
- Chicken breast– I used boneless skinless chicken breasts but you can also swap boneless chicken thighs in this recipe. If you have bone-in chicken, carefully remove the bones from the crockpot before shredding the chicken.
- Spices– oregano, cumin, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt. Sometimes I’ll add a small sprinkle of chili powder. A pre-made taco seasoning can also be used, see the notes of the recipe
- Lime juice (About 2 tablespoons lime juice)
How to Make Crock Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos
Really, the chicken for these tacos is super easy. Layer a few ingredients, set the slow cooker, and come back when it’s time for dinner.
- Chicken and tomatoes- Place half the tomatoes on the bottom of the crockpot followed by the chicken breasts. Trim off any excess fat or undesirable bits from the chicken before adding them to the crockpot.
- Tomatoes– Add the second half of the tomatoes on top of the chicken breasts.
- Onions and Seasoning- Layer the onions on top of the tomatoes. Mix the seasonings together, then sprinkle on top.
- Cook and Shred!– Cover and cook the chicken on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Remove about a cup of the liquid to keep the tacos from becoming too soggy, then shred the chicken with two forks. Serve and enjoy!
You can shred the chicken right in the crockpot, or remove it to a cutting board. Just don’t forget to remove a cup of the liquid before you shred the chicken or the chicken becomes too soggy on the tacos.
Can I Use Frozen Chicken Breasts With This recipe?
Yes you can use frozen chicken breasts with this recipe. It does take the chicken a little longer to cook when the chicken breasts start from frozen.
Expect the shredded chicken will take a full four hours when cooked on high and 7-8 hours when cooked on low before the meat had cooked through.
Can I Use Salsa or Other Kinds of Tomatoes?
In this recipe, I used tomatoes with green chiles. (Rotel is a great example of this!) When I have plain tomatoes, I’ll add green chiles to my chicken.
But if you’re looking in your pantry and you have a jar of salsa, you can totally substitute your favorite salsa for the tomatoes. I’ve also used roasted tomatoes and the dish is also still delicious.
If you have fresh tomatoes on hand, 2 cups of diced tomatoes can be substituted into this recipe.
What To Serve With Shredded Chicken Tacos
Tacos are one of those super flexible dishes where you can add just a few toppings or really load them up! This also makes a great dish to let everyone add their own toppings so everyone is happy with dinner.
Here are a few of our favorite toppings I’ve served with these tacos before. Honestly it all depends on what I have in the fridge. Feel free to use what you have. You don’t have to make a special trip to the grocery for this meal.
Diced tomatoes– also pico de gallo works too
Sour Cream
Lettuce, spinach or shredded cabbage
Pickled red onions
Jalapenos
Corn
Beans – black beans, refried beans, pinto beans, yum!
Cheese – cheddar, crumbled queso fresca or monetary jack are our favorites
Sliced avocado – or guacamole!
Cilantro
What Type Of Tortillas Should I Use?
Hard corn taco shells, soft flour shells, use whatever type of tortillas your family loves. You can warm up the tortillas in the oven, toaster oven, or even microwave.
If you use the flat corn tortillas, don’t skip heating them up over medium heat in a pan for about a minute on each side with just a light spray of oil until they brown a little. I just grab the widest pan I have to heat a few taco shells at a time. It is worth the extra few minutes to warm your shells!
You can use this chicken for tacos, or you can also use it for other dishes too. You can turn this juicy chicken into burritos, nachos. taco salad or use the chicken as filling for enchiladas. Try serving the chicken on top of cilantro lime brown rice to make a bowl.
I’ve sometimes tossed leftovers into my turkey chili recipe in place of ground turkey or in my egg muffins in place of sausage. Leftover chicken from this dish is also tasty thrown into a breakfast quesadilla.
Other Recipes You’ll Love
Baked Taco Cups
Mexican Stuffed Shells (Taco Stuffed Shells)
Walking Tacos (Easy Tacos In a Bag!)
Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
Easy Beef Burrito Bowl (All In One Pot!)
Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas
Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos
Equipment
- 5-6 Quart slow cooker
- Pan spray
- Measuring spoons
- Tongs
- Knife
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 14 ounce can tomatoes with mild green chiles
- 2 Pounds boneless skinless chicken breast – about 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ Onion- diced
- 1 Tablespoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1 lime About 2 tablespoons lime juice
Instructions
- Spray the bottom of the slow cooker with pan spray. Pour half of the tomatoes into the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Add the chicken breast to the slow cooker on top of the tomatoes in a row. Next add the other half of the tomatoes to the chicken. Add the onions on top of the tomatoes. Mix together the seasonings- oregano, cumin, garlic, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt, then sprinkle on top of the tomatoes.
- Cook the chicken in the slow cooker for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. The chicken will be fall-apart tender.
- Pull the chicken out of the slow cooker into another bowl. Shred the chicken with two forks turned backward in the slow cooker by using the forks to pull the chicken apart. Remove about a cup of liquid from the slow cooker. Place the shredded chicken back in the slow cooker and stir to soak up the remaining liquid.
- Squeeze the lime over the chicken. Serve over warm flour or corn tortillas with diced tomato, avocado, cheese, a drizzle of sour cream, or chopped cilantro!
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This?
I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
I have made this before, the chicken is juicy and has fantastic flavor! I do have a question, can I make this the day before and then reheat it for serving the next day without it drying out? Any suggestions?
So glad you loved it Missy! Yes you can totally make it ahead of time and use it the next day. The easiest way is to save that cooking liquid and add a little bit of it back into the shredded chicken as you reheat it. The cooking liquid will have the most flavor, but you could also add just a little bit of chicken broth or water before reheating to help keep it juicy as you reheat. Hope that helps!
I have made this recipe before and it’s delicious! Today I’m making it but recipe calls for 14 ounces of tomatoes, I only have a 10 ounce can. Will this work?
Hi Mary – I am so glad you like it! It should work with the 10 ounce can, but I suggest adding a little more liquid to the pot. You could add water or chicken broth to make up the difference. The tomato flavor may be a little less, but not much. Overall it’s a pretty forgiving recipe. Hope it’s delicious! -Kristy
Hi
Can we sub thighs? I think in some recipes you can’t.
Thank you
Yes you are right Linda, not every recipe you can sub thighs, but this recipe you should be able to. I haven’t tried thighs in this recipe but I have in similar recipes and it works great. I would suggest trimming the thighs well though before you cook them. Happy cooking!
Do you add the entire half of the onion at the bottom of the crockpot of half? I saw you add the onion twice
Oh I see what you are talking about Kassidy, I must have missed that somehow. I’ll edit the recipe so it is more clear, thanks. It truly does not matter for this recipe whether you add the onions at the bottom of the crockpot or on top of the chicken as long as they make it in the crockpot. They will cook and be delicious in this chicken either way, I’ve done it both ways. Hope it is tasty for you!
This was easy and tasted good! I left all the juice/liquid in mine at the end because I didn’t even have 1 cup to remove and wanted the extra juiciness and flavor.
I am making this now for dinner…it smells AWESOME!!! I can’t wait to taste it!!
Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Can you use frozen chicken?
Generally, it’s not recommended to start with frozen meat in a slow cooker because the chicken isn’t in the “temperature safe zone” for bacterial growth when you start with frozen chicken. Personally, I have made it with frozen chicken before for my family before I knew the safety concern and we were fine, however you do risk having issues. Hope that helps!
I’m an avid cook, this is one of the best shredded chicken recipes I’ve found. Chicken never comes out chewy/tough. My crockpot runs hot, so I cook on low to 165. Then set to keep warm for for last 3-4 hours.