These Crockpot Chicken Tacos are very easy to make and so tasty. Combine chicken, taco seasoning, and salsa in a crockpot and cook all day for an amazing weeknight meal.
Hands-off
Minimal prep
You’ll Learn: How to quickly shred chicken without forks
Worth It: The chicken can be used all week long for a variety of meals
Bonus: Easy to tailor to common diets
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Perfect for meal prep – Make crockpot chicken tacos in advance and enjoy it all week long. You can make tacos, taco salad, burrito bowls or even use the meat for a sandwich.
- Weeknight eating favorite – This recipe is a set it and forget recipe. Add your ingredients and set your crockpot on low. Come back at dinner time to delicious chicken ready to shred and enjoy.
- Great for a freezer meal – You can freeze these crock pot chicken tacos and defrost at a later date. This chicken is a great food to take to a neighbor or friend in need of a meal.
Serving suggestions
My favorite topping for the chicken taco meat is pickled red onions with shredded lettuce or cilantro with a squeeze of lime juice. Toppings like shredded cheese, avocado or guacamole, sour cream, and tomatoes or pico de gallo would also be tasty.
You could also use this chicken to make this easy chicken fajita salad or nachos.
For a Taco Tuesday party, serve these tender slow cooker chicken tacos with this easy black bean and corn dip and some Mexican rice. Serve it with a frozen mango margarita or a pomegranate margarita. You could also make spiced chickpea tacos for a vegetarian option.
Ingredients
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts – Boneless, skinless chicken breasts make this recipe so easy. Adjust your cooking time if needed for the size of your chicken.
- Taco seasoning – To keep this recipe as simple as possible, grab a jar or pack of taco seasoning and you are good to go. If you do not have a premade one, make homemade taco seasoning with spices like salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, paprika and oregano.
- Salsa – The salsa will act as the liquid in the pot to keep the chicken from drying out. It will also help add great flavor as the chicken cooks.
Ingredient Substitutions
Chicken breasts are my favorite protein to use in this chicken taco recipe. You could also use chicken thighs, just make sure they are boneless skinless chicken thighs. If you would like to try beef, you could use a chuck roast instead.
I use store bought taco seasoning and salsa to keep this recipe easy for weeknight eating, but you can take it to the next level and make your own.
To keep this recipe gluten free when eating, be sure to use corn tortillas. If you want it to be grain free, lettuce wraps are great. Otherwise, use any taco shells or flour tortillas you like.
How to make
Step 1: Add your seasoning
Place the chicken breasts in the crockpot and sprinkle the taco seasoning on top. Toss to coat the chicken evenly in the seasoning (Image 1).
Step 2: Add salsa and cook
Pour the salsa into the pot (Image 2) and toss again (Image 3). Close the lid and set the temperature to low (Image 4).
Step 3: Cook, Shred and Enjoy
Cook on low for 4-6 hours depending on the size of the chicken breasts. You are looking for an internal temperature of 165F (Image 5).
Once the chicken is cooked through, switch the temperature to warm. Remove the chicken from the crockpot and shred chicken with two forks or a stand mixer (Image 6).
Return the chicken to the crockpot with the salsa and mix the chicken together with all the juices.
Serve the chicken directly out of the crockpot on tortillas with all of your favorite taco toppings.
Can I use an instant Pot?
Yes! You can use an instant pot for this recipe. Add all ingredients to an Instant pot, seal the vale and set on manual high for 12 minutes. All the Instant Pot to naturally release for about ten minutes, then switch the valve to venting. Remove the chicken and shred, then return to the pot and mix it together. If you need a bit more liquid in your shredded chicken, you could add a couple tablespoons of chicken broth. Enjoy!
Storage, reheating and Freezing
Store your leftover crockpot chicken tacos in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can reheat a serving in the microwave or skillet on the stove. If you have a larger portion to reheat, you can place in the oven in a baking dish at 250F for about 12 minutes until warmed through.
To freeze, allow the chicken to cool completely. Store a freezer safe dish or bag and keep for up to 4 months. To cook from frozen, add to a saute pan and cook for about 8 minutes until defrosted and warm through. You can also defrost the night before.
Check out these other Crockpot Recipes
If you love this crockpot chicken tacos recipe, try these Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas or these baked chicken tacos next!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
- 12 oz salsa
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts in the crockpot and sprinkle the taco seasoning on top. Toss to coat the chicken evenly in the seasoning.
- Pour the salsa into the pot and toss again. Close the lid and set the temperature to low.
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours depending on the size of the chicken breasts. You are looking for an internal temperature of 165F.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, switch the temperature to warm. Remove the chicken from the crockpot and shred with two forks or a stand mixer.
- Return the chicken to the crockpot with the salsa and mix it together.
- Serve the chicken directly out of the crockpot on tortillas with all of your favorite taco toppings.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Leave a Reply