by Holly
CrockPot Chicken Tacos are an easy family favorite meal! A handful of ingredients tossed into the slow cooker makes the most tender flavorful chicken for tacos (or for Chicken Enchiladas, burritos, loaded nachos and more)!
Add chicken breasts, salsa, tomatoes and seasoning and let the slow cooker do all of the work. Before serving shred the chicken and enjoy! It’s that easy!
Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos
Taco nights just got easier! These Crockpot Chicken Tacos are such a snap to put together and always come out amazing! Tender shredded chicken is perfect added to tacos, burritos, salads and more.
Swap out the ground beef to make an amazing taco salad or add this flavorful shredded chicken to wraps, casseroles or soups.
How to Make Shredded Chicken Tacos
I have to tell you that this is one of those recipes that my whole family truly loves! Simply place the ingredients in the crock pot and walk away.
To season the chicken for tacos, I use … you guessed it, taco seasoning! I prefer homemade taco seasoning in this recipe to control the salt but a packet will work just fine as well.
While the ingredients call for boneless chicken breasts, you can certainly use bone in chicken as well (just make sure it’s skinless). Once shredded, this freezes perfectly making for a super fast weeknight dinner!
I’ve used this for making chicken tacos, chicken salads and even spicy chicken pizzas! Pile on your favorite toppings for a fabulous dinner loaded with flavor!
What to Serve with Chicken Tacos
These crockpot chicken tacos are insanely easy! I serve them with corn or flour tortillas and Mexican Rice or cilantro lime rice. We love to put out a big table full of toppings for everyone to dress their own! Our favorites toppings are:
- lettuce
- tomatoes
- pico de gallo
- cheese
- olives
- guacamole
- jalapenos
- cilantro
More Favorite Taco Recipes
- Shrimp Tacos – Weeknight favorite!
- Taco Soup – So easy and so much flavor!
- Beef Taco Pasta Skillet – Easy comfort food
- 5 Minute Taco Dip – Perfect last minute party dip!
- Beef Taco Casserole – Family favorite (kids love this recipe)
- Easy Fish Tacos – Reader favorite (quick and easy)
Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes with chiles drained or 1 can Rotel
- 1 package taco seasoning or 2 Tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
- ½ onion diced
Follow Spend with Pennies on Pinterest
Instructions
- Combine salsa, canned tomatoes, and taco seasoning.
- Place onions & chicken in the slow cooker and top with tomato mixture.
- Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.
- Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred. Return to slow cooker and stir in juices.
- Serve in taco shells, on salads, pizzas or in bowls over rice!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Does this reheat well?
Yes, I reheat (and freeze) it often!
Silly question, but when you say 4 chicken breast halves, does that mean you cut 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts in half? Or do you use 4 (6-7 oz) chicken breasts?
This is 4 chicken breasts, approximately 6-7oz each.
I did 2 chicken breasts instead with keeping the rest of the recipe the same— and squeezed half a lime in it once shredded. Delish!! All 4 kiddos loved it!!
It is delicious but why did my chicken breasts taste dry? Any ideas?
I’m sorry to hear that Dani. If your chicken breasts were on the larger side you may need to increase the salsa/liquid in the recipe to ensure that they don’t dry out.
Can I use boneless/skinless chicken thighs & how many?
Yes, you can use thighs in this recipe, you’ll need about 1 1/2 to 2lbs.
I made this today and it was pretty good. To those who complain about their sauce being too watery, try cooking it with the lid ajar for the last 40 minutes. My sauce thickened very nicely.
How many tbsp’s is 1 package of taco seasoning?
Nevermind, I just saw your response to the most recent question. Got my answer. Thanks :)
Holly, how much of the homemade taco seasoning do you recommend for this recipe? Thanks.
I use about 2 tablespoons. Enjoy!
Has anyone doubled this recipe yet? I’m feeding 6 people, let me know! Thank you
I have made the recipe both as is and doubled, turned out delicious either way!
What kinda of salsa do I need to use? My family does not like it spicy.
You can use mild salsa.
There are so many different sizes of chicken breast…I really wish people would put how many lbs instead of x number of breasts. I have a large family and we buy Costco size. Should I use 2 instead of 4? Or how many lbs would you say? TIA :)
The chicken breasts I use are generally about 6-7 oz each.
In your notes to say if you skip the canned tomatoes add 1 1/2 cups of salsa. Is that in addition to the one cup of salsa or total?
That would be 1 1/2 cups total.
Great! Used my own taco seasoning and a little more chicken. Then added hot sauce vs cayenne pepper and other toppings. Anyone complaining that it’s too runny… I don’t know either cook it longer or use a different taco seasoning.
Followed the recipe exactly as described above. After reading some of the comments I became concerned that it would be too watery. Once I removed the chicken I transferred the liquid to a medium sauce pan and let it thicken. I also added some salt and pepper. I then added the chicken back and it came out the perfect consistency. Very tasty!
Surprised so many 5 stars… Taco seasoning packet is not a valid ingredient…. And salsa goes on the tacos after – cook fresh ingredients into the meat. Isn’t that the best part of slow cooking? I’d keep scrolling if you want a great recipe – this is basic and just okay.
Britni, you could have kept scrolling if you didn’t but like the ingredient list~
Heidi, I have made this over and over again and it’s delicious! :)
Holly not Heidi! :)
Your a Debbie Downer this is amazing
We love this recipe but it always seems so liquidy. Like dripping out of the tortilla- down your hands-while you eat liquidy. Anything we could be doing wrong or can do different?
If you find it has too much liquid, remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred on a plate. Add only a portion of the liquid from the slow cooker to moisten and flavor it. Hope that helps!
Can the chicken breasts be frozen and added to the crockpot?
Hi Stacey, it is not recommended to cook meat from frozen in the crockpot but if you would like to try it should work. You may need to give it a little extra time to fully cook through though.
I always add frozen chicken breasts to my crock pot due to my lack of planning and it always turns out amazing.
Made this for dinner last night and my family loved it! My husband doesn’t eat onions so I just left them out and it was still delicious! We made soft tacos and topped our nachos with the chicken and cheese. I will definitely make this again!
I used black bean and corn salsa and left out the tomatoes. My family loved the taste and I loved how easy dinner came together. We served over lettuce like a taco salad. This is definitely a keeper.
Great idea Joyce! I am glad your family loved it. :)
Trying this recipe right now just need to know what to do to my tortilla to make it as tasty looking as yours
I usually put them over the grill or the burner of my gas stove for about 30-60 seconds.