Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos are EASY to make, made with chicken breast, salsa, onion, and taco seasoning, slow cooked and shredded with a fork! Serve with corn tortillas and your favorite taco toppings.
These chicken tacos are perfect for an easy weeknight dinner because they’re really fast to throw together, and you don’t have to do a thing until the slow cooker time is up! They are also great for a party, because you can throw in an extra piece of chicken and have a good amount of food. Serve with your favorite toppings like cilantro, lime wedges, and cheese.
This is another twist on my Slow Cooker Taco Meat, which uses ground beef instead of chicken breast. I love to make both of these recipes when I’m making a Baked Potato Bar for a party (or a taco bar). Taco potatoes are really delicious, and really cheap to make for a crowd. Plus they only take a few minutes of prep time, making dinner time a breeze. This will be your new favorite way to do taco night!
Crockpot recipes are a great way to meal prep some future meals! Fill some freezer safe containers with some rice or cauliflower rice, chicken taco meat, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice and freeze for busy nights.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Set it and forget it: All you need to do is dump everything into the crockpot and leave it until it’s done cooking. It doesn’t get much easier!
- Free up oven space: I like making this for parties or game days, and it’s perfect if you’re using the oven to heat up other dishes.
- Gluten Free: You can be confident that this is 100% gluten free!
- One pot: We’re just using the slow cooker, so you only have one pot to clean after dinner!
- Leftovers: This recipe has a good amount of leftovers for packing lunches, or to freeze for dinner another night.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Chicken. I use 4-5 chicken breasts for this recipe. Because we’re shredding them, you want to make sure you have boneless skinless chicken breasts.
This recipe also works with boneless skinless chicken thighs.
Onion. Most onion types work for this recipe. I’ve used Vidalia, white onion, and yellow onion.
Salsa. Choose your heat level with the salsa. I use a medium heat salsa, but mild and hot salsa also taste good. This will take about one small jar of salsa.
Taco Seasoning. I like to make a big batch of my Homemade Taco Seasoning to keep in the pantry for recipes like this. You can use a packet, but make sure it’s gluten free.
Kitchen Tools
For this recipe you’ll need a 6-quart slow cooker.
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
Time needed: 4 hours and 5 minutes
- Add the chicken.
Place the raw chicken breast in the slow cooker. Add the chopped onion on top of the chicken.
- Add the flavor and cook.
Top evenly with the taco seasoning, then pour the salsa over everything. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 7-8 hours, until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Shred and stir.
Remove from the pot and shred chicken with two forks. Place the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker and stir together with the juices. Add kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Serve with corn tortillas and your favorite taco toppings.
What to Serve With Chicken Tacos
This is really up to your personal preference, but here’s some additional toppings I like to serve when I’m making crockpot chicken tacos. I like to use a lot of fresh toppings and veggies.
- Pico de gallo
- Fresh cilantro (chopped)
- Shredded lettuce
- Cheese (shredded cheddar cheese or queso fresco)
- Sour cream or light sour cream
- Bell peppers (chopped)
- Black beans or refried beans
- Red onion (chopped or pickled)
- Pickled sliced jalapenos
- Avocado or guacamole
- Your favorite salsa
- Corn tortillas
Recipe Variations
- Make this slow cooker taco recipe more spicy by adding cayenne pepper, hot sauce, chili powder, hot diced green chiles, or red pepper flakes.
- Serve on top of chopped romaine lettuce for a taco salad or add rice for burrito bowls. Add any taco toppings you’d like from there, or some crushed hard taco shells (just make sure they’re gluten free).
- Use butter lettuce to make lettuce wraps for a low carb version.
Recipe Tip! The chicken will shred easily with two forks, but to make it a lot faster you can use an electric hand mixer! Set the mixer on low, and be careful for any liquid in the pot that might splash. I do not recommend this if you’re using a plastic crockpot liner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken breast is great in the slow cooker, but cooking it for too long can result in tough meat. Make sure to check the chicken around 3 1/2 – 4 hours, which should be when it will shred easily with a fork. If it won’t shred, it’s either undercooked or overcooked.
I like to make this recipe with chicken breast, but you can also use chicken thighs. Chicken thighs do really well in the slow cooker, because the longer they cook the more tender they get. I use boneless skinless chicken thighs if I’m going to shred the meat, like in this taco recipe.
Recipe Tip! Corn tortillas are best when heated in a pan (no oil), but you can wrap them in a damp paper towel and microwave for about 1 minute if you’re in a rush.
More Slow Cooker Recipes
- Slow Cooker Carne Asada Tacos
- Crockpot Sloppy Joes
- Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Potatoes
Storage
Refrigerate leftover chicken tacos in an airtight container for 3-4 days. Reheat leftover chicken in the microwave or in a skillet with a small amount of water.
Freeze leftover crock pot chicken tacos for 3-4 months in a freezer-safe container. Defrost in the refrigerator.
Cooking Tips
- I don’t recommend making this with frozen chicken breasts, because it will release too much water when cooking.
- I’m not adding any additional chicken broth because the chicken combined with the salsa releases enough liquid. But if you want more of a sauce, you can add 1/2 cup chicken stock in the beginning of the recipe.
If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!
Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breast, boneless skinless (about 4 breasts)
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning , gluten free
- 1 cup salsa, hot or mild
Equipment
- 1 6-Quart Slow Cooker
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Add the chopped onion on top of the chicken. Top evenly with the taco seasoning, then pour the salsa over everything.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low for 7-8 hours, until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Remove from the pot and shred chicken with two forks. Place the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker and stir together with the juices.
- Serve with corn tortillas and your favorite taco toppings.
Notes
- I don’t recommend making this with frozen chicken breasts, because it will release too much water when cooking.
- Make shredding the chicken faster with an electric hand mixer. Set the mixer on low, and be careful for any liquid in the pot that might splash. I do not recommend this if you’re using a plastic crockpot liner.
- Serve with corn tortillas and your favorite taco toppings.
Nutrition
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