These easy crockpot chicken tacos are not only incredibly flavorful, but also a breeze to prepare — just set it and forget it! In just a few hours and with only 4 ingredients, you’ll have tender, juicy shredded chicken tacos ready for all your favorite toppings.
Why We Love This Easy Crockpot Chicken Taco Recipe
This is a go-to weeknight dinner in our house! When we can find something easy that the kids love just as much as we do, it quickly becomes part of our weekly dinner rotation. We love that you can toss this recipe together in the morning and have it ready to go by dinnertime with very little effort. If your house is as crazy as ours, you’ll love having this easy crockpot chicken taco recipe this simple on hand! Check out why it’s such a must-make:
- Minimal Effort: This is a “toss-it-and-forget-it” dinner. Everything goes straight into the crockpot and slow cooks until you’re ready to shred the chicken and eat!
- Versatile: Use any jarred salsa or canned tomato variety. Make them mild or spicy, and you can even add canned beans, onion and corn for more veggies!
- Tacos, Burritos, & More: You can use this chicken for so much more than just tacos! We love it in burrito bowls with cilantro lime rice, over tortilla chips for nachos, in burritos, and so much more.
- Hearty: Spoon this protein-rich filling into your favorite tortillas and top with shredded cheese and all your favorite toppings. A couple of these tacos guarantees a satisfying meal.
- Budget Friendly: When chicken goes on sale, stock your freezer. With just 3 more simple and inexpensive ingredients, these shredded chicken tacos are the perfect week night go-to!
Love tacos? So do we! Try a few of our other favorites, like these juicy birria tacos or tender carne asada tacos! For a party, you can’t go wrong with these handheld walking tacos!
Key Ingredients
You only need four simple ingredients to make shredded chicken tacos in a slow cooker for the perfect taco night. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and exact amounts!
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chicken thighs or a combination of both.
- Taco Seasoning: This is my favorite store bought taco seasoning.
- Rotel: Canned, strained Rotel will give the chicken a juicy flavor punch. Use mild, original or hot depending on your spice preference. (Substitution options are listed in the tips section below!)
- Lime Juice: Freshly-squeezed lime juice balances all the flavors. No lime? Substitute lemon.
How to Make Crockpot Chicken Tacos
These slow cooker shredded chicken tacos require almost no effort. If you can add ingredients to a crockpot and turn it on, you’ve got this! Below is a quick recipe overview, but please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions and to watch the step-by-step video.
- Layer: Add chicken to slow cooker, season with taco seasoning. Pour the drained Rotel over the chicken and squeeze lime juice over the top.
- Cook: Cover with the lid and cook chicken for 3 to 4 hours on high, or 7 to 8 hours on low.
- Shred: Drain the cooking liquid, reserving about half a cup in the crockpot to keep the chicken juicy. Use two forks to shred the chicken taco meat.
- Serve: Serve with warm tortillas and your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
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Chef’s Tips and Variations
- Rotel alternatives: Use your favorite salsa, like this smoky salsa morita for an authentic flavor or salsa verde for a fun twist. You can use plain canned diced tomatoes. However, I recommend adding diced jalapeños, Serrano peppers or a can of diced green chiles for flavor.
- Add some veggies or beans: Add extra veggies like diced onions, bell peppers, corn and spicy peppers. For a fiber boost, add a can of drained beans!
- Using frozen chicken: You can make this with frozen chicken breasts, just make sure to allow them the full 8 hours to cook.
- Hand mixer hack: Use a hand mixer on low to shred the chicken quickly. Watch for flying bits to avoid burns.
What To Serve With These Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos
- Toppings: Pico de gallo is a favorite! We also love corn salsa, traditional restaurant style salsa and spicy salsa ranchera. You can never go wrong with guacamole of course!
- Rice & Beans: We love this authentic Mexican rice and charro beans or refried beans! Or go with white rice (we love this arroz blanco recipe) and these flavorful Cuban black beans!
- Tortillas: Make some homemade flour tortillas or corn tortillas to really step up your taco Tuesday game.
- Plantains: Maduros (sweet plantains) or crispy fried tostones would both pair well on the side.
- Corn: Mexican street corn salad or whole Mexican street corn are both delicious options!
Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or thighs
- 1 (1 oz) packet taco seasoning
- 1 (10 oz) can Rotel, strained to remove excess juice
- Juice of 1 lime
Optional, For Serving
- Flour tortillas, or corn tortillas
- Pico De Gallo
- Guacamole, or sliced avocado
- Sour cream, or Mexican crema
- Lime wedges
- Cilantro
- Cheese
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Instructions
- Spray a 6 or 7 quart crockpot with non-stick spray.
- Lay chicken breasts flat in the bottom of the crockpot. Sprinkle chicken with taco seasoning and then top with Rotel and lime juice.
- Place the lid onto the crockpot. Cook for 3 to 4 hours on high, or 7 to 8 hours on low, until chicken is cooked through and easily shredded.
- Drain liquid – leaving about a half cup liquid remaining – and then shred chicken with two forks.
- Warm tortillas on the stovetop (or wrap in a damp paper towel and heat in the microwave) and serve filled with shredded chicken and your favorite toppings!
Notes
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Where does the liquid in this recipe come from if you strain the Rotel?
Hi Lindsay! The chicken breasts (and the canned tomatoes) have a lot more juice in them than you realize. It has just enough in both to keep the chicken saucy, but not overly wet.
Is this recipe easy to double? Or triple? Would the cook time be the same?
Hi Amy! Yes it is easily doubled or tripled – as long as your crockpot is big enough. And yes, the cook time would be the same!
Great recipe. Super easy prep and uses ingredients I almost always have on hand. I used 4 bone -in chicken thighs (cause that’s what I had) and original Ro-tel, next time I will try the spicier one. The leftovers were great on a salad the next day.
My family looooooves this recipe. I make it once a week now. Thank you for sharing!